(NEXSTAR) - Lee Pulliam will make his NASCAR debut this Saturday at Martinsville Speedway in Ridgeway, Virginia, driving the No. 9 car for JR Motorsports in the NFPA 250. The opportunity comes after Pulliam's performance in a late model stock car race at the track caught the attention of Dale Earnhardt Jr. Pulliam, a four-time NASCAR local racing series national champion, is returning to the track after taking a five-year break from the sport due to the rising costs of racing. Pulliam has established himself as one of the most successful short-track racers in the region. In addition to his four national titles, he has recorded two wins and seven runner-up finishes in the ValleyStar Credit Union 300 late model stock car race at Martinsville. Encouragement from Pulliam's ill father prompted his return to the track for the ValleyStar Credit Union 300 in 2024. Although Pulliam was not fully satisfied with his performance in that event, he returned to race again the following year. That subsequent performance caught the eye of Dale Earnhardt Jr., leading to the current opportunity with JR Motorsports. Pulliam expressed gratitude for the chance to join the team. "I'm super excited. ... You know, I couldn't be more grateful for the opportunity and just really, really just a true blessing to be able to do it with the Earnhardt family and everybody at Junior Motorsports." Pulliam said the conversation with Earnhardt following the race moved quickly. "After the race, Dale reached out to me and was like, 'Man, that was incredible,'" Pulliam said. "Quickly, the conversation turned to 'I need to get you in my O'Reilly's car, you know, at Martinsville.'" Pulliam enters the race with significant experience at Martinsville and familiarity with several drivers in the field. He has previously helped develop younger racers, including Corey Heim and Brenden Queen, who now compete in NASCAR's national series. Pulliam noted that while he knows many of the younger drivers, those familiar with his driving style will likely remain competitive. "A lot of people I'll be racing against, I watched them come up through the ranks. I was able to help develop Heim and Queen and some different racers that race in the big series on the weekend," Pulliam said. The NFPA 250 is scheduled for this Saturday at Martinsville Speedway. Fans can watch Pulliam and the rest of the NASCAR O'Reilly Auto Parts series drivers on The CW. All facts in this report were gathered by journalists employed by Nexstar. Artificial intelligence tools were used to reformat a broadcast script into a news article for our website. This report was edited and fact-checked by Nexstar staff before being published.