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Pollard Survives Restarts to Win
Jefferson, GA (September 17, 2011) -
With three laps to go Bubba Pollard was cruising, racing toward the
win with a comfortable lead over fast qualifier Augie Grill. Then a
pair of lapped cars came together and spun just before Pollard hit the
line brining out the fifth caution of the day. On the ensuing restart
Pollard beat Grill down the front stretch, Grill tried to fall in line
before crossing the start/finish line but tagged the third place car
and hit the wall under the flag stand before spinning into second turn
wall. Following a red flag due to the lengthy clean-up Pollard again
lined up for the restart and took off beating new second place driver,
TJ Reaid to the line, but Paul Kelley spun in the fourth turn bringing
out yet another caution, that led to a second red as the clean-up was
again lengthy. Pollard then took off yet again this time the race
stayed green as he ran out to the win.
"I'm used to the cautions here, we have won
some here due to a cautions." Pollard commented. "I knew I could not
make any mistakes. It is hard to get three good restarts in a row, but
we got'em."
Augie Grill took home the WearCrete Racing
Fast Qualifier Award, then drew a seven for the invert putting Reaid
and Daniel Hemric on the front row. Reaid took off to the lead. Grill
started to work his way up to the front, when a puff of white smoke
appeared. Grill did not slow, but it was learned he had lost his power
steering. Fortune smiled on him when a spin on the third lap gave him
time to pit. His crew quickly found a problem with the cap on his
power steering reservoir. On the restart, Grill started dead last.
While Reaid led by comfortable margins,
Grill sliced his way through the field, moving up to seventh by the 33rd
lap and fifth on the 41st lap. Pollard had been saving his
car, running in fourth until Grill pulled up on his tail. Then Pollard
started moving forward, with Grill in tow. As the laps gave way the
racers slowly began to reel in Reaid. On the 57th lap Ross
Kenseth, who had been battling an ill handling car, brushed the wall
hard leaving debris on the track. The caution that ensued put Pollard
alongside Reaid. Pollard beat Reaid on the restart to take the lead,
Grill moved into second.
For his moves through the field to take over
second place Grill earned the AR Bodies Cool Move of the Race Award.
Jeff Fultz moved from starting 22nd to finish seventh to
earn the DMR Motorsports Hardcharger Award.
The next CRA Super Series
event will be the Keyser’s Port City Racing 100 at Berlin Raceway on
September 24th. For more information about the CRA Super
Series see
www.craracing.net.
Berlin Raceway can be found at
www.berlinraceway.com.
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