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4-TIME WHELEN
SPOTHERN MODIFIED TOUR CHAMPION GEORGE BRUNNHOELZL III
COMING TO STAFFORD FOR 45th ANNUAL NAPA SPRING SIZZLER |
 Harkening
back to the days of modified yesteryear, 4-time
Southern Whelen Modified Tour champion George
Brunnhoelzl, III has filed an entry for the 45th
Annual NAPA Spring Sizzler®. Brunnhoelzl has made
one prior start in “The Greatest Race in the History
of Spring” back in 2010 where he retired early due
to a handling issue and finished 29th. He will be
looking to improve upon that finish behind the wheel
of the #28 Dunleavy’s Truck & Trailer
Repair/Composite Technologies Chevrolet.
“Our plan is to come up to the Sizzler® and see what
we can do,” said Brunnhoelzl. “I’m definitely going
to feel like the outsider with not having the
experience at Stafford that most of the Tour guys
do. I have a great pit crew so we have high hopes
for fast and quick pit stops and I really think we
can do well with this Troyer TA2 chassis we have.
Ryan Preece and Woody Pitkat both ran this type of
chassis last year at Stafford and they showed some
speed. I really think that we can improve a little
bit off of their notes and we’re hoping that we can
get a good strong top-5 finish. I really have to
thank Doug Dunleavy and Dunleavy’s Truck and Trailer
Repair. Doug is my biggest supporter and he’s the
reason why we’re able to make this trip for the
Sizzler®. I also have great support from Oval Speed,
Robert Yates Race Engines, and Composite
Technologies.”
When you look at the Southern Whelen Modified Tour
record book, you’ll find Brunnhoelzl’s name splashed
everywhere. He holds series records for most wins in
a season with 6 and in a career with 27, most pole
positions in a season with 6, most laps led in a
season and in a career, and he has the most top-5
and top-10 finishes in a season. In his last 6 full
seasons of NSWMT competition, Brunnhoelzl has won 4
championships and twice finished as the championship
runner-up.
Brunnhoelzl’s 2016 season has gotten off to a great
start with 2 wins in the first four Southern Whelen
Modified Tour events, but he knows he faces a
challenge with the competition of the Northern tour
drivers at Stafford.
“I’m going to feel like a rookie with my limited
experience on the Stafford oval and there’s going to
be a learning curve with the drivers,” said
Brunnhoelzl. “There’s guys like Ryan [Preece] and
Teddy [Christopher] who not only have tons of laps
in a Tour car but they run the SK’s weekly also.
They probably have more laps around Stafford in a
weekend than I do in my whole career. I never like
to leave the shop without thinking we can win and if
we can get a good grasp of the tire I think we can
be right there fighting for the win.”
Often times a good qualifying effort is half the
battle in getting a good finish in a race. Based on
his 2010 performance in qualifying for the four
Stafford Whelen Modified Tour races, Brunnhoelzl
feels confident he can have another good qualifying
effort that will go a long way towards helping him
get that top-5 finish he is looking for in the race.
“I like Stafford, we ran 4 times there back in 2010
and we always had a good qualifying effort, but we
always seemed to run into issues during the race so
we never had the finishes to show what kind of speed
we had,” said Brunnhoelzl.
Another factor that may help Brunnhoelzl close the
experience gap is race strategy. With an extra 50
laps to run in the race rather than the usual 150
lap distance that is the standard for most all
Northern and Southern Whelen Modified Tour races,
strategy can play a big part in who is among the
contenders for victory when the race is nearing its
end.
“I think the strategy will definitely be shaken up a
little,” said Brunnhoelzl. “All of our races down
south are 150 lap races and fuel is not in the
equation. For instance we ran Concord this past
weekend and that’s a half mile track but it was a
150 lap race and fuel wasn’t a question. I know with
200 laps at Stafford fuel does come into play so
it’s something that has to be thought of and it’s
going to play with your strategy for sure.”
Depending on how things play out during the 2016
season, the NAPA Spring Sizzler® may not be the only
time we see Brunnhoelzl and the #28 Dunleavy’s Truck
and Trailer Repair team at Stafford.
“For now this is a one-shot deal but we’d love to be
able to come back up to Stafford later in the year,”
said Brunnhoelzl. “It all depends on financing and
how things go for us.”
Tickets for the “Greatest Race in the History of
Spring” are on sale now at the Speedway Box Office.
Tickets are priced at $38.50 for adult general
admission tickets, $5.00 for children ages 6-14, and
children ages 5 and under are admitted free of
charge when accompanied by an adult. Reserved
seating is priced at $42.00 for all ages. As always,
Stafford Motor Speedway offers free parking with
overnight parking available. All tickets are good
for both Saturday and Sunday admission. All ticket
prices include 10% CT Admission Tax. Discount
Tickets will be available at all 57 participating
NAPA Auto Parts stores beginning on Monday April
4th. For a full list of the 57 locations throughout Connecticut, Massachusetts, Vermont, and Rhode
Island, call the speedway office or visit us on the
web at
www.staffordmotorspeedway.com/participating-napa-auto-parts-stores.
For more information on the 45th Annual NAPA Auto
Parts Spring Sizzler, or to order tickets, contact
the Stafford Motor Speedway track office at
860-684-2783 or visit us on the web at
www.staffordspeedway.com.
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Source:
Scott Running / Stafford Motor Speedway
Posted:
April 18, 2016 |
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