Burt Myers made history last Saturday night at Caraway (N.C.) Speedway when he scored his fourth straight Bud Pole Award.
    The popular Walnut Cove, N.C. broke the NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour record of three straight that he shared with Jay Hedgecock. Hedgecock set the previous mark in 2005 and Myers matched it last season.
    “It’s always nice to be able to break records because that makes you a part of history,” Myers said. “When the year is over I’d like to be able to look back on what we as a team accomplished from this point forward. I want to win races and battle for this year’s NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour championship. That’s what it’s all about to me.”
    Last Saturday night at Caraway, Myers turned in a speed of 103.201 mph, while his younger brother Jason posted the second fastest qualifying time.
    Both of the Myers brothers were strapped in their cars last Saturday night at Caraway ready to start their engines when a persistent rain shower moved into the area and eventually led to the postponement of the Whelen Southern Modified 150 until this Saturday night.
    Myers laughs that the extra seven days the rain-out caused has just given him and his No. 1 All-Star Truck Repair Chevrolet more time to gloat over their qualifying efforts to date in 2007.
    “My brother and I give each other a hard time, but that’s about it,” Myers said. “It just gives us something to joke about when we’re working at the shop. Jason and I really do try to do all we can to help each other out. We’re brothers so naturally we want to see each other do well. The only thing that was more satisfying for me last weekend at Caraway after winning the pole was that Jason qualified second. To me it was kind of neat that the two best qualifying cars came out of the same shop.”
    Myers has 11 career NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour Bud Pole Awards to his credit in 28 races.
    “The way I look at is we go to the race track to win,” Myers said. “If you can win the pole – that’s a nice bonus. This year we’ve been tough to beat when it comes to qualifying for these first four NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour races. Hopefully what we’ve done so far has been a little bit intimidating to the other drivers because we’ve shown that we have a fast car. I just want to start backing these poles up with some wins. That’s the most important thing for me right now.”
Despite his success in qualifying, that has not translated into NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour victories the way Myers would have liked. He heads to Caraway trying to snap a 21-race winless streak dating back to Sept. 2005 at Ace (N.C.) Speedway.
    “I absolutely want to win a race and I’d like for it to start this Saturday night at Caraway because I know we’re going to have a good car,” Myers said. “I want to win every NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour race we have until the end of the season. That’s my mindset. If I go racing I want to win. It’s that simple.”

NEWS & NOTES

CARAWAY TRENDS: There have been 14 NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour races at Caraway Speedway since the inaugural event in April 2006.
Junior Miller leads the way as he has been to Victory Lane at Caraway on five different occasions. Three drivers – L.W. Miller, Ted Christopher and Brian Loftin – have scored two wins at the historic .455-mile short track located in Asheboro, N.C. Burt Myers has one victory at Caraway, that coming in May 2005.
Thanks to winning the Bud Pole Award last Saturday, Burt Myers moves into a tie with Jay Hedgecock as those two drivers have been the fastest qualifiers at Caraway on four different occasions. Junior Millers has been the fastest qualifier at Caraway three times while Brian Loftin won one pole at Caraway in 2005.
FAMILIAR FACES: There are only five drivers on the NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour that have competed in all 28 races since the Tour went under NASCAR sanction. Those five drivers are two-time and defending NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour champion Junior Miller, Gene Pack and his son Brian, along with Bobby Hutchens and Burt Myers.
Three drivers – Jason Myers, Tim Brown and Frank Fleming – have missed only one NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour race.
APRIL BIRTHDAYS: The following NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour Membership Members are listed, in alphabetical order, with their birthdates in parentheses – Mona Fishel (27th), Roy Hart (11th), Bobby Hutchens (15th) and his wife Sharon (16th), Eric Maglero (14th), Randall McVey (16th), Robert Mueller (2nd), Brian Pack (19th), Robert Peele (8th), Thomas Stinson (3rd), Justin Surber (6th), Zackary Tate (1st), Talmage Thomas (10th), Rick Ward (16th) and Robert Whiting (27th).

FAST FACTS

What: Whelen Southern Modified Tour 150
NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour Race #4
Where: Caraway Speedway, Asheboro, N.C.
When: 8:00 p.m., Saturday, April 21
Track Layout: .455-mile
Distance: 150 Laps, 68.25 miles.
Posted Awards: 24,272
Records: Qualifying – Burt Myers, 15.793 seconds, 103.723 mph. March 24, 2007.
Race – Junior Miller, 44 minutes 30 seconds. Sept. 9, 2006.
Pre-race schedule: Saturday – Practice, 4:15-4:45 p.m. All times subject to change.
Track Contact: Renee Hackett (336) 629-5803