 Andy
Seuss held off the field in a 14-lap dash to the checkered
flag to win the Newport News Shipbuilding 150 in NASCAR
Whelen Southern Modified Tour action on Saturday at Langley
Speedway.
It was the second straight tour victory for Seuss, out of
Hampstead, N.H., having won in his last outing on Aug. 26 at
North Carolina’s Caraway Speedway. It also was his 10th
career win in the Southern Modified Tour.
Seuss started from the outside pole position and fell back
early, but he battled back to take the lead on Lap 129 and
led the rest of the way. A debris caution on Lap 132 set up
a sprint to the finish that he was able to manage in his No.
11 Phoenix Pre-Owned/Triad Auto Sales Chevrolet.
John Smith crossed the line in second followed by Thomas
Stinson, who led a race-high 89 laps, in third. Polesitter
and defending tour champion Burt Myers finished fourth while
Jason Myers finished in the fifth position.
Despite his 10 victories, Seuss had never before won two
races in a row in the NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour.
“I can’t believe I even talked about trying to have a
winning streak as I was afraid I would jinx myself,” Seuss
said after his second win of the season. “My crew gave me a
great car and it was good as it needed to be with about 20
laps to go.”
For Smith, he just came up a little short while maintaining
his hold on second place in the point standings to George
Brunnhoelzl III. He also enjoyed returning to the historic
track.
“Man, this track is fun and you drive it the whole race. You
don’t let up at all,” Smith said. “We had a good car and it
turned well, but I probably went too soon (to the front),
but it is hard not to when you have a chance to lead the
race. I probably should have saved my car for later in the
race, but we had a good run tonight and stayed up in the
points.”
While Seuss came back to win one of the most competitive
races of the season – featuring nine lead changes among four
drivers – it appeared in the early going that the night
belonged to Stinson.
Stinson, who raced weekly at Langley before deciding to make
a full-time commitment to the NASCAR Whelen Southern
Modified Tour this season, jumped to the lead on Lap 26 and
was in control, building leads by as much as seven car
lengths at varying times during the race.
“We led some laps and qualified good and that is what we
needed,” said Stinson, who missed the previous three races
due to motor issues. “The guys kept saying to save the tires
and I was running comfortable out there but when I did turn
up the speed the car just got tight and I couldn’t turn it.”
Tim Brown, Brunnhoelzl, Frank Fleming, L.W. Miller and
Kievman rounded out the top 10.
The race was slowed just two times by caution with the only
multi-car incident of the race occurring on Lap 45 when
Renee Dupuis, Mike Norman, Austin Pack and Jonny Kievman all
got together on the backstretch. Every car was able to pull
away and continue in the event.
In addition to winning the Coors Light Pole Award, Burt
Myers also collected the Featherlite Most Improved Driver
Award while Brown won the Coca-Cola Move of the Race Award
for advancing six positions during the race and Kievman won
Sunoco Rookie of the Race honors.
Brunnhoelzl leads Smith by 101 points (1,500-1,399) with
five races remaining on the schedule. Seuss moved up to
third place after his win just 13 points behind Smith with
1,386. Jason Myers and Miller round out the top five.
The NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour heads north for its
next outing to take on their counterparts in the NASCAR
Whelen Modified Tour on Sunday, Sept. 11 at Thompson (Conn.)
International Speedway in the UNOH Showdown. Each tour will
have a 125-lap feature event followed by a 50-lap all-star
event with competitors from each tour pitted against one
another.
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Whelen Southern Modified Tour-Newport News
Shipbuilding 150
Unofficial Results
Saturday, At Langley Speedway, Hampton, VA
Lap length: 0.39 miles
(Start position in parentheses)
1. (2) Andy Seuss, Hampstead, NH, Chevrolet, 150 laps, 76.360
mph.
2. (6) John Smith, Mount Airy, NC, Chevrolet, 150.
3. (4) Thomas Stinson, Chester, VA, Chevrolet, 150.
4. (1) Burt Myers, Walnut Cove, NC, Ford, 150.
5. (5) Jason Myers, Walnut Cove, NC, Ford, 150.
6. (12) Tim Brown, Cana, VA, Chevrolet, 150.
7. (3) George Brunnhoelzl III, West Babylon, NY, Chevrolet,
150.
8. (8) Frank Fleming, Mt. Airy, NC, Ford, 150.
9. (10) L.W. Miller, Dushore, PA, Chevrolet, 150.
10. (9) Jonathan Kievman, Deerfield Beach, FL, Chevrolet, 148.
11. (11) Mike Norman, Lewisville, NC, Ford, 145.
12. (13) Austin Pack, Winston-Salem, NC, Chevrolet, 131.
13. (7) Renee Dupuis, Glastonbury, Conn., Chevrolet, 124,
parked.
Race Statistics
Time of Race: 0 hours 45 minutes 58 seconds
Margin of Victory: 1.127 seconds
Fastest Qualifier: B.Myers (91.377 mph, 15.365 seconds)
Caution Flags: 2 for 9 laps.
Lead Changes: 9 among 4 drivers.
Lap Leaders: A. Seuss 1-3; G. Brunnhoelzl III 4-8; A. Seuss 9-22; G.
Brunnhoelzl III
23-25; T. Stinson 26-51; J. Smith 52; T. Stinson 53-90; J. Smith 91-104; T.
Stinson 105-128; A. Seuss 129-150.
Standings: 1. G. Brunnhoelzl III, 1500; 2. J. Smith, 1399; 3. A.
Seuss, 1386; 4. J. Myers, 1365; 5. L. Miller, 1349; 6. F. Fleming, 1300; 7.
T. Brown, 1256; 8. A. Pack, 1198; 9. B. Myers, 1042; 10. T. Stinson, 917. |
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