George
Brunnhoelzl III led wire-to-wire to score his 18th
career victory in the NASCAR Whelen Southern
Modified Tour on Saturday - winning the South Boston
150 at South Boston Speedway.
The No. 28 Epox-Z/Oval Speed Chevrolet of
Brunnhoelzl seemed as if it was on rails throughout
the day. Earlier in the day, he won his 19th career
Coors Light Pole Award in qualifying.
“Couldn’t ask for much better,” Brunnhoelzl said.
“We were fastest in first practice, won the pole and
sitting here in Victory Lane. South Boston is an
amazing track and it was a good win.”
The race victor was shadowed throughout the 150-lap
event by Brian Loftin, but it never evolved much
beyond that. Brunnhoelzl always had enough car to
escape when Loftin got close.
“Early on I was looking for a comfortable pace,”
said Brunnhoelzl. “I’d back out of it a little and
he’d get close, so I’d run a little harder. At the
end, though, I had saved enough and took off.”
The runner-up Loftin, who logged his best finish of
the young season, stayed within striking distance
throughout the race, but never could mount much of
challenge and he conceded that Brunnhoelzl was the
class of the field.
“We had a pretty good race car tonight, but
(Brunnhoelzl’s) was better,” said Loftin. “He could
turn through the center of the corner better which
let him get back to the throttle sooner. That’s how
it was all night. He was the class of the field.”
Third-place finisher Kyle Ebersole posted his third
straight top-10 finish to start the season after
starting in the eighth position. He, too,
acknowledged it was Brunnhoelzl’s night, but it
didn’t diminish his satisfaction with the
performance.
“We got to third after the break, but just didn’t
have enough there at the end,” he stated. “We’re
pretty happy with the third-place finish.”
John Smith and Tim Brown finished fourth and fifth,
respectively, and were followed by Burt Myers, Jason
Myers, Gary Putnam, Jeremy Gerstner and Renee Dupuis
to complete the top 10.
In four previous starts at South Boston, Brunnhoelzl
had finished second on two occasions, in 2009 and
2011. He has led a tour high 311 laps at the .4-mile
oval. The Southern Modified Tour has had five
different winners in five visits to the Virginia
track.
Brunnhoelzl, the three-time tour champion from West
Babylon, N.Y., became the third different winner in
three races this season and extended his lead in the
championship standings. After bringing a five-point
lead into the event, he left with a 12-point
advantage over Ebersole. Brunnhoelzl also recorded
the most recent wire-to-wire win in the tour, at
Charlotte last October.
The race was slowed due to caution five times for 31
laps.
Prior to the race the 2013 inductees to the Virginia
Motorsports Hall of Fame were introduced. This
year’s class consists of Runt Harris, Rick Hendrick
and Jimmy Hensley.
The next event on the NASCAR Whelen Southern
Modified schedule will be at Caraway Speedway near
Asheboro, N.C., on Saturday, April 20. |
|
UNOFFICIAL
NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour-South Boston "150" Results
Saturday At South Boston Speedway, South Boston, Va.
Lap length: 0.4 miles
(Start position in parentheses)
1. (1) George Brunnhoelzl, III, West Babylon, N.Y.,
Chevrolet, 150 laps, 55.215 mph.
2. (2) Brian Loftin, Lexington, N.C., Chevrolet, 150.
3. (8) Kyle Ebersole, Hummelstown, Pa., Ford, 150.
4. (5) John Smith, Mount Airy, N.C., Chevrolet, 150.
5. (3) Tim Brown, Rural Hall, N.C., Chevrolet, 150.
6. (6) Burt Myers, Walnut Cove, N.C., Ford, 150.
7. (7) Jason Myers, Walnut Cove, N.C., Ford, 150.
8. (11) Gary Putnam, Concord, N.C., Chevrolet, 150.
9. (17) Jeremy Gerstner, Wesley Chapel, Fla., Chevrolet, 150.
10. (10) Renee Dupuis, Glastonbury, Conn., Chevrolet, 149.
11. (14) Luke Fleming, Mount Airy, N.C., Ford, 148.
12. (12) Andy Seuss, Hampstead, N.H., Dodge, 140.
13. (4) Danny Bohn, Freehold, N.J., Chevrolet, 129.
14. (18) Donnie Lacks, Forest, Va., Chevrolet, 124.
15. (9) J R Bertuccio, Jr, Centereach, N.Y., Chevrolet, 112,
accident.
16. (15) Bryan Dauzat, Alexandria, La., Chevrolet, 112, accident.
17. (16) Mike Norman, Lewisville, N.C., Chevrolet, 79, accident.
18. (13) Michael Speeney, Newtown, Pa., Chevrolet, 75, accident.
19. (19) David Calabrese, Toms River, N.J., Chevrolet, 0, did not start.
Race Statistics
Time of Race: 1 hour 5 minutes 12 seconds
Margin of Victory: 1.094 seconds
Fastest Qualifier: G. Brunnhoelzl, III (98.240 mph, 14.658 seconds)
Caution Flags: 5 for 31 laps.
Lead Changes: 0 among 1 drivers.
Lap Leaders: G. Brunnhoelzl, III 1-150.
Standings: 1. G. Brunnhoelzl,III, 131; 2. K. Ebersole, 119; 3. T.
Brown, 113; 4. B. Myers, 112; 5. A. Seuss, 110; 6. J. Smith, 103; 7. G.
Putnam, 100; 8. B. Loftin, 96; 9. L. Fleming, 93; 10. B. Dauzat, 92. |
|