Press Release about Jeff Pollard

[NickHolt]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

 

Jeff Pollard Race Preview

At Houston Motor Speedway, Saturday, Sept. 6

 

The Checkered Flag: Houston resident Jeff Pollard, who runs in the Texas Super Race Series (TSRS), will run in this weekend’s TSRS race at Houston Motor Speedway. Jeff is in 3rd place in the TSRS Points Standings. He has 510 points and trails points-leader Ronnie New (545) by 35 points going into Saturday’s race.

 

The 2003 TSRS season to date for Jeff “J.P.” Pollard:

7 Starts

2 Feature Wins (@ Thunder Hill Raceway, 4/5/03; at Houston Motor Speedway, 7/26/03)

2 Pole Positions

5 Top-5 finishes (out of seven feature races)

6 Top-10 finishes (out of seven feature races)

 

Q&A with Jeff “J.P.” Pollard

Q: How is the #17 Late Model? How is the driver?

A: The car is progressing well. The crew and I have really put in the overtime trying to get it ready and we definitely can see the light at the end of the tunnel. Right now, we intend to test on Friday before the race and – barring something unforeseen – we should be able to make that with no problem. The driver is mostly just tired. I’ve done a lot of work on the car and have not had much sleep.

 

Q: Is your team over the mishap from SAS? What is yours, and your team's, mindset going into this Saturday?

A: We really didn't know what to do with ourselves while the car was being clipped. This was the first time that we have come home from a race without a race car and that's not a great feeling. We've been pretty much nonstop on it since getting it back and we're all really excited about getting back to the race track. For some reason that I've never figured out, this sport has a lot to do with momentum. We were coming off a win heading to San Antonio and ended up running very well there before the crash (on lap 10), and that was very disappointing. We feel like we can swing things back in our direction and Saturday’s race will have a lot to do with that.

 

Q: You've said you don't feel like you have a "home track" advantage at HMS. Still, you must be looking forward to Saturday, especially since you won the last TSRS race at HMS.

A: We always really look forward to racing at home. The facility is without a doubt the nicest short track there is, and the Bakers are terrific people. Not having to travel definitely gives us an advantage, I think. We're with our families and in our own beds at night. Also, given that we are from Houston, a lot of our friends and family that don't normally get to see us race are able to attend, and that really fires the guys up. As a result, I think they work a little harder preparing a car for a race here. The track itself is short and pretty straightforward so guys that have never been to HMS can show up and be fast. In fact, at the last race here, the top 3 finishers were from three different cities and I was the only one from Houston (note: The top 3 finishers from the July 26th DC Eagle 75 were (1) Jeff Pollard of Houston; (2) Ronny New of Austin; (3) Beau Bukowski of San Antonio).

 

Q: Since there's only four races left in the TSRS season, is every race a must-finish-high in the race results?

A: Absolutely. We went from leading the points battle to a 35-point deficit in a single race. We can't afford to let that happen again. The last three races, The Triple Crown, will be especially grueling. The Triple Crown will feature three races of 100 laps or more in three different cities on three consecutive weekends. As competitive as this series is, I suspect that the points championship won't be decided until the checkers fall at the final race in San Antonio (at San Antonio Speedway on Oct. 11).

 

Q: How much fun are you having this year? How much fun has this season been for the team?

A: TSRS has, I think, exceeded everyone’s expectations. Mary Ann and H. E. Naumann have really tapped into something with this series. The quality of racing is fantastic and there are a number of very competitive teams. We're having an absolute blast and look forward to competing in the series for a long time.

 

Q: Which TSRS racers do you feel will present the biggest challenge at HMS this Saturday?

A: There are so many teams that can, on any given night win. Ronny New is, of course, fast where ever we go; Mike Yale (of Houston), Tommy Gural (of Austin), Todd McLemore (of Austin) and Brad Hudak (of Houston) are all fast. That's the neat thing about this series – on any given night there are 10 or more cars that can win.