Pollard Continues Viper Domination
By Mark Chisum
Bubba Pollard continued his domination of South Alabama Speedway’s Viper Series Saturday night, collecting the win in the Diamondback 100. It was Pollard’s eighth win in ten starts in the series in the last two years.
Pollard set the pace in qualifying, turning the 4/10 mile oval in 15.389 seconds and then kept the pole by drawing the # 1 pill for inversion. Pollard grabbed the lead from the pole and led all 100 laps to take his latest win. Although Pollard led every lap, Korey Ruble kept the pressure on him for most of the race. Ruble was able to stick his nose under Pollard a couple of times, but couldn’t get the grip he needed to complete the pass.
A lot of times, Ruble was having to turn his attention to Brandon Odom, who was chomping on Ruble’s bumper, trying to get around for the second spot. Odom was at a disadvantage, only having high gear. Odom was strong on long runs, and this was when he made his strongest bids on Ruble. However, when the yellow flew, Odom would fall back, but work his way back to Ruble.
With Ruble holding off Odom, Pollard was able to ease away. He led Ruble to the finish line by 1.42 seconds. Ruble finished second with Odom on his bumper. Dave Mader III was fourth with Sam Smith coming home with a fifth place finish.
In the Vintage Feature, Jamie Ater took advantage of Jessie Smith’s misfortune to take the win. Smith grabbed a big lead when Kip Whitehead got loose in turn two, slowing Steve Stewart also. Smith was able to get by and came out with a huge lead over Jamie Ater. Smith appeared headed to an easy win when his car lost power on lap eight. Ater took over the point and led until the end. Stewart was second, followed by Whitehead. Smith was credited with fourth place.
In the Street Stock Feature, Cameron Henderson took the win in the tech area. Henderson took the early lead and led the first eleven laps before Jamie Ater worked his way around him on lap twelve. Ater led the rest of the way with Henderson following. Kyle Sims returned to SAS and crossed the line third, ahead of Dennis Thomas and Chris Salter, who blew an engine on the final lap. However, in post race inspection, Ater’s engine was over the compression limit and he was disqualified. Ater’s “dq” gave the win to Henderson and moved everybody up a spot in the finishing order. Martin Quattlebaum moved into the top five.
Lee Rogers led just the final lap to capture the Coyote Feature win. Travis Slawson grabbed the lead from the outside pole and led the first 24 laps. Rogers, meanwhile, came all the way from the rear of the field. As the race neared its conclusion, the leaders ran into very heavy traffic. Rogers picked the best path while Slawson got hung up behind a slower car. Rogers was able to get past Slawson to take the win. Gordon Reece followed Rogers past Slawson to finish second. Slawson slipped to third on the final lap. Joseph Chandler finished fourth with Jason Monaghan fifth.
In the Mini Sportsman Feature, Dylan Wolfe led flag to flag to take the win. Joey Cannon chased Wolfe the entire race but never mounted a serious challenge for the lead. Eddy Hinson finished third. Joshua Sibley came from the 11th staring spot to finish fourth. Cameron Henderson followed Sibley through the field to finish fifth.
Next Saturday will be Fan Appreciation Night at South Alabama Speedway. A full slate of local racing is scheduled. Admission for ages 6-60 is only $2.00. Admission for everybody not in that age bracket is free. For more information, contact the track at (334) 565-3539, or visit the track’s web site at www.southalabamaspeedway.com.
Results
Pro Late Model Viper Series
Diamondback 100
1. Bubba Pollard
2. Korey Ruble
3. Brandon Odom
4. Dave Mader III
5. Sam Smith
6. Donald Crocker
7. Bobby Knox Jr.
8. Kyle Bryant
9. Billy Ammons
10. Chase Knox
11. David Hodges
12. Logan Boyett
13. Dennis Reno Jr.
14. Kyle Sirizzotti
15. Will Mack
DNS Tyler Caton, Tony Clark
Vintage
1. Jamie Ater
2. Steve Stewart
3. Kip Whitehead
4. Jessie Smith
Street Stock
1. Cameron Henderson
2. Kyle Sims
3. Dennis Thomas
4. Chris Salter
5. Martin Quattlebaum
6. Johnny Otto
7. Justin Killian
Coyote
1. Lee Rogers
2. Gordon Reese
3. Travis Slawson
4. Joseph Chandler
5. Jason Monaghan
6. Rusty Locklar
7. Kevin Bishop
8. Lon Howell
9. Danny Thompson
10. Aaron Horan
11. Joey Locklar
12. Michael Piland
Mini Sportsman
1. Dylan Wolfe
2. Joey Cannon
3. Eddy Hinson
4. Joshua Sibley
5. Camerson Henderson
6. Jeremy Geddings
7. Dale McLendon
8. Mike Wolfe
9. Donnie Howell
10. David Mickle
11. JR Carroll
12. Karen Williams
13. Jason Cannon