By Jerry Jordan, Editor

AUSTIN, Texas – Brennan “The Bull” Poole didn’t need horns or a chrome bumper to drive from a 26th starting spot to a Top 10 finish at Circuit of the Americas, he just needed determination, talent and a strong car from Team Alpha Prime.

The Texas native wasn’t trying to be a hero; he just made steady progress throughout the 65-lap NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series (NOAPS) race. In fact, it’s been a solid season for Poole, so far, who had a shot to win the season-opener at Daytona International Speedway. This past week at Atlanta Motor Speedway, he advanced from a 33rd starting spot to finish 19th.

“Man, yeah. It’s been a pretty great start,” Poole told Kickin’ the Tires after climbing from the car on pit road. “We know we got to stack points and stack them big right here at the start of the season, and really couldn’t have asked for a better start, other than maybe the last 25 seconds of Daytona. To go a little bit differently, that one is great, yeah? But, I mean, it’s been really good. The guys have worked really hard. I think we’re even better than we were last year, at least for these first three, so who’s got to keep being smart and keep doing it? Keep stacking points.”

A lot of race fans might think that Texas Motor Speedway would be more along the lines of a “home track” for Poole but in reality, COTA is closer to where he grew up and lived much of his life. He added that having a solid run was extra-important from that standpoint.

“This is more my home track than Dallas is,” he said. “It’s really close to where I grew up. And, yeah, I got a lot of friends, a lot of family here. Of course, my partner’s home base is in Dallas, right up the road from here. So, yeah, this is really cool, really cool to get a solid Top 10 with everybody here and a lot of friends and family.

Owned by Tommy Joe Martins, Team Alpha Prime isn’t a powerhouse NOAPS team like Joe Gibbs Racing or JR Motorsports. They work on a tight budget. They don’t have an unlimited number of cars or engineers to make everything perfect. They are a bunch of races with a lot of heart and determination. That’s why, in anyone’s eyes, seeing Poole take home a Top 10 is a testament to the work everyone in the shop and at the track puts in.

“I think it’s just, you know, this works a lot like other pro sports and any other league or whatever,” Poole said. “You know, you can be a great quarterback and be with a team that doesn’t really have all the pieces together and maybe not set the world on fire, right? And I think right now, I’m just surrounded by some really incredible people. I’ve got a great race team that gives me great handling cars. We don’t have everything that it takes to fight at the front of the field but we keep being smart, keep putting good handling race cars on the track, keep putting ourselves in position for it to go our way. If we can continue to have great days like this, I feel like I’m going to be here for another 10 years or so.”

A few years ago, Poole found himself without a ride – a victim of circumstances linked to the DC Solar Ponzi scheme that resulted in him filing a lawsuit against Spire Sports + Entertainment and Chip Ganassi Racing. He reached an out-of-court settlement and began trying to work his way back to the top rung of the ladder. He said he has every intention to chase a championship again but right now, he is thrilled with how his Alpha Prime team is performing.

“Maybe I’ll get another shot and something great and go fight for a championship and race wins on a regular basis,” he said, as members of his team surrounded him, shouting praise for his performance.