It was an emotional weekend for Lee Pulliam, who made his debut in the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series driving the No. 9 Chevrolet for JR Motorsports at Martinsville.

The opportunity was a major milestone in his long journey to NASCAR.

JR Motorsports co-owner Dale Earnhardt Jr. stayed on the No. 9 pit box throughout the race, guiding Pulliam and urging him to focus on the experience rather than the mistakes that came along the way.

“Lee did a good job this weekend. I could sit here and talk about Lee for a good half hour. He worked extremely hard to be prepared, doing a lot of sim, working on his health, and being fit and all those things. I mean, he took this opportunity extremely personally and took it to heart,” said Earnhardt Jr.

He added that Pulliam is still relatively young and would do a really good job in a truck or an Xfinity car for any other program that would give him another opportunity, while also admitting that it would be difficult for JR Motorsports to run him more.

Pulliam also spoke to the media after the race, getting emotional about his journey to compete in the series and crediting the people who helped him reach this point.

“You know I’ve had some special moments here. I’ve had a long, hard journey to get to this spot, and it’s surreal, really. It's everything I could've dreamed of and more. A lot of hard work and a lot of good people that led to this spot," he concluded.

What Happened at Martinsville

The race did not go smoothly, as Pulliam was first penalized for an uncontrolled tire, which pushed him to the rear of the field.

The penalty dropped Pulliam to the rear, and from there he had to fight his way back through restarts just to get into contention again. For a moment, a second-place finish even looked possible.

Then it slipped. A missed shift reduced his momentum and set off a multi-car wreck, leaving the front end of his car badly damaged.

Still, he held on for fifth at Martinsville, a track where he’s already led nearly 200 laps, with two wins and nine top-five finishes.

Read more at the RFK Racing Digest!

Written by

Aaradhya Singh

Edited by

Pulkit Prabhav