It’s been a while since the NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour was in action, but after the traditional ‘Spring Break’ the drivers are set to return to action July 6 at Caraway Speedway.
    Even though the engines have been idle since late April, that doesn’t mean that the teams and drivers haven’t been kept busy through their various racing endeavors.
    Burt Myers and his youngest brother, Jason, have kept themselves busy racing in the Modified division at the famed Bowman Gray Stadium in Winston-Salem, N.C. Burt, the eldest of the Myers brothers, has been a man on a mission, as the two-time Modified track champion (1999, 2001) has three wins and leads the championship race.
    “So far so good,” Burt Myers said. “The only thing about racing at Bowman Gray is you can go from a hero to a zero in one week, if you’re not careful. There are just so many variables that come into play when you talk about racing at Bowman Gray. We draw for our qualifying position order and most of the times, we draw for our starting positions. So, you kind of have to be lucky and good. It is nice to have won this early in the season.
    “Since we’ve been successful this early in the year a lot of people have asked, ‘What are you guys doing to have this kind of magic?’ I just tell them that we work on our cars six days a week. Other than going to church on Sunday, we’re in the race shop working hard on our cars. To me, that accounts for a lot of our success.”
    Whelen Southern Modified Tour driver L.W. Miller has spent his downtime from racing to ‘coach’ a young driver trying to make his way up the NASCAR ladder. Miller has been a crew chief for Todd Peck in several NASCAR Busch East Series races this season.
    “Since I haven’t been behind the wheel of my Tour car for a while, I’ve taken on the opportunity of being a crew chief,” Miller said. “Todd brings the car down to my shop in Mooresville (N.C.) and I help him set it up. We’re going to be headed to New Hampshire next week for the Busch East Series race there so we’ll spend a couple of days working to get his car set up for Loudon. That’s been taking up a lot of my time, but I enjoy it.”
    Miller had been the hottest driver in NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour action with two wins in four starts. He is third in the championship standings behind current leader Junior Miller (no relation) and Burt Myers. Both of L.W. Miller’s victories this season came at Caraway so he’s hoping the break won’t slow his momentum as the Tour is set to return to Caraway.
    “As a racer, I want to be racing,” Miller said. “I know a lot of the other Tour drivers have been racing at Bowman Gray Stadium and I’m sure that’s helping them as far as getting laps and experience. On the other hand, those guys have been using up their equipment a bit and we haven’t, so I think we’re going to be a little more fresh as far as our equipment goes.
    “We’ve been to test at Caraway since the break and we’re probably going back there to test one more time before we go back there to race. We’ve also tested at Bowman Gray once and we’ll probably go back there one more time before we race there.”
    On-track rivals, both Miller and the Myers brothers have had their fair share of on-track scuffles in the past, including the last NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour race on April 21 at Caraway, when L.W. Miller made contact with Jason Myers en route to scoring the win. Last year at Bowman Gray, Burt Myers was knocked out of the NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour race on the first lap after contact with Miller.
    Despite their differences in opinion, both Miller and Burt Myers agree that they can’t wait to get back to action on the Whelen Southern Modified Tour.
    “I absolutely can’t wait to get started back to racing on the Tour,” Burt Myers said. “We’re real excited about heading back to Caraway and get the rest of the season underway. I can’t wait to show those guys what we’ve got because we’ve been working hard to be as good as we can be when we unload at Caraway. I want to win a race because it’s been a while since I’ve won a NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour race.
    “Then again, I’ve won several races outside of the Tour, so it really doesn’t make me feel like I’m on a losing streak. We race so much that it doesn’t give us a lot of time to reflect on what’s happened in the past. Winning a race on the Tour is something that I think about, but it’s not something I’m worried to death about.”
    Miller agrees with his Southern Modified Tour rival.
    “I can’t wait,” Miller said. “I’m looking forward to Caraway, as well as every other track we’re going to this year.”