Lee Pulliam Makes Late-Race Charge To Win At Myrtle Beach Speedway
by Hunter Thomas March 19, 2017 0 commentsMYRTLE BEACH, S.C. – Lee Pulliam made a late-race charge on Saturday in the Performance Plus 300 presented by Safety-Kleen to earn his second win of the year at Myrtle Beach Speedway.
Back in February, Pulliam won the IceBreaker at the speedway, but on Saturday, he waited late in the race to make his move towards the front of the pack. Pulliam started fourth and raced around 10th for the first half of the race. On lap 52, the Virginia native completed the pass for third, and four laps later, he was running second. Pulliam passed local competitor, Sam Yarbrough for the race lead with just eight laps remaining.
“I saw that the 20 car (Sam Yarbrough) was really startin’ to distance his self from the field, and I didn’t want to go that early, but I felt like he was doing a smart job if the thing went caution free, and it worked out for me,” Pulliam said. “I was able to just get to him in time, and I just passed with about 6 to go. What a race, you know, for the fans! The last two have been exciting down here and another great show.”
The 75-lap feature went caution free, so once Pulliam got around Yarbrough for the lead, he never looked back and went on to win the Performance Plus 300 presented by Safety-Kleen. After the race, he explained how a driver decides on when to make the move towards the front of the pack, when saving tires.
“That’s part of being a driver,” said Pulliam about when to make a charge to the front of the pack. “It’s just instinct. No race ever plays out the same. People ask me all of the time, ‘When are you going to go? How long are you going to ride? What lap are you going to take?’. It changes every race. If you do the same thing every time, I guarantee that you’re not going to win a lot of race.”
Sam Yarbrough started the race in the second position. Yarbrough and his teammate, Chad McCumbee battled each other all afternoon at the front of the field. In the closing laps, Yarbrough just wasn’t able to hold off Pulliam, and he had to settle for a runner-up finish.
Pole-sitter, Brian Vause, had a solid day at the track. He ran up front all race long, and he was able to capture a solid third-place finish. Justin Milliken and Jeremy McDowell rounded out the top-five.
Completing the top-10 was Lucas Williams, Jerry Miracle, Matt Cox, Haley Moody and TJ Barron.
Clay Thomas won the Super Truck feature on Saturday afternoon, while William Haynie won the Charger feature and Willie Fulford won the Mini Stock race. Timmy Solomito won the 150-lap NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour Performance Plus presented by Safety-Kleen 150. For a recap of the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour season-opener, click here: Solomito Charges Late For Myrtle Beach Win
The NASCAR Whelen All-American Series will be back in action again at Myrtle Beach Speedway on Saturday, April 1 for “Autism Awareness Night”.
NASCAR Whelen All-American Series Results:
1.) #5 Lee Pulliam
2.) #20 Sam Yarbrough
3.) #30 Brian Vause
4.) #02 Justin Milliken
5.) #83 Jeremy McDowell
6.) #11 Lucas Williams
7.) #32 Jerry Miracle
8.) #51 Matt Cox
9.) #50 Haley Moody
10.) #44 TJ Barron
11.) #8 Tyler Hughes
12.) #9 Luke Sorrow
13.) #46 Thad Moffitt
14.) #5E Tyler English
15.) #63 Chris Throckmorton
16.) #71 Robbie Mew
17.) #15 Ed Williams
18.) #95 Chad McCumbee
19.) #94 Jamie Weatherford
20.) #3 Jackie Ward
21.) #26 Jason Calhoun
22.) #18 David Roberts
23.) #17 Bryant Barnhill
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