One of the greats in the history of Late Model Stock Car racing will be back behind the wheel of a race car in pursuit of another iconic Grandfather Clock at Martinsville Speedway in the ValleyStar Credit Union 300 on Saturday, September 27. 

Lee Pulliam will strap into a race car at Martinsville for the second year in a row, and he’ll do so behind the wheel of a wrap that is identical to the No. 1 car that he drove to his first victory at the historic paperclip back in 2011. It will be Pulliam’s first start since finishing 13th at Martinsville last year, and just his third start anywhere in the last six years.

Last year, Pulliam returned to race at Martinsville as a promise to his father, Stuart, who dealt with a health scare earlier in the year. The four-time NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series national champion told his father that if he found a way to pull through, Pulliam would go race at Martinsville one more time. 

This year there are no health scares. Stuart has been at the track working with Lee’s Lee Pulliam Performance teams on the CARS Tour more often than he hasn’t as Doug Barnes Jr. and Lanie Buice each try to chase their first victories.

So why is Pulliam returning again this year? To put it simply, last year wasn’t good enough. Finishing 13th wasn’t good enough. He wants more. He wants another shot.

“I’ve raced three times in the last six years. Most people would think you’re crazy to hang your head about leading a lap in your heat race and running top 10 for most of the race,” Pulliam told FloRacing. “I probably set unrealistic expectations at times, but I feel like I can definitely perform better than what we ended the race at last year.”

Pulliam did indeed spend much of the race inside the top 10 before fading a little in the second half of the race and ultimately finishing 13th. It wasn’t the return to the seat that he envisioned.

But while the result on the track wasn’t what he had envisioned, the response from the race fans and his competitors alike was more than he ever could have hoped for. Prior to driver introductions, Pulliam held an impromptu autograph session at the side of the stage as hundreds of fans came by eager to tell him what seeing him race once again had meant to them.

“That meant a lot,” Pulliam said. “I think when I raced full-time I took a lot of things for granted, as all drivers do. You just keep thinking about the next race, and the race after that. But sometimes, the last race sneaks up on you and you don’t even realize it in the moment. The end result of 13th wasn’t what we wanted, but at the end of the day the experience, the gratitude, the emotion, everything went above and beyond what I could ever ask for.”

That’s part of the reason why Pulliam is choosing to run a throwback scheme to his No. 1 car from when he first won at Martinsville in 2011. Seeing that scheme reminds him of the struggles he and his small team overcame to triumph over the goliaths of the sport at the time. And he knows that his fans who have been there since the beginning will love to see this car at Martinsville at least one more time.

“I just think it brings back a lot of memories from my beginning days,” Pulliam explained. “We’ve come a long way. We didn’t have the money to go racing. So to be at where we are now is pretty amazing. I’ve been blessed a lot. I feel like it’ll pay a little respect to my old school fans in the stands and my team that I won that race with in 2011, and it’ll bring back memories for me too. I was so privileged to drive the 5 machine for Mr. Kiker for so many years, but I also don’t want to forget the beginning when we were struggling with funds and barely making it to the race track. I wouldn’t be there without Carolina Drilling, Best Repair Company, Folsom Fence Supply, and I owe a big thanks to Mincey’s Graphics for doing the wrap on the car too.”

Just like last year, Pulliam will have to balance the emotions of getting his car perfect so he can chase a third clock, while also making sure his team car, driven by Doug Barnes Jr., can be as good as it can be for Barnes to chase his first clock. 

“That’s a difficult balance, and any car owner with multiple cars will tell you the same thing. But I feel like Doug has some good momentum coming in off South Boston. The end of the race didn’t work out, but I feel like he ran up front and competed with the best guys for the win. I feel like that’s going to help us coming into this race. Me and him were texting last night and I said, ‘If we run one-two I’ll be the happiest guy on earth next week.’ It’ll be a lot of effort going into both cars. I want to see him run well. When someone runs a full season with you, you give them everything you’ve got. It costs a lot of money to do this and we don’t take for granted the opportunity and trust that these drivers put into us.”

The other aspect Pulliam has to balance is still finding a way to wear his “Dad” hat to his daughter, Brantley, who is only getting to see and understand her father racing for the second time in her young life. 

“She was a little nervous at first last year, of course. But at the end of the day it was fun for her. She’ll be a little nervous next week too. She’s Daddy’s girl. But for me, it is very special to be out on that race track. Everyone knows that’s where my passion is. All I wanted to do was drive race cars for a living. I want her to see that side of Daddy too, and to know that no matter what, you always give 110-percent effort. You always appreciate those moments and never take things for granted, and I just hope she’s learning some things while watching me out on the race track.”

The question that Pulliam knows everyone is most likely going to ask him this weekend is, “Is this it? Is this your last race?”

The short answer to that question is “hopefully not,” but Pulliam admits there’s a chance it could be.

“The young Lee Pulliam would say that I’d get back in a car full-time at some point in my career. But it costs so much money to race now, and it’s tough to find the funds to do it competitively. In some aspect, I hope I can do it all again, and race every week and get back to where I’m a threat to win on a weekly basis at some point in my career. Philip Morris was very competitive at 50 years old. I’m 37. I still can get it done now. It’s hard to do on a one-off. At some point I would like to run a season again. I don’t know where that will come. It might be five years from now. It might be 10 years from now. But I plan on staying in shape enough to do it again and just have a good time. I’d like to get as many of my old crew members back as possible and just have a good time.

“But maybe it is my last one too, on the other hand,” Pulliam said. “I never thought I’d go six years and only run three races. So to answer that is so hard. I hope it’s not the end, I guess. But you never never seem to know when your last race is. I’m just going to enjoy it for what it is. But in my heart and my wishes, I think I’ve got another couple of years racing at some point.”

Race fans can watch Lee Pulliam chase a third grandfather clock in the ValleyStar Credit Union 300 at Martinsville Speedway live on FloRacing September 26-27. Fans can subscribe to FloRacing by clicking here.