Larry Pollard

Larry Pollard (born 5 May 1954) is a former Canadian NASCAR Busch Grand National Series driver. During his career, Pollard was the crew chief for NASCAR drivers Richard Petty and Phil Parsons during the 1980s before starting his Busch Series racing career in 1985. As a racecar driver, Pollard became the first non-American driver to win a Busch Grand National event after his win during the 1987 Busch 200 at Langley Speedway. Pollard was inducted into the Victoria Auto Racing Hall of Fame in 2003.

Larry Pollard
Born (1954-05-05) May 5, 1954
Victoria, British Columbia
NASCAR Cup Series career
4 races run over 1 year
Best finish107th (1987)
First race1987 Budweiser 500 (Dover)
Last race1987 Holly Farms 400 (North Wilkesboro)
Wins Top tens Poles
0 0 0
NASCAR Xfinity Series career
98 races run over 6 years
Best finish9th (1985)
First race1985 Mountain Dew 400 (Hickory)
Last race1990 AC-Delco 200 (Rockingham)
First win1987 Busch 200 (Langley)
Wins Top tens Poles
1 38 0

Early life

Pollard was born on 5 May 1954 in Victoria, British Columbia.[1]

Career

Pollard began his racing career as a stock car racer in Victoria during the 1970s. At the beginning of the 1980s, Pollard became a NASCAR pit crew member in the Winston West Series for driver Roy Smith.[2] After two years with Smith, Pollard went to the Busch Grand National Series and continued his pit crew career for Ricky Rudd in 1982.[3] Between 1982 and 1984, Pollard was a pit crew chief for Richard Petty before ending his crew chief career with Phil Parsons in 1985.[4]

As a NASCAR driver, Pollard competed in the Busch Grand National Series from 1985 to 1990 while appearing in four races during the 1987 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season.[1] While in the Busch Series, he won the 1987 Busch 200 at Langley Speedway and became the first non-American driver to win a Busch Series event.[5][4] At the 1988 Budweiser 200 at Dover International Speedway, Pollard crashed into a wall during the 195th lap and acquired a basilar skull fracture.[6] After coming out of a coma, Pollard returned to racing during the 1989 NASCAR Busch Series.[4][7] After Pollard's final Busch Series race in 1990, Pollard briefly drove in the NASCAR AutoZone Elite Division, Southeast Series during the early 1990s and the Pro All Stars Series in the mid 2000s.[1][8]

Awards and honours

In 2003, Pollard was inducted into the Victoria Auto Racing Hall of Fame.[2]

Motorsports career results

NASCAR

(key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)

Winston Cup Series
NASCAR Winston Cup Series results
Year Team No. Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 NWCC Pts Ref
1987 Hamby Racing 12 Chevy DAY CAR RCH ATL DAR NWS BRI MAR TAL CLT DOV
16		 POC RSD MCH DAY
27		 POC TAL GLN MCH BRI DAR NWS
23		 CLT CAR RSD ATL 107th - [9]
Olds RCH
13		 DOV MAR

ARCA Talladega SuperCar Series

(key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)

ARCA Talladega SuperCar Series results
Year Team No. Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 ATSCSC Pts Ref
1985 98 Chevy ATL DAY ATL TAL ATL SSP IRP CSP FRS IRP
22		 OEF ISF DSF TOL 118th - [10]

References
  1. "Larry Pollard". Racing Reference. Retrieved 17 March 2019.
  2. "Larry Pollard 2003 Inductee". Victoria Auto Racing Hall of Fame and Museum. Retrieved 17 March 2019.
  3. Fedoruk, Ernie (18 January 1982). "Pollard heading for stock cars' big league". Times Colonist. p. 14.
  4. Dheensaw, Cleve (30 July 1995). "Racing runs in Pollards' blood - Victoria's first family of auto". Times Colonist. p. 1.
  5. "1987 NASCAR Busch Grand National Results". ESPN. Retrieved 18 March 2019.
  6. "Victoria driver 'stable' after crash". Vancouver Sun. 6 June 1988. p. D6.
  7. Lang, Stew (24 December 1989). "Pollard is prepared for bright comeback". Times Colonist. p. E3.
  8. "Larry Pollard". Driver Database. Retrieved 17 March 2019.
  9. "Larry Pollard – 1987 NASCAR Winston Cup Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved 18 March 2019.
  10. "Larry Pollard – 1985 ARCA Talladega SuperCar Series Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved 18 March 2019.
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