Thursday’s ASA STARS National Tour race at Hickory Motor Speedway was indeed special. All the eyes were on 2020 NASCAR Cup Series champion Chase Elliott as he took time out of his NASCAR schedule and featured at the ‘World’s Most Famous Short Track.’ Well, the HMS star did live up to his billing and was in contention to win the race, but Colby Howard had other ideas, and he was successful in holding out the challenge by Elliott with 40 laps to go, snagging the win.
This was the third win for Howard this season, and it was indeed a special win, beating a NASCAR driver from Hendrick Motorsports. Yet, there was another story brewing in the background, and it was about another short-track legend, Bubba Pollard. The 38-year-old is the most successful active super late model driver, yet he hasn’t been able to hit his stride this year, and his fans feel that this is because of his new partnership with VanDoorn Racing Development, a Michigan-based chassis builder.
Unlike Howard or Cole Butcher, Bubba Pollard didn’t have the speed, and he was trying to play catch-up to the front runners. And his partnership with VanDroon Racing has become a hot topic. The driver was not happy with the way his car performed. Speaking to Matt Weaver after the race, he stated. “Just behind all weekend, and started the race here, and the throttle was tight. Throttle tight throughout qualifying. Mam, I just need a little lateral on entry, get something to lean on. Get my arc right off the corner. I had to hit it just right to get it, and I couldn’t hit it every lap. I was on edge, just a little bit lateral and throttle tight. This place is tough, you try to find a little balance of drive, grip, lateral, everything above. It is tough.”
As it turns out, this is not the first time Pollard has been running VanDroon equipment. During the Rattler 250 campaign, his car had engine issues, which ultimately saw him get mired in wrecks in crashes, and the team had to park the car, resulting in a 19th-place finish. The streak of bad luck didn’t stop there. The following week, he returned with the same equipment, this time at ASA Stars Sunshine State 200 at Five Flags Speedway, and the story was the same.
Bubba Pollard, all-in with a VanDoorn Race Cars chassis now on his ASA Hickory top-five and what it’s like to be the chaser these days pic.twitter.com/VoO3YYoIZA
— Matt Weaver (@MattWeaverRA) May 23, 2025
Pollard experienced issues behind the wheel once again, and many believed that the car already had ignition issues early on in the race. The driver was forced to hit the pit road and resolve the issue. Although they tackled the technical difficulty, Pollard could only manage ninth-place finish, and this was VanDoorn cars first top ten. So, the switch from Senneker Race Car machines to VanDoorn seems to be the pain point right now for Pollard, and only time will tell how quickly they can resolve this.
Despite the string of poor results and malfunctions, Bubba Pollard seems invested in this partnership, and it is likely to continue moving forward.
Bubba Pollard is committed to VanDoorn
Last year, Bubba Pollard wasn’t just racing in late models. He made a switch to the big leagues in the NASCAR Xfinity Series. He ran two races, one with JRM and another with Sam Hunt Racing. Although the race at Martinsville didn’t turn out great, Pollard was able to flex his short-track racing prowess at Richmond with a P6 finish. It was a good year overall, where he also won the Ratler 250 for the third time in his career.
But fast forward to 2025, he isn’t contending for the wins, and the question on everyone’s mind is how long this partnership will continue with VanDoorn? And Bubba Pollard has cleared the air surrounding this equation. “I’m committed to VanDoorn, a hundred percent, all year from now on. So we’re gonna be it together until the end and we’ll figure it out. We may change some things along the way to get better. We’re kinda getting the feel of the car that I’m looking for, and we just haven’t found out yet, but we’ll get it.”
It will be interesting to see how the rest of the year turns out for Bubba Pollard, with him placing his trust and faith in VanDroon.
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