Bubba is the Best

Bubba Pollard (26) and Bobby Good battle it out in New Smyrna. (photo Rodney Meyering / RSEN)

New Smyrna Beach, Fla. — The 2015 racing season kicked off Saturday night at New Smyrna Speedway with the Red Eye 100. Georgia’s Bubba Pollard became just the second non Florida resident to ever win the race.  Bubba has won a bunch of races in the last few years, but he has never won at New Smyrna. Tonight Bubba would start 7th after the invert. Daniel Keene Jr. set fast time, with Pollard second. That put Bobby Good on the pole to start the season.

Good ran great in the Governor’s Cup a couple months ago, finishing second to Travis Cope. Tonight Good would get the jump at the start and lead every lap until a lap 82 restart. Pollard had moved up to second by then and he would get the jump on Good and lead the rest of the way to win the Red Eye 100.

Bobby Good (27) along side Daniel Keene Jr. (photo Rodney Meyering / RSEN)

Pollard moved from 7th to 4th in the first couple laps, behind Good, Derek Griffith, and Cope. Cope’s car is not handling and he is falling through the field. First Pollard gets him, then Nasse, then Keene edges him out of the way coming off of turn 2. Cope will eventually drop out of the race. A quick caution for a spin on lap 33 bunches up the field. On the restart, Good takes off, Pollard in a tight battle for third with Nasse, Keene moves up to fifth. Pollard gets inside of Griffith, it takes him 3 laps to complete the pass, Griffith will fall to 8th at the end.

Pollard seems to be catching Good, but will he be able to catch and pass him in the last ¼ of the race? A lap 77 caution answers that question for us. The field doubles up for the restart and Pollard get past Good for the lead. Nasse gets bumped and drops from 5th to 12th. Rich Clouser caused the final caution, giving the field one last shot at Pollard. No one has anything for him as he stretches out his lead in the last 10 laps for the victory.

Daniel Keene Jr. finished third behind Pollard and Good. (photo Rodney Meyering / RSEN)

The finishing order goes like this:

1 26 Bubba Pollard
2 27 Bobby Good
3 5 Daniel Keene
4 57 Chad Pierce
5 129 Spencer Davis
6 5 Joe Boyd
7 81 Anthony Campi
8 12 Derek Griffith
9 20 Anthony Sergi
10 51 Stephen Nasse
11 101 Clay Jones
12 56 Gus Dean
13 9 Rich Clouser
14 51 Michael Atwell
15 11 David Rogers
16 12 David Green
17 54 Matthew Craig
18 2 Joey Coulter
19 5 Jerry Artuso
20 24 Kevyn Terry
21 00 Anthony Cataldi
22 26 Travis Cope
23 2 Bradley Bowman
24 57 Michael Lira

Spencer Davis (129) and Larry Blount (photo Rodney Meyering / RSEN)

Bubba in the circle (photo Rodney Meyering / RSEN)

Chad Pierce (57) here is ahead of Richard Clouser. Pierce finished 4th behind Pollard, Good and Keene Jr. while Clouser finished 13th. (photo Rodney Meyering / RSEN)

Bubba crosses and takes the checkered (photo Rodney Meyering / RSEN)

Joe Boyd (5) down on the inside of Anthony Campi. Boyd gets by Campi to 6th and Campi 7th. (photo Rodney Meyering / RSEN)

Jerry Artuso’s #5 looked sharp but could only manage a 19th place finish.  On the high side is Joey Coulter who placed 18th.  (photo Rodney Meyering / RSEN)