There will be a new driver to add to the JR Motorsports Late Model legacy this season, and he’s a giant of the sport.

Championship-winning driver and team owner Lee Pulliam will team with JRM later this month for the 25th annual Solid Rock Carriers Thanksgiving Classic at North Carolina’s Southern National Motorsports Park (Nov. 25-28) behind the wheel of the No. 88 Chevrolet in the marquee event.

Team owner Dale Earnhardt Jr. was excited for the pairing with Pulliam for a number of reasons.

“Having Lee Pulliam in our car for the Thanksgiving Classic is special for me and our team,” he said. “He is one of the best drivers and team owners in the sport. His battles with our own Josh Berry years ago were epic. To see him return to Martinsville this fall and nearly win was incredible. I can’t wait to see him in our Chevrolet at Southern National.”

Pulliam has a long history in the sport as a driver, winning four NASCAR Whelen All-American Series Division I national championships and a pair of ValleyStar Credit Union 300 wins at Martinsville as a driver, among many other accolades. He is also a title-winning team owner in both NASCAR and CARS Tour Late Model competition.

“It really means more than most people will know,” Pulliam said. “I grew up being a huge Earnhardt fan, going to the track and racing with a very low budget like the Earnhardt family started with back in the day. To now drive for someone that I looked up to as a role model and hero of mine, it’s pretty special. To get the call from Dale and put it together with what I feel like is going to be one of the best combinations in racing, I’m really looking forward to and am excited about that.”

The combination of Pulliam and JRM Late Model team manager/crew chief Bryan Shaffer will be tough to beat. Shaffer has overseen Josh Berry’s 2020 NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Series national championship, all four of JRM’s CARS Tour LMSC titles and a pair of victories in the ValleyStar Credit Union 300 (Berry in 2019 and Carson Kvapil in 2024).

“Bryan is one heck of a crew chief,” Pulliam said of Shaffer. “We’ve gotten to know each other well over the years, have raced against each other and become friends. Bryan has helped us out numerous times at the track and he always knows if he needs something, he can come to us and get it too. To race with him is definitely going to be bucket-list material. I think he has one of the sharpest minds in the business and I am looking forward to working with him to get this dialed in so we can go to Victory Lane.”

The annual Thanksgiving Classic at SNMP is one of the biggest races in the South and is usually the traditional end of the racing season. It draws a loaded field every season, and Pulliam knows it’s going to be a tough run.

“It’ll be some of the best competition around and the track is pretty demanding on tires,” he said. “There’s definitely some strategy involved, when you’re going to take tires, when you’re going to take fuel, so different people will be on different strategies. The good thing for me is, I have someone sharp like Bryan that is going to take care of all that so all I have to do is my job behind the wheel. I think that tire management and getting cautions at the right time is definitely going to be a big part of having success.”

Pulliam has been focused on his business and being a team owner and car builder, and thus has not had much time to race himself. He made the main event at Martinsville in September and had a shot to win, but fell just short. He wanted another chance this season to taste Victory Lane.

“I’ve told Dale, you have a guy who has gone a long time without being able to drive, so he’s got someone who is as hungry as a rookie but has the wisdom of a veteran,” Pulliam said. “I think that with Bryan’s setups and race cars and my ability to put the car in the right place at the right time and being as hungry as ever to be successful, it makes a scary combination. We’ll be going down there to have a good time and have fun, and the best way to do that is to wind up in Victory Lane.”

In the end, it was the chance to race with the Earnhardts, JRM and Shaffer that appealed to Pulliam.

“I got to run Martinsville earlier this year and that was the fourth race I’ve run in six years,” he said. “I came about 15 seconds from bringing home another grandfather clock. That was special. Dale and Kelley and L.W. Miller saw the passion in me and how much it means to be able to do something like that and I am not taking for granted this opportunity to drive this race car for them. It’s something I’m looking forward to, and it’s something I’ve wanted to do my entire career. I am very excited to get this opportunity.”