Becoming Eddie Mercer: The Bubba Pollard Story

Every driver has their own legacy. Every driver has their own path. Sometimes drivers' paths cross and the similarities are so close it’s unbelievable. That's the case this season when we roll back into Pensacola for the 57th running of the Snowball Derby. A popular driver has the working resume of a local hero who did what he’s trying to do some 19 years back.

Bubba Pollard will suit up looking to win the Snowball Derby once again. Arguably one of the best drivers of his generation, if not of all time. Pollard will be starting in his 17th Snowball Derby come December 8th.

“Time sneaks up on you a bit,” said Pollard. “We have done some different things this year and it’s been fun to try our hand in the NASCAR ranks at Martinsville and Richmond this year. However, this time of year, all we are thinking about is the Snowball.”

A win in his 17th start would tie him for the most starts before a first win in the history of the great race. That driver is "Fast" Eddie Mercer who won in his 17th try back in 2005. Mercer, much like Pollard, was hard to beat at the Pensacola track.

In a way you could say Bubba Pollard has become Eddie Mercer. A Five Flags racer, who is a multi-time winner at the half-mile. Several strong runs in the Derby, but no victory cigar to show for it.

Pollard won his 25th Deep South Cranes Blizzard Series event earlier in the year, the most of all time by a wide margin. Very much the same as Eddie Mercer who had nearly 50 wins at the track over three decades in weekly action.

“We just want to win the race,” added Pollard. “If we do it this year and we match Eddie then it’s a cool story with the numbers and knowing how long he had to wait. All we can do is try our hardest this year and hope we are there at sundown on Sunday. It takes a lot of effort to be the best and that's what everyone is chasing.”

One other thing that ties into this is what happened at the Oxford 250 in August. Bubba Pollard charged to the front and met up with Jeff Taylor who was leading the race he’s been trying to win for 20-plus years. Taylor beat Pollard for the win and after the race Pollard was happy for Taylor, he had a rare smile for a second-place finisher. Perhaps at that moment, Pollard understood something about waiting for that big win that could aid him next month.

-Five Flags Speedway Release
-Photo credit: Will Bellamy, Racing America