When Stuart Pulliam had a health scare over the winter, Lee Pulliam, one of the best to ever pilot a Late Model Stock Car, made a deal with his father. “If you get better, we’ll go race for another clock.” His father pulled through, and now the younger Pulliam is upholding his side of the bargain.

On Tuesday this week, Lee got to surprise Stuart with the news.

“Dad, we’re gonna go race for it this year,” a teary-eyed Lee Pulliam told his father. “I can’t wait to do it one more time.”

“Man, that’s just unreal,” Stuart replied after a few seconds of silence. “I wasn’t going to hold him to anything. Lord, that’s a shock right there. I wasn’t expecting that. That will be really great. I think he can win a third clock.”

It’s been nearly four years since Lee Pulliam, one of the best to ever pilot a Late Model Stock Car, ran a race. It’s been five years since Pulliam raced on a consistent basis. But on September 28, Lee Pulliam will be back behind the wheel in pursuit of a third Grandfather Clock at Martinsville Speedway.

The four-time NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series national champion and two-time ValleyStar Credit Union 300 champion will be piloting the Best Repair Company and Folsom Fence Supply No. 03 Toyota that is normally driven by Brenden “Butterbean” Queen with the CARS Tour while Queen is at Kansas Speedway making his third NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series start.

Pulliam explained that he initially was planning on running a third car out of the Lee Pulliam Performance stable, but Queen’s Kansas start changed those plans.

“I had told John (Staton, owner of Best Repair Company) and Butterbean at the start of the year that I will crew chief every race for you except Martinsville,” Pulliam said. “I made a promise to Dad that I was going to go race. Butterbean got the opportunity to go to Kansas, so John and him pulled me to the side after Ace (in May) and surprised me and said ‘we don’t have to go look for sponsorship. We want you to drive the 03 car.’ I’m just honored to do it. John and Lori and Hunter and Ashley have been so good to all of us and they’re like a part of my family. It’s going to be a really proud moment for me.”

It's also special for Queen, to have someone that he looks up to race his car, and his car number, in his place.

“When I signed my Kansas race and realized I wouldn’t be able to chase a clock, I knew there was only one person I’d want in my 03,” said Queen. “Lee was the best I ever raced against, and more importantly has become like a brother to me. He has done so much in such a short time to help further my career, and I could never repay him enough.”

Queen said his plan is to fly back following Friday night’s race in Kansas and be at Martinsville on Saturday to cheer on Pulliam, but also help out the race team in any way possible.

Pulliam, now 36, has not raced in nearly four years. He stepped out of the driver’s seat in the prime of his career to focus on his driver development team, Lee Pulliam Performance, to better provide for his wife and daughter. 

There’s no doubting Pulliam when he says he doesn’t regret his decision, but he admitted that he still misses driving. 

“As a race car driver, I feel like when I got out from behind the wheel I was in my prime and winning races every week,” he said. “It’s hard to walk away from something when you’re really good at it. I just always enjoyed it. And I enjoy this side of it too. Not many people get to work in their passion. I do.”

But now he gets to race again. Will it be just this one time? Probably, yes. And that’s why Pulliam, who was always known for his hard-nosed racing style, will do whatever it takes to bring home a third Grandfather Clock from Martinsville Speedway.

I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to do it again,” Pulliam said. “I’ll definitely be approaching it as a “do whatever it takes to win” and work really hard. I know it’s not going to be easy. I’ve been out of the seat for basically five years. But I know I will not give up until the checkered flag falls. If I win the race or if I miss the field, I know that I’m going to leave it all on the line. I feel like as good as I was around that place, it’s going to be fun and it should be a good show for the fans, because I’m planning to leave it all on the race track for sure.”

Whether it is or isn’t Pulliam’s last race, and whether he leaves with a clock or empty handed, Pulliam said there’s no doubt in his mind he’s going to enjoy every second of the weekend of September 27th and 28th in Martinsville, Virginia more than he ever has.

“I always tell people that I was so focused on just winning races that I never really enjoyed a lot of my wins,” Pulliam explained. “I had fun. I enjoyed victory lane. But then my focus was immediately on the next race. So doing a one-off like this, I think I’m going to enjoy the whole weekend more. I’m going to enjoy every moment. The driver’s meeting. The getting up early to be there to roll through the tech line. I think I’m just going to take it all in a little bit better. Sometimes when you race every single weekend you take that stuff for granted. When you think about how special things like this are, it just puts it in a different perspective.”

Another reason that cannot be overlooked for why this is so special is because Pulliam’s daughter, Brantley, is old enough to be able to watch and understand this race. The last time Pulliam raced, she was too young to know what was going on.

“My little girl will be eight. I won races when she was here, but she doesn’t remember any of that. She has to look at photos and videos. I have pictures of her from when she was a baby to the last time I raced it with her walking across the stage at Martinsville. For her to see Daddy on the race track is going to be really cool for me too. I have to do a good job in this one for her too, because I want her being like ‘Daddy’s not very fast.’ I want her to think Daddy is bad to the bone so she can tell her friends at school and stuff. It’s going to be special with her because this will be one that she’ll always remember.”

Race fans can watch Lee Pulliam go for a third Grandfather Clock at Martinsville Speedway in the ValleyStar Credit Union 300 on September 27-28 live on FloRacing with a FloRacing subscription. Fans can subscribe to FloRacing by clicking here.