Pollard Takes Checkers, Viper Championship

By Mark Chisum

Coming into Saturday’s Viper Series Cottonmouth 100 at South Alabama Speedway, Bubba Pollard trailed Brandon Odom by nine points for the Viper Series crown. With the Cottonmouth the final race on the Viper Series schedule for 2011, Pollard had one last shot to steal the series crown from Odom. Pollard was up to the task, holding off Odom in the closing laps to take the win and the Viper Series Championship.

Pollard set the fast time in qualifying, turning a lap of 15.376, just .027 seconds faster than Logan Boyett. Inversion put Chris Davidson on the pole with Pollard in seventh. Davidson took the early lead with Chris Serio second and Mike Garvey third. Boyett, starting fifth, moved through the field quickly, moving into third by lap five. When Garvey took the lead on lap 13, Boyett followed him past Davidson. Davidson regained the second spot on lap 39.

With Garvey maintaining the lead, the position behind him were constantly changing. Pollard got around Odom on lap 44. Boyett got back around Davidson on lap 48. At the halfway point, Garvey led Boyett, Pollard, Davidson, and Odom. The field settled in and ran some laps until a yellow rash hit on lap 65. In the next 15 laps, Flagman Jim Thomas’ right arm got a workout, waving the yellow seven times. On the restart after the first caution, Boyett tried to sneak by Garvey. There was contact, and Boyett rode across the hood of Garvey’s ride. Boyett was sent to the rear, but Garvey was unable to continue. Pollard emerged as the leader with Odom second, Anderson Bowen third, Dennis Reno, Jr. fourth, and Sam Smith fifth.

After the seventh caution, the front two, Pollard and Odom, remained. Behind them were Mason Mitchell, Justin South, and Serio. With 21 laps to go, and the championship on the line, Odom began to turn up the heat on Pollard. With a 19 lap green run, Odom tried to get around the leader, but Pollard was able to keep him behind him. The races last caution flew with two laps to go, giving Odom one last shot at Pollard. On the restart, Pollard pulled away and beat Odom to the line by a half second. Boyett came back to finish third, followed by South and Serio.

In the point’s battle, a win is worth ten more points than second, giving Pollard the championship by one point over Odom. Smith was third, Bowen fourth, and Korey Ruble fifth.

Donald Crocker dominated the Modified feature, leading all 25 laps. Nobody could stay close to the Citronelle driver as he cruised to the win. Pollard, doing double duty, got past Heath Mills with two laps to go to finish second. Ricky Brooks was fourth, followed by Lance Blacker.

In the Street Stock Feature, Odom, also doubling up, took the lead on lap 13 and went on to win. Johnny Otto led the first three laps before Jody Henderson took over. Odom moved into second on lap five and erased the small lead Henderson enjoyed. The pair battled for the point with Odom finally working his way to the inside of Henderson to grab the lead. Once out front, Odom built a slight lead over Henderson which he maintained for the remainder of the race. Billy Maxie was third with Otto fourth and Dennis Thomas fifth.

Kim Bishop picked up another win in the Roadrunner Feature, but Ricky Strickland almost ended Bishop’s winning streak. Strickland led the first 11 laps before Bishop took his spot up front. Strickland, however, battled back. Staying on Bishop’s bumper throughout the race, Strickland made a last lap challenge for the win. Bishop beat Strickland to the line by a few feet to take the win. Bobby Rhodes finished third, followed by Mike Wolfe and Nick Petrie.

The Coyote class had a hard time getting started, but once they did, ran 25 straight green laps. Danny Thompson came from the ninth starting spot to take the win. Lee Rogers took the early lead from the outside pole. Rogers led until Joseph Chandler took over on lap seven. Rogers fought back, and regained the lead on lap 14. Rogers lead was short-lived, as Thompson took over two laps later. Thompson held off Rusty Locklar to take the win. Tony Tidwell was third, Chandler fourth, and Dylan Wolfe fifth.

Dustin Monday picked up another win in the Mini Sportsman Feature. Starting eighth, Monday moved to third by lap two, second the next lap, and moved past early leader Dale McLendon on lap seven. Monday then pulled away from the field to take the win over Joshua Sibley. McLendon slipped back to third. Eddy Hinson was fourth with Chris Calloway fifth.

South Alabama Speedway will be closed September 17 but will reopen on September 24 with a full line up of 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

Cottonmouth 100

1. Bubba Pollard

2. Brandon Odom

3. Logan Boyett

4. Justin South

5. Chris Serio

6. Anderson Bowen

7. Hal Martin

8. Roger Adkins

9. Brandon Brilliant

10. Lance Blacker

11. Shanky Smith

12. Mason Mitchell

13. Charlie Gresham

14. Dennis Reno Jr.

15. Mike Garvey

16. Chris Davidson

17. Dwayne Buggay

Modified

1. Donald Crocker

2. Bubba Pollard

3. Heath Mills

4. Ricky Brooks

5. Lance Blacker

6. Mario Lupi

7. Jacob Permenter

8. Dave Wright Jr.

9. Bruce Permenter

10. Cameron Henderson

11. Nathan Davis

Street Stock

1. Brandon Odom

2. Jody Henderson

3. Billy Maxie

4. Johnny Otto

5. Dennis Thomas

6. Lee McManus

Roadrunner

1. Kim Bishop

2. Ricky Strickland

3. Bobby Rhodes

4. Mike Wolfe

5. Nick Petrie

6. Gary Swanner

7. Robert Berry

8. Lee Monaghan

9. Rick Thompson

Coyote

1. Danny Thompson

2. Rusty Locklar

3. Tony Tidwell

4. Joseph Chandler

5. Dylan Wolfe

6. Dustin Jowers

7. Cameron Grissett

8. Lee Rogers

9. James Harris

10. Chris Johnson

11. Michael Piland

Mini Sportsman

1. Dustin Monday

2. Josh Sibley

3. Dale McLendon

4. Eddy Hinson

5. Chris Calloway

6. Donnie Howell

7. Karen Williams

8. Gary Chesser

9. Paul Gay

10. Lon Howell

11. David Daniels

12. Bobby Jennings Jr.

13. Gary Richards

14. Kenny Younce