 Burt
Myers picked up where he left off in NASCAR Whelen
Southern Modified Tour competition at Southern
National Motorsports Park.
Myers, who won when the tour made its last visit to
the .4-mile track in 2008, returned to Victory Lane
on Saturday, winning the KOMA Unwind Relaxation
Drink 150.
The Walnut Cove, N.C., driver - who started third on
the grid - charged into the lead just past the
midway point of the 150-lap race and set sail from
there in his No. 1 CitruSafe/Adams Towing & Recovery
Ford. The victory marked the ninth career tour win
for the 2010 Whelen Southern Modified Tour champion.
"I hadn't felt this good about a win in a long, long
time," Myers said after leading the final 70 laps.
"We've just been in such a slump."
The race marks the second win in as many races for
the Myers brothers on the 2013 NASCAR Whelen
Southern Modified Tour season. Burt’s brother,
Jason, won the season opener at Caraway Speedway in
Asheboro, N.C., last weekend.
NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour regular Ryan Preece, who
won his first Whelen Southern Modified Tour Coors
Light Pole Award in qualifying and led the first 80
laps, finished second. He was followed by Tim Brown,
George Brunnhoelzl III and Andy Seuss. Brunnhoelzl,
the defending tour champion, took the points lead by
four over Jason Myers.
Burt Myers said seeing his brother in Victory Lane
last weekend added a little extra motivation.
"I told him, I'm glad to see you winning races,"
said Burt Myers. "He said, are you really? I said,
yea, it makes me want to win more."
Burt Myers finished 17th at Caraway when engine
issues ended race after just 117 laps. It was his
fourth finish outside the top 10 in the last seven
tour points races. He narrowly avoided misfortune
Saturday. With three to go, Burt Myers thought the
motor went flat. He said closer inspection during
post-race confirmed they lost a cylinder. He had
enough of a lead at that point, though, to hang on.
"We've worked really hard, we hadn't quit and we
stand on top of it," Burt Myers said. "And it's
starting to pay off."
Preece and Brown would have liked to see the race go
a couple laps longer, and not just because of Myers'
possible motor issues. Preece lost second to
Brunnhoelzl on a Lap 128 restart and wasn't able to
get by him until the white-flag lap. Brown spent
most of the race running outside the top five before
closing strong in the final laps. He followed Preece
by Brunnhoelzl on that final lap.
"As soon as I got to George, every time I came out
of a corner and had a run, there was a lapped car
there," Preece said. "I had to wait until the time
was right. We got a good run on him. I really wish
this race was another five or 10 laps."
"I was really concerned after the first segment
there that we weren't going to be very good," said
Brown, who posted his fourth top three finish in
four tour races at Southern National. "But the guys
on this T&C/Hayes Jewelers Modified made the right
call and the right changes for that second half run.
And I'm not sure sure that if it wasn't five or 10
more laps it might have been a different car up
there. But Burt did a good job all day -- they were
fast and won the race."
Ted Christopher, Kyle Ebersole, Danny Bohn, Brandon
Ward and Woody Pitkat rounded out the top 10.
The NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour is back in
action at South Boston (Va.) Speedway on Saturday,
April 13. |
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NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour
KOMA Unwind Relaxation Drink 150 Unofficial Results
Saturday At Southern National Raceway Park, Kenley, NC
Lap length: 0.4 miles
(Start position in parentheses)
1. (3) Burt Myers, Walnut Cove, NC, Ford, 150 laps, 67.712
mph.
2. (1) Ryan Preece, Berlin, Conn, Chevrolet, 150.
3. (4) Tim Brown, Rural Hall, NC, Ford, 150.
4. (2) George Brunnhoelzl III, West Babylon, N.Y., Chevrolet,
150.
5. (5) Andy Seuss, Hampstead, N.H., Chevrolet, 150.
6. (8) Ted Christopher, Plainville, Conn, Chevrolet, 150.
7. (16) Kyle Ebersole, Hummelstown, Pa., Ford, 150.
8. (9) Danny Bohn, Freehold, NJ, Chevrolet, 150.
9. (10) Brandon Ward, Winston-Salem, NC, Chevrolet, 150.
10. (14) Woody Pitkat, Stafford, Conn., Pontiac, 150.
11. (18) Jimmy Zacharias, Candor, NY, Chevrolet, 150.
12. (7) Jason Myers, Walnut Cove, NC, Ford, 150.
13. (13) Luke Fleming, Mount Airy, NC, Ford, 150.
14. (21) Bryan Dauzat, Alexandria, La., Chevrolet, 150.
15. (11) J R Bertuccio Jr, Centereach, N.Y., Chevrolet, 150.
16. (6) John Smith, Mount Airy, NC, Chevrolet, 150.
17. (19) Eric Goodale, Riverhead, NY, Chevrolet, 148.
18. (17) Gary Putnam, Concord, NC, Chevrolet, 147.
19. (22) Mike Norman, Lewisville, NC, Ford, 146.
20. (20) Michael Speeney, Newtown, Pa., Chevrolet, 144.
21. (24) Jeremy Gerstner, Wesley Chapel, Fla., Chevrolet, 144.
22. (12) Renee Dupuis, Glastonbury, Conn, Chevrolet, 101, brakes.
23. (15) Brian Loftin, Lexington, NC, Chevrolet, 77, power steering.
24. (23) David Calabrese, Toms River, NJ, Chevrolet, 9, overheating.
25. (25) Dalton Baldwin, Dunedin, FL, Chevrolet, 2, engine.
Race Statistics
Time of Race: 53 minutes 10 seconds
Margin of Victory: 1.635 seconds
Fastest Qualifier: R. Preece (100.608 mph, 14.313 seconds)
Caution Flags: 4 for 14 laps.
Lead Changes: 1 among 2 drivers.
Lap Leaders: R. Preece 1-80; B. Myers 81-150.
Standings: 1. G. Brunnhoelzl III, 83; 2. J. Myers, 79; 3. K.
Ebersole, 78; 4. T. Christopher, 78; 5. A. Seuss, 78; 6. B. Myers, 74; 7. T.
Brown, 74; 8. G. Putnam, 64; 9. B. Dauzat, 64; 10. J. Smith, 63. |
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