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A perfect final restart propels Tristan McKee to victory in the Tekton 250 Battle at Berlin

Brandon White

(Photo: Michael Clubb/NASCAR Regional)

A big week for Tristan McKee started on a perfect note Wednesday evening at Berlin Raceway.

Set to make his NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series debut with Spire Motorsports on Friday at Richmond Raceway, McKee will now go into that start with a Tekton 250 Battle at Berlin victory on his resumé. McKee prevailed in Berlin’s crown-jewel race after outdueling Super Late Model veteran Bubba Pollard during a nine-lap sprint to the finish.

With McKee in second on the bottom line for the final restart, perfection would be needed if he wished to usurp one of the best in the Super Late Model discipline. It took diligence on McKee’s behalf, but he managed to hold steady against Pollard and pull away for one of the biggest victories of his career to date.

“I knew I just had to get a good restart, kind of get control and at least get a fender or a nose ahead,” McKee said. “We fought for a couple of laps, and [Pollard] was kind of getting me on the entry of [turn] three, but I was able to get good drive off the corners and get ahead of him.

“Once you get clean air, it’s over.”

Prior to Wednesday, the only competitive laps McKee had turned around Berlin occurred in the complex’s other crown jewel in June, the Money in the Bank 150.

With McKee driving the same No. 5 Chevrolet for Wauters Motorsports, the 150-lap race served as a vital test session for the 16-year-old prospect. After qualifying 16th in the 29-car field, McKee methodically worked his way toward the front before settling for a respectable sixth-place finish.

With a baseline understanding of Berlin for him to utilize, McKee was ready to return to the track for a 250-lap marathon. McKee immediately showed speed on Wednesday afternoon, as he set the fastest time in qualifying against the likes of Pollard, Carson Hocevar and 2026 Money in the Bank 150 winner Ty Majeski.

Staying in contention throughout the evening required McKee to exert patience. Four guaranteed cautions every 50 green flag laps brought about diverse pit strategies, so McKee elected not to be overly aggressive and took advantage of the chances to make his car better under caution.

Everything played into McKee’s favor, as he cycled up to third in the closing stages while Pollard and 2022 Tekton 250 Battle at Berlin winner Evan Shotko separated themselves from the pack. Once Shotko’s night ended due to a crash, all that separated McKee from his own Tekton 250 Battle at Berlin victory was Pollard.

Defeating a renowned competitor like Pollard would be intimidating for any driver, let alone a teenager like McKee. Pollard’s record in Super Late Model features victories in nearly every crown jewel of the discipline, including the Tekton 250 Battle at Berlin in 2023.

Despite this, Pollard expressed concern about being able to fend off McKee for the lead once he lined up alongside him for the final sprint. Although he ran up front nearly the entire night, Pollard was never completely comfortable in the car, which he felt was a key difference in deciding who took home Wednesday’s Tekton 250 Battle at Berlin.

“I was terrible the whole race,” Pollard said. “I was tight. I thought the tire would give up more than what it did. The car really stayed consistent the whole race. I needed more motor there. I had it restricted down too far, too much there at the end. Not a bad night, we’ll take it. We needed a good run.”

Pollard’s chance to join Erik Jones and the late Kyle Busch as a multi-time Tekton 250 Battle at Berlin winner will have to wait another year. For McKee, his triumph on Wednesday served as his first major victory in a Super Late Model.

McKee has won in nearly every type of car, from the Pro Late Models in the southeast all the way to road courses with the Trans Am TA2 Series. He also currently leads the ARCA Menards Series East standings by just one point heading into the season finale at Bristol Motor Speedway.

The composure McKee has displayed in full-bodied cars since his mid-teens is a big reason why he is making his first Truck Series start in a couple days. With the faith Spire Motorsports possesses in him, McKee wants to grab as many victories as he can on short tracks before he one day fully progresses into NASCAR’s top ranks.

Wednesday was another successful chapter in McKee’s ongoing journey. The night itself was not perfect from McKee’s perspective, but the confidence in himself and the chassis put together by Wauters Motorsports guided him to victory in Berlin’s most cherished event.

“We knew we had really good race pace,” McKee said. “The car was phenomenal all weekend. We kind of put ourselves behind there after the first stop and was running around ninth or 10th. We got stuck there for a little while, but we really started getting through the field. That caution with 20 to go helped a little bit. It was a ton of fun.”

With a Tekton 250 Battle at Berlin victory checked off, McKee now turns his attention to Richmond. The field in Friday’s race will be tough just like Wednesday, but McKee is eager to carry over the momentum from Berlin into the first of what will likely be many Truck Series starts to come.