Pollard Back on Track in Viper Series

By Mark Chisum

Bubba Pollard has been the dominate driver in South Alabama Speedway’s Viper Series. However, in the series’ last race on May 21, Brandon Odom led all 100 laps to take the win. Pollard finished fourth after experiencing tire problems late in the race. In Saturday night’s Timber 100, Pollard was back in form, taking the lead on lap 69 and holding off Odom to take the win.

Pollard was fastest in qualifying with a time of 15.340. Inversion put Pollard fifth for the start with 13-year old Kyle Benjamin on the pole. Odom, starting on the outside pole, outran Benjamin to turn one and emerged as the early leader. Odom led for 12 laps, but a very fast Josh Hamner raced into the lead on lap 13. Odom began to slide back as Korey Ruble, Benjamin, and Pollard got by in the next few laps. Hamner had a very fast car and began to build a lead over Benjamin, but his night came to an abrupt end on lap 30 with rear end problems. Benjamin assumed the lead with Pollard in second, followed by Odom, Ruble, and Anderson Bowen. At the halfway mark, Benjamin led Pollard, Odom, Bowen, and Mason Massey.

Benjamin held Pollard off for a while, but Pollard moved inside the South Carolina driver to take the lead on lap 69. Six laps later, Odom moved past Benjamin into second and began to close the small gap Pollard enjoyed. Odom closed to Pollard’s bumper but couldn’t find a path around the leader. As the laps wound down, Pollard began to ease away from his competitor.

Odom’s last shot came after the race was red flagged for a wreck involving Massey and Jacob Wallace. After contact, Wallace’s car went head on into the outside wall at the pit crossover gate. Wallace was shaken, but otherwise ok. When the green flew, Pollard got a good jump on Odom and pulled away, erasing any hope Odom had of stealing the win. Pollard led Odom to the stripe by .914 seconds. Benjamin came home with an impressive third place finish. Bowen, another 13 year old, was fourth with Ruble rounding out the top five.

After three races, Pollard leads in points by three over Odom. Ruble is in third, 37 points back. The next Viper Series race is scheduled for July 9.

The Street Stock race came down to the final laps, with Johnny Otto taking the win. Chris Salter led the first three laps, taking the lead from the pole. On lap four, Chris Lucas moved to the front and began to pull away. Lucas enjoyed a huge lead before the field was slowed on lap 14. The caution erased Lucas’ lead, but when the green flew, Lucas again pulled away from the field. Brandon Odom moved into second on lap 16 and began to chase down Lucas. Otto moved into third on lap 18 and followed Odom. Lucas began to slow with engine problems and Odom closed the gap. On lap 23, Odom went low to pass Lucas, but Lucas, his engine problems getting worse, went the same way, trying to get out of the way. There was contact between Lucas and Odom and Otto jumped to the outside to grab the lead. Otto led the final three laps to take the win. Odom crossed the line second, followed by Salter, Billy Maxie, and Dennis Thomas.

In the Roadrunner feature, Kim Bishop took another win, taking the lead on lap four and pulling away from the field. Chris Yeakos led the first two laps before Rick Thompson grabbed the lead on the third circuit. Bishop came from the sixth starting spot to take the lead on the fourth lap. Once out front, Bishop extended his lead as the race went all green. Mike Wolfe and Ricky Strickland had a great battle going on for second as the race wound down, running side by side. However, Strickland had a left front tire go down and Wolfe pulled away. Running on three tires, Strickland was able to hold off Thompson for third. Robert Berry came home fifth.

Tony Tidwell picked up his first win of the year in the Coyote Division. Dustin Jowers grabbed the early lead from the pole and led the first seven laps. Joseph Chandler came from the 1th starting spot to grab the lead on lap eight. Chandler led until lap 17 before fading. Jowers regained the top spot and led for three more laps before Tidwell took over on lap 21. Tidwell held off a late charge by Rusty Locklar to take the win. Jowers held on to third, followed by Dylan Wolfe and Michael Smith.

Eddy Hinson came from the sixth starting spot to take the lead on the second lap, and went on to win the Mini Sportsman feature. Jeremy Geddings finished second with Donnie Howell third, Dale McLendon fourth, and Karen Williams fifth.

The next races at South Alabama Speedway are scheduled for June 25. On the night’s schedule are heats and features for six local classes. 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 Timber 100

1. Bubba Pollard

2. Brandon Odom

3. Kyle Benjamin

4. Anderson Bowen

5. Korey Ruble

6. Joe Aramendia

7. Sam Smith

8. Bobby Reuse

9. Mason Massey

10. Jacob Wallace

11. Roger Adkins

12. Josh Hamner

Street Stock

1. Johnny Otto

2. Brandon Odom

3. Chris Salter

4. Billy Maxie

5. Dennis Thomas

6. Chris Lucas

7. Adam Salter

DNS Todd Valdez

Roadrunner

1. Kim Bishop

2. Mike Wolfe

3. Ricky Strickland

4. Rick Thompson

5. Robert Berry

6. Chris Yeakos

DNS Bobby Rhodes

Coyote

1. Tony Tidwell

2. Rusty Locklar

3. Dustin Jowers

4. Dylan Wolfe

5. Michael Smith

6. Cameron Grissett

7. Lee Rogers

8. Danny Thompson

9. James Harris

10. Joseph Chandler

11. Chris Johnson

12. Jason Monaghan

DNS Bobby Rhodes

Mini Sportsman

1. Eddy Hinson

2. Jeremy Geddings

3. Donnie Howell

4. Dale McLendon

5. Karen Williams

6. Bobby Jennings