L.W. Miller overcame a flat
tire and a late-race charge from Burt Myers to score the victory in the 2007
NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour season opener Saturday night at Caraway
Speedway.
Despite a feeling of doom and gloom, Miller went on to score
his fourth career NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour victory in thrilling
fashion over runner-up Burt Myers.
“I radioed my crew towards the end of the race and told
them my tire was going flat and they just told me to hang on to it the best
that I could,” Miller said. “To win this race is just amazing because the
tire had lost so much air. Burt had a great car, but this team was also
great for not letting me get down and give this race away. I just knew that
we were going to be in trouble.”
Myers was hoping that would be the case, but wasn’t
completely disappointed when the scenario didn’t play out.
“This is a great way to get the season started and I hope we
can be this competitive the rest of the year,” Myers said. “I wanted to win
and tried everything I could to get past L.W. We’re going to get this thing
to victory lane pretty soon. I’m not satisfied but I’m happy to get started
like this.
Brian Loftin finished third, followed by Matt Hirschman and
Tour rookie Ryan Preece. Two-time Tour champion Junior Miller was sixth.
Myers won the Bud Pole Award with a track record of 102.584
mph. He started out front following the pre-race draw/redraw and led the
first 70 laps.
Miller was able to muscle his way back around Loftin on lap
68 and three laps later he went underneath Myers.
Myers made a move to the outside on a green-flag restart on
lap 100 but wound up losing second to Ted Christopher. The back-and-forth
between Christopher and Myers culminated on lap 120 when the two made
contact on the front straightaway.
Christopher, who won the first two NASCAR Whelen Southern
Modified Tour openers at Caraway, was knocked out of the race in the
incident.
When all was said and done, it was Miller celebrating
the win and the early championship lead heading into next Sunday’s race at
Music City Motorplex in Nashville, Tenn. NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour-Whelen Southern Modified Tour 150
Results
Saturday
At Caraway Speedway
Asheboro, N.C. Lap length: 0.45 miles
(Start position in parentheses)
1. (3) L.W. Miller, Mooresville, N.C., Pontiac, 150 laps,
60.343 mph, $2,200.
2. (1) Burt Myers, Walnut-Cove, N.C., Chevrolet, 150, $1,750.
3. (2) Brian Loftin, Lexington, N.C., Chevrolet, 150, $1,125.
4. (6) Matthew Hirschman, North Hampton, N.Y., Chevrolet, 150,
$1,050.
5. (11) Ryan Preece, Kensignton, Conn., Chevrolet, 150, $1,000.
6. (25) Junior Miller, Pine Hall, N.C., Dodge, 150, $1,100.
7. (23) John Smith, Mount Airy, N.C., Chevrolet, 150, $750.
8. (5) Tim Brown, Cana, Va., Chevrolet, 150, $690.
9. (10) George Brunnhoelzl, Mooresville, N.C., Dodge, 150, $590.
10. (26) Kevin Powell, Winston-Salem, N.C., 149, $550.
11. (17) Michael Clifton, Walkertown, N.C., Chevrolet, 149, $525.
12. (15) Earl Baker, Winton-Salem, N.C., Chevrolet, 149, $500.
13. (24) Larry Butcher, Mocksville, N.C., Chevrolet, 149, $485.
14. (18) Robert Grigas, Marshfield, Mass., Chevrolet, 148, $460.
15. (22) Gene Pack, Myrtle Beach, S.C., Chevrolet, 145, $445.
16. (14) Brian Pack, Walkertown, N.C., Chevrolet, 138, accident, $430.
17. (19) Wesley Swartout, Stroudsburg, Pa., Ford, 138, $420.
18. (9) Ted Christopher, Plainville, Conn., Chevrolet, 120,
accident, $410.
19. (7) Bobby Hutchens, Lexington, N.C., Chevrolet, 120,
accident, $400.
20. (4) Jason Myers, Walnut Cove, N.C., Chevrolet, 120,
accident, $390.
21. (16) Brian King, Burlington, N.C., Chevrolet, 119, fuel pump, $380.
22. (13) Jay Foley, Stuart, Va., Chevrolet, 91, accident, $360.
23. (12) Frank Fleming, Mount Airy, N.C., Pontiac, 84, overheating, $340.
24. (8) Chuck Hossfeld, Ransonville, N.Y., Pontiac, 82, parked,
$320.
25. (21) Jamie Tomaino, Howell, N.J., Chevrolet, 33, quit, $300.
26. (20) J.R. Bertuccio, Centereach, N.Y., Chevrolet, 23, accident, $300.
Race Statistics Time of Race: 1 hour 7 minutes 7 seconds Margin of Victory: .345 seconds Fastest Qualifier: Burt Myers. (102.584 mph, 15.792 seconds) Caution Flags: 6 for 50 laps. Lead Changes: 1 among 2 drivers. Lap Leaders: B.Myers 1-70; L.W.Miller 71-150. Standings: 1. L.W.Miller, 180; 2. B.Myers, 170; 3. B.Loftin, 165; 4.
M.Hirschman, 160; 5. R.Preece, 155; 6. J.Miller, 150; 7. J.Smith, 146; 8.
T.Brown, 142; 9. G.Brunnhoelzl, 138; 10. K.Powell, 134.
THE END
Source:Jason
Mitchell/nascartouring.com WSMT PR Posted:
March 24, 2007
