Bubba Pollard takes a victory lap after winning Saturday night's Beau Slocumb Memorial 100 at Gresham Motorsports Park. Photo by Nic Sridej
Bubba Pollard was on a mission Saturday night in memory of Beau Slocumb.
With an image of his late friend on the hood of his car, Bubba Pollard held off a hard charging Willie Allen to pick up his 19th late model victory of the year in the Beau Slocumb Memorial 100 Pro Late Model feature at Gresham Motorsports Park in Jefferson, Georgia Friday night.
For Pollard, the race named for his late friend was a must win.
“I told them earlier I’d give up all 18 wins this year for this one,” said an emotional Pollard in victory lane. “It means a lot to me and my family and the whole crew.
“I didn’t have the best car. It was so free, I didn’t know if I could hold on to it. I told them I was going to give it all I had. I know he was riding with me and it means a lot to me.”
Friends and family of the late Beau Slocumb gathered at the start-finish line at GMP to take part in the pre-race ceremonies for the memorial event. Photo by Randy Crump
The event started on an emotional note, as friends and family remembered joined fans and track officials in remembering late Georgia driver Beau Slocumb, who lost his life after a battle with cancer earlier this year. Track officials unveiled a sign designating the tower spotter stand as the “Beau Slocumb Memorial Spotter Tower”.
The race itself got off to a rocky start, as young Spencer Davis looped his car in turn two on the opening lap. He was able to drive away, and would continue.
On the restart, Jones and Pollard fought for the lead, with Pollard coming away with the advantage.
Colt James was on the charge, moving to second on lap three. Three laps later, he would find daylight around Pollard, and take the top spot.
James, Pollard, Jones and Anderson Bowen ran nose to tail for the lead for several laps, until Pollard slipped past to reclaim the top spot on lap 18.
The caution would fly again on lap 29, when Bowen tangled with the lap car of Mike Bargo on the backstretch. Bowen made hard contact with the wall, with the car going airborne momentarily. He was okay, but his night was over.
On the restart, Pollard would jump back out front, with James moving to second, followed by Jones and Michael Pilla.
Pilla and Dillon Oliver would slip past Jones for third and fourth position, and give chase to the top two.
Pilla would continue his charge, and move past James for second just past the halfway point.
Meanwhile, Willie Allen was charging from the back of the pack after having problems in qualifying. On lap 61, he would move into the top five, and would battle with James for fourth over the next several laps.
The yellow flag flew again on lap 75, ending the first segment of the two part race.
As part of the rules for the special event, only cars that were on the lead lap advanced , the first car a lap down, and any of six drivers that had guaranteed spots from their points standings.
Bubba Pollard had to hold off hard charges from both Willie Allen (26) and Michael Pilla (4) to score the win. Photo by Randy Crump
When the green flag flew on the final 25 lap segment, Pollard would jump out front, with Pilla challenging while Oliver and Allen looked for daylight.
As Pollard pulled away, Allen fought his way around Pilla and charged after the leader.
Allen would stalk Pollard over the final 10 laps, but the Senoia, Georgia driver was not to be denied, as he streaked to the win. Allen finished second. Pilla was flagged in third place, but was disqualified after failing post-race technical inspection.
That moved Oliver to third, Eddie Hoffman to fourth and James to fifth.
Pollard said he felt like he had a little help from his late friend Slocumb in getting the win.
“Every time that thing would get loose, I could feel him grab it,” he said. “I don’t know how I held onto it sometimes but I know he was there with me.
In other action, Todd Vanderford was flagged as the winner of the Outlaw Late Model feature.
But Vanderford’s car failed post-race technical inspection, handing the win to Matthew Wragg.
Wragg got the advantage off the start, jumping out an early lead. Vanderford settled into second, with Jason Bates in third, Mike Davidson fourth and Jimmy Motes fifth.
While much of the race was run single file, Vanderford closed on Wragg, catching the leader on lap 10. Seven laps later, Vanderford would make the move for the lead, and would move away to be flagged as the winner.
Vanderford’s disqualification handed Wragg the victory. It also moved Bates to second, Davidson to third, Motes to fourth and David Murphy to fifth.
Aaron Calvert dedicated his Mini-Stock feature win to his late grandmother. Photo by Randy Crump
Aaron Calvert had to make his way through a collision between the leaders of the Mini-Stock event to have a chance at victory lane. Calvert would inherit the lead and putting his car in victory lane in the Mini-Stock feature.
“I lost my grandmother a week ago,” said an emotional Calvert in victory lane. “She was my number one fan, and this is for her.”
Pole sitter Dustin Stephan jumped out to an early lead, with Scotty Beck moving to second and B.J. Thrasher to third.
Beck and Thrasher would put on a show for second, allowing Stephan to open up a good lead.
The battle also allowed Trace Embry to close. As he looked to the inside of Thrasher for position on lap 10, Embry’s car washed up the track, making contact with Thrasher. That sent Thrasher hard into the outside wall off turn four. He was uninjured, but his night was over.
The field had barely returned to green when Marc Gallichotte spun in turn one, bringing the caution back out.
On the restart, Beck would get a run on Stephan on the outside, and would move into the lead. Meanwhile, Calvert moved to third, with Anthony Burgess moving into fourth and Spanky Hicks to fifth.
Embry was on the charge, passing Hicks and Burgess as the race approached halfway. With 10 laps to go, Calvert caught Stephan to take over second.
The caution would come out again on lap 18 when Steve Hill spun off turn four while trying to stay off of Darrell Carlson. Hill nudged the inside wall, but was able to continue.
On the restart, Beck got a good start, with Stephan charging to second.
As the lead pair came off turn four, they made contact, sending Beck hard into the outside wall, and gathering up Brandon Amos in the melee.
Beck’s night was done. Stephan was parked by race control, and disqualified from the event.
That handed the lead to Calvert, who would move away on the final restart and go on to score the win. Embry finished second, with Burgess third, Hicks fourth and Carlson in fifth.
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Mike Childers is all smiles after his win in the Renegade feature. Photo by Randy Crump
Mike Childers started from the pole, and went uncontested to score the Renegade feature win.
“This is the first race I’ve had four new tires,” Childers said after the win. “I knew I had Ralph Carnes out there. He’s one of the best late model drivers in the southeast, so I knew I had to go on the start.”
While Childers walked away with the race, Ralph Carnes ran second, with Sam Stages, Jody Trivette and Tony Newman rounding out the top five.
All results are unofficial until certified by race officials.
The Rheem World Crown 300 weekend wraps up Sunday with the 28th annual World Crown 300 Super Late Model feature. The green flag is scheduled to fall at 2 pm EST. For more information, visit www.greshammotorsportspark.com.
Beau Slocumb Memorial 100
Gresham Motorsports Park – Jefferson, GA
Pro Late Model Feature Unofficial Results – Nov. 12, 2011
1. Bubba Pollard
2. Willie Allen
3. Dillon Oliver
4. Eddie Hoffman
5. Colt James
6. Dwayne Buggay
7. Tyler Speers
8. Erik Jones
9. Brandon Jones
10. Mason Mitchell
11. Gus Dean
12. Tyler Edwards
13. Spencer Davis
14. Russell Fleeman
15. R.S. Senter
16. Dalton Grindle
17. Fredrick Moore
18. Donald McIntosh
19. D.J. Vanderlay
20. Daniel Bolden
21. Michael Lance
22. Tanner Berryhill
23. Jerick Johnson
24. Rodney Benefield
DQ – Michael Pilla
Drivers Who Did Not Transfer To Final Segment
-Mike Bargo
-Tyler Edwards
-Jimmy Carter
-Wayne Hansard
-Jeff Fultz
-Anderson Bowen
-Brady Boswell
-Rob Sanders
-Akinori Ogata
Outlaw Late Models
1. Matthew Wragg
2. Jason Bates
3. Mike Davidson
4. Jimmy Motes
5. David Murphy
6. Terry Martin
7. Trey White
8. Hoyt Stephens
DQ – Todd Vanderford
Mini-Stock
1. Aaron Calvert
2. Trace Embry
3. Avery Burgess
4. Spanky Hicks
5. Darrell Carlson
6. Bill George
7. Allen Cantrell
8. Brandon Amos
9. Marc Gallichotte
10. Steve Hill
11. Scotty Beck
12. Matt Meyer
13. B.J. Thrasher
DQ – Dustin Stephan
Renegade
1. Mike Childers
2. Ralph Carnes
3. Sam Stages
4. Jody Trivett
5. Tony Newman
6. Blake Gregory
7. Boo Carlisle
8. Jessie Thomas
