NEW SMYRNA, Fla. — Even though he struggled to find speed on opening night, Bubba Pollard isn’t messing around this week.
The Super Late Model veteran dominated Tuesday’s 50-lap Super Late Model feature as part of the World Series, picking up his second straight World Series of Asphalt Stock Car Racing victory at Florida’s New Smyrna Speedway.
The Senoia, Georgia racer qualified seventh, but by luck of the draw, an invert of eight lined him up on the outside of the front row for the drop of the green flag.
Just as he did on Monday, Pollard found himself in second spot for the first half of the race, but didn’t hiccup when an opportunity to take the lead came in front of him. He passed Derek Kraus with just 17 laps remaining.
“Can’t thank this group of guys enough,” Pollard said. “It’s a great group. When you surround yourself with great people, they make my job easy, and they make me look good.”
Brad May finished second, grabbing his third straight podium to open the week. Dan Fredrickson, who led countless laps on Monday, finished third.
Just five days before beginning his first full-time season in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series, Ryan Preece was in Victory Lane on Tuesday night.
The Berlin, Connecticut, driver took the lead just before the halfway point in the Tour Type Modified feature as part of the World Series.
New Smyrna Speedway is just 20 minutes up the road from Daytona International Speedway, where Preece will run the Daytona 500 on Sunday.
“I used to be labeled as a guy who burned my stuff up quickly, but I’ve really done a lot with my setups to make them better in the long run,” Preece said. “I think it showed right there. This car is just so good right now.”
Preece qualified at the top of the field and the invert of eight put him on the outside of row four for the green flag. However, it wasn’t long before Preece was slicing through traffic and finding his way to the front — where he eventually stayed.
After a crash in turn two that collected multiple top contenders, Preece drove away from Jimmy Blewett to win the second Modified race of the week. Blewett was second and Doug Coby, who won on Monday night, third.
Racing continues on Wednesday night, where the Tour Type Modifieds will compete in the John Blewett III Memorial 76-lap feature.
