On Saturday (March 30) at Richmond Raceway, everything seemed to be coming up Bubba Pollard at first … at least in the lone NASCAR Xfinity Series practice early that morning.
Pollard topped the charts then and subsequently, immediately qualified dead last of those that made an attempt at a lap. He started next to last, but methodically clicked off laps (and passes) en route to finishing sixth.
The 37-year-old late model veteran’s Xfinity debut came with JR Motorsports in the team’s No. 88 Chevrolet Camaro, and Pollard finished better than the team’s four full-time drivers.
Pollard said after the race he was looking to get back again in the Xfinity car soon, with Iowa Speedway being one possibility.
Frontstretch caught up with Pollard in the No. 9 JR Motorsports hauler prior to the race that Saturday. He talked about how the deal to drive for Dale Earnhardt Jr. came together, his outlook for the race and how he’d adapted to the cars of NASCAR’s secondary series. You can watch or read the full interview below.
Adam Cheek, Frontstretch: You’re about to make your Xfinity Series debut. What are the thoughts going through your head right now?
Bubba Pollard: Just excited. Hopefully, I don’t make any mistakes like I did in qualifying. For the most part, it’s all been good. We’re really excited, everyone at JR [Motorsports] has given me a great car to go out and showcase and see what we’ve got.
Cheek: You were fastest in practice, and there was some fall-off there in qualifying. What did you learn the most from those first impressions?
Pollard: Yeah, the first laps I had on the track [were] during practice, and really the first time we had all sticker tires on qualifying trim. It was just a bit different than what I anticipated and what I expected. I made some pretty good mistakes there that cost us a lot of time.
At the end of the day, we just gotta go out there and execute for the race. I gotta do my job and do a better job than I did in qualifying, so hopefully we can do that and make it happen.
Cheek: You have so much experience in super late models — wins in the triple digits, so many accolades. Did Richmond, being a short track, help you at all in preparation?
Pollard: It’s hard. I think the cars are going to be different than what I’m accustomed to. Plus, the tire — they warn you about falloff. But man, it really…
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