Billy Weatherman
Over the past few years we’ve been fortunate enough to have been able to peek behind the curtain of big time Late Model Stock racing. In many ways, it’s what you’ve been told on social media. But in many other ways, the sport is more complex than many will ever come to realize, much less understand. They say you gotta take the good with the bad, and that’s also true in the world of short track racing. Fortunately, I can say with a great deal of confidence that the good definitely outweighs the bad. But if I’m going to be completely honest, and I am, the bad is becoming more and more glaring. Let’s get into it as there are some things that need to be said. So, hear me out and let’s take a closer look beyond the spotlight.
Besides just reporting on short track racing in the central east coast area, we’ve also been doing some serious long term research on the sport itself from the building of the cars, structure of the teams, track management, and most importantly for us, driver development. We won’t do the deep dive on what we’ve learned here in this article as we are preparing to release a series of articles and dedicated podcast to the issue on the return of the Traction Control Podcast coming in early 2026. However, I found the 2025 ValleyStar Credit Union 300 to be an event that perfectly mirrors the current era of Late Model Stock racing. So let’s start with this. First of all, the stands at Martinsville Speedway should be packed every year for this event. And that fact is important enough for me, especially after this year’s event, to say that we will work harder on our part to do what we can to help make that happen. The Martinsville ValleyStar Credit Union 300 is too good an event, prestigious enough to see those stands packed with stock car racing fans. It truly does reach the status of epic, and as proof I put up the drivers own emotions before, during, and after this event. It means A LOT to them. I can’t stress that to you enough. I see how important the crown jewel races are to teams and drivers, and this one…you can feel the energy and emotions of these teams in the pits.
When those that spend their life in toil in a quest to follow their dreams, they put it all on the line. You can see what it means from the lines in their faces and the soil in their hands. It’s more than personal. But when you hear them talk about this race, it’s still different. Next level. Especially the veterans. Years in the sport have taught them tremendous respect for it. But that’s the word isn’t it. Respect. If you don’t have it, it’ll show. Especially here. How did that come to play out in this year’s ValleyStar Credit Union 300? Before we go any further, let’s take a closer look at the action on the track from this year’s culmination event in the Virginia Triple Crown.
THE VALLEYSTAR CREDIT UNION 300 FEATURE
After all of the heat races are complete, Carson Loftin and Lee Pulliam will lead the field to green. The start is less than ideal however as a stackup collects multiple cars before they even get a chance to see the start/finish line. Once the race does get going, it’s a showcase of fantastic Late Model Stock racing. Aggressive moves, side by side battles, and determination on full display. The aggression goes a little too far though come halfway as Tristan McKee makes contact with Sam Yarbrough’s right rear quarter, sending him into the outside frontstretch wall hard. Yarbrough and his team owners are none too happy as Yarbrough’s night comes to an abrupt end. Through all of the chaos, two drivers seem to be the cream of the crop: Landon Pembelton and Lee Pulliam. They battle elbow to elbow in the closing laps, with Pulliam gaining the advantage coming to the white. But the caution flies. Two laps to settle it all at Martinsville. Pembelton gives Pulliam a shot. Pulliam returns the favor as they come to the line side by side! By inches, Pembelton collects his second Grandfather Clock!
MY TAKE
WOW! What a race. So let’s get into it shall we? First of course we have to address the 2 ton elephant in the room. Tristan McKee. But to fully understand it, you have to understand 2 other words first – driver development. There are stages to that. Seemingly simple but quite complex. The future stars of the sport to a great extent are part of a program that is too deep to cover in this article so again, we have a series planned on it for the start of the 2026 season that we’ve been working on for the past few seasons. I mention it here because for good or bad, Tristan McKee has put himself in the spotlight of it. We have defended Tristan as we’ve watched him develop over the past few years because like it or not, no matter what you think of the kid, he is a tremendous talent with great natural abilities. That said, at Martinsville Speedway, concerning the altercation with Sam Yarbrough, there is no defense. As everyone knows, we believe in great hard nosed short track racing. It’s what sets stock car racing apart from every other premier auto racing genre. We believe the old adage that rubbing is racing. But there is a line. It’s clear and distinct and it’s been the red line as long as stock car racing has been around. You can rub, bang, push, and shove…all very acceptable in our book. But wrecking…that’s the line. And the epitome of the line is the right rear hook.
Unfortunately in this case, it was clear as day. And Sam Yarbrough, one of the cleanest and most respected drivers in all of Late Model racing was right rear hooked by one Tristan McKee. And worst of all, it looked like it was on purpose. We’re not going to say it was and we hope it wasn’t. But Tristan McKee’s explanation in our opinion just made it worse. As a matter of fact, we would have advised him that if it was the truth, that he was cleared by his spotter and just started moving down, we would have told him not to tell anyone. Truly. Because if he looked down the track as he tried to get to the low groove, he would have had to see Yarbrough’s rear quarter. If he didn’t…well, that sets off a whole other series of questions. Racing happens fast…really really fast. But a driver on that level has to be able to see at that pace. And I say that here because this one wasn’t even close. It would have been a lot different if it was. Now I’m not bashing on Tristan McKee. I think the kid has a VERY bright future in the sport. So let’s go back to those 2 words. Driver development. There are stages to it. And sometimes in that development you have to learn to balance showing you are the next big superstar, and understanding when you are not in a position to be aggressive. Knowing when to take a moment in a race and regroup your position is the difference between being fast and being a champion. And I’m just going to say it – having a tremendous respect for your sport and those in it, the enormity of it all, is the key to whether you figure that out.
From a fans point of view, and let’s face it, the fans do not always get the full view and that’s on guys like us to fill that gap, but from a fans point of view, what it looks like is a kid who’s paid his way in, running on daddy’s money with no respect for the sport and those around them. I truly don’t think that’s the case here but perspectives are important. But Sam Yarbrough said it best in an interview he gave on the incident when he said he’s done it too. But he also said rightly that there comes a time when you have to man up, and for McKee, with the spotlight on him now, it’s his time to rise to the occasion and learn to be a champion at the highest level, or get caught up as many do in learning to master the sport. It’s more than just speed and ability. It’s about learning to play high speed chess with your competitors.
But now that brings me to this. Driver development in this light is under the spotlight because of one thing – money. Now everyone knows that stock car racing is a money game. And truly, that’s nothing new. That said however, the price of running in this sport now has gotten to the point that the blue collar racer is slowly but surely being pushed out. The days of just beating your competition on a short track on Saturday leading to a career of racing on Sunday is all but over. There are a myriad of reasons including the death of the car culture so many of the people my age grew up in. Today, the cars on the street all look alike. And so it’s not quite that simple, but it’s also the reason that race cars are now spec cars essentially. They’re all basically the same car. It’s again much more complex to go all into it here, but to gain an advantage now it in many ways comes down to money. Everybody knows it and the sport has been weighing how to cut costs for a long time now. But I’m telling you here and now, that’s got to change. It has to be curtailed. The sport should not have to look and depend on the grace of sponsorship to survive.
And here’s my proof. In the end, the 2025 ValleyStar Credit Union 300 came down to an epic battle. And for all of you young drivers, you should take a good hard look at it. Lee Pulliam and Landon Pembelton did everything I mentioned above. They rubbed, banged, pushed and shoved each other to get in position to win. But they didn’t wreck. They used every bit of their knowledge and skill to do it and it was nothing short of epic. That was short track racing at it’s best. They took each other to the limit. They were able to do so not just because of their talent and skill, but because of their understanding of the game and the respect they had for one another. But it almost didn’t happen. Lee Pulliam, a champion in this sport…a man that has a section of seating dedicated to him at South Boston for all he has accomplished, can’t run in this sport full time competitively. Not because of his abilities but because the monetary cost is too high. Let that set in for a moment. One of the absolute best in short track racing is not able to compete himself and be able to take care of his family how he needs to. Not gonna lie, that hurts my heart. And if you care about this sport and it’s future, that should hurt yours too.
On the other side of the coin, young Michael Bumgarner made his first ValleyStar Credit Union 300 start. He is the 2 time and defending Hickory Motor Speedway champion, breaking the Late Model Stock season win record this year. He came into the race to prove to himself, his team, and the short track racing world that his 2 championships weren’t a fluke as many have said because they claim he hasn’t raced against the best. But he came into this race, to many a virtual unknown, and proved that he not only belonged, that he is a true contender even in a race of this magnitude. Why haven’t you seen him race outside of his home track at Hickory Motor Speedway? Because thus far, running a series like the CARS Tour where the best of the best prove themselves worthy of the highest levels in the sport is out of his monetary reach. Blue collar racer, third generation driver, defending home track champion…can’t afford the cost of racing against the very best all year because of cost. So the question lingers… are we truly watching the best? Is the sport truly able to put the very best drivers in position to show it? Ok, I’ll just put the question bluntly – Are we watching the very best or just a bunch of paid actors who know how to smile for the camera and give a great scripted answer to all the media’s questions while the real talent stands just beyond the spotlight? But the ultimate truth is that the sport as far as short track racing is concerned is in an amazing spot on the crossroads, and the 2025 ValleyStar Credit Union 300 threw a great spotlight on it. Where we go from here will determine how bright that light will glow, or whether as many things do, whether that spotlight is at it’s peak before it starts to dim. One thing is for sure is that if the sport has a path for drivers like Lee Pulliam and Michael Bumgarner, it’ll shine much brighter. Finally, congratulations to Landon Pembelton and the #0 team on an amazing run and the huge win that puts them in the upper echelon of the ValleyStar Credit Union 300 record books, and until next time, See You At The Track!
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