Larry Pollard (born 5 May 1954) is a former Canadian

NASCAR Busch Grand National Series The NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS) is a stock car racing series organized by NASCAR. It is promoted as NASCAR's second-tier circuit to the organization's top level Cup Series. NXS events are frequently held as a support race on the day prior to ...

driver. During his career, Pollard was the crew chief for NASCAR drivers

Richard Petty Richard Lee Petty (born July 2, 1937), nicknamed "The King", is an American former stock car racing driver who raced from 1958 to 1992 in the former NASCAR Grand National and Winston Cup Series (now called the NASCAR Cup Series), most notab ...

and

Phil Parsons Phillip Parsons (born June 21, 1957) is an American former professional stock car racing driver, team owner, and current analyst for FOX NASCAR. He is the younger brother of the 1973 Winston Cup champion and former NBC/TNT commentator Benny Pars ...

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.

Early life

Pollard was born on 5 May 1954 in

Victoria, British Columbia Victoria is the capital city of the Canadian province of British Columbia, on the southern tip of Vancouver Island off Canada's Pacific coast. The city has a population of 91,867, and the Greater Victoria area has a population of 397,237. T ...

Career

Pollard began his racing career as a

stock car racer Stock car racing is a form of automobile racing run on oval tracks and road courses measuring approximately . It originally used production-model cars, hence the name "stock car", but is now run using cars specifically built for racing. It ori ...

in Victoria during the 1970s. At the beginning of the 1980s, Pollard became a

NASCAR The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. The privately owned company was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1948, and h ...

pit crew member in the

Winston West Series The ARCA Menards Series West, formerly the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West, NASCAR AutoZone West Series, NASCAR Winston West Series and NASCAR Camping World West Series, is a regional stock car racing series owned and operated by the Automobile Raci ...

for driver Roy Smith. After two years with Smith, Pollard went to the

Busch Grand National Series The NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS) is a stock car racing series organized by NASCAR. It is promoted as NASCAR's second-tier circuit to the organization's top level Cup Series. NXS events are frequently held as a support race on the day prior to a ...

and continued his pit crew career for

Ricky Rudd Richard Lee Rudd (born September 12, 1956), nicknamed "The Rooster", is an American former racing driver. He is the uncle of actor Skeet Ulrich and former NASCAR Busch Series driver Jason Rudd. He retired in 2007 with 23 career wins. He was na ...

in 1982. Between 1982 and 1984, Pollard was a pit crew chief for

before ending his crew chief career with

in 1985. 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 The 1987 NASCAR Winston Cup Series was the 39th season of professional stock car racing in the United States and the 16th modern-era cup series. The season began on February 8 and ended on November 22. Dale Earnhardt of Richard Childress Racing w ...

season. 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. At the 1988 Budweiser 200 at

Dover International Speedway Dover Motor Speedway (formerly Dover Downs International Speedway and later Dover International Speedway) is a race track in Dover, Delaware. The track has hosted at least one NASCAR Cup Series race each year since 1969, including two per year ...

, Pollard crashed into a wall during the 195th lap and acquired a

basilar skull fracture A basilar skull fracture is a break of a bone in the base of the skull. Symptoms may include bruising behind the ears, bruising around the eyes, or blood behind the ear drum. A cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) leak occurs in about 20% of cases and m ...

. After coming out of a coma, Pollard returned to racing during the

1989 NASCAR Busch Series The 1989 NASCAR Busch Series began February 18 and ended October 29. Rob Moroso of Moroso Racing won the championship. Races Goody's 300 The Goody's 300 was held on February 18 at Daytona International Speedway. Kenny Wallace won the pole. ...

. After Pollard's final Busch Series race in 1990, Pollard briefly drove in the

NASCAR AutoZone Elite Division, Southeast Series The NASCAR AutoZone Elite Division, Southeast Series was a NASCAR-sanctioned amateur/semi-pro late model stock car racing series based in the Southeastern United States The Southeastern United States, also referred to as the American Southe ...

during the early 1990s and the

Pro All Stars Series The Pro All Stars Series is a stock car racing governing body active in the United States of America and Canada. The series started in 2001 and now sanctions various series including North, South, and National Super Late Model tours and a New Eng ...

in the mid 2000s.

Awards and honours

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

Motorsports career results

NASCAR

(

key Key or The Key may refer to: Common meanings * Key (cryptography), a piece of information that controls the operation of a cryptography algorithm * Key (lock), device used to control access to places or facilities restricted by a lock * Key (ma ...

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

Winston Cup Series

ARCA Talladega SuperCar Series

(

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

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Pollard, Larry 1954 births ARCA Menards Series drivers NASCAR drivers Canadian motorsport people Living people Racing drivers from British Columbia Sportspeople from Victoria, British Columbia Canadian racing drivers