South Rises Again with Myers’ Win at North-South Shootout
McKnight Super Winner & Christopher Crowned SK Champ
Concord, NC — For the first time in six years, a Southern competitor has earned the title of North-South Shootout champion. Burt Myers of Kernersville, NC, waved the confederate flag from victory lane after winning the 6th Annual John Blewett III Memorial North-South Shootout ™ Modified 125 presented by Town & Country Ford. It was a sweep for Myers who also earned the DMC Pole Award with his fast lap of 15.238 seconds. Myers also earned an impressive $11,280 in cash and prizes for the victory.
Dave McKnight of Brampton, Ontario, Canada, scored the victory in the 2nd Annual East-West Supermodified Shootout. His efforts earned him a cool $4,590 in cash and prizes. Ted Christopher of Plainville, CT, survived a very physical SK-Type Modified main event to score the victory. With lap money and contingency sponsorships, Christopher earned $4,890.
Adam Fohlin Photos:
[North South Shootout – Thursday]
[North South Shootout – Friday]
[North South Shootout – Saturday]
[NASCAR Shops and Lowe’s Motor Speedway]
Young Erick Rudolph laid down an impressive lap to start on the outside of the front row. He capitalized on his starting position to lead the opening laps taking the defending champion Matt Hirschman along for the ride. Rudolph continued to lead Hirschman, Myers, George Brunnhoelzl III, and Ted Christopher through the first caution on lap 19 for a spin by Daren Scherer. On the ensuing restart, Hirschman was able to catapult into the lead while Myers faded back slightly. During a green flag run, Hirschman began to pull away from the field. Ryan Preece made his first appearance inside the top five.
The second yellow flag of the event flew for an incident that involved Carl Pasteryak, Pete Brittain, and Rick Kluth. Green flag racing was short-lived when a spin by Gene Pack brought out the third caution of the event. Under the caution, a handful of teams headed to pit road for the mandatory pit stop including Hirschman, Rudolph, Brunnhoelzl, Christopher, Preece, Beers, and a host of others. Myers, Jimmy Blewett, Ronnie Silk, and Les Hinckley made up the top five of the running order after the pit stops.
After another quick caution, Myers and Blewett swapped the lead back and forth. The battle for the lead allowed Silk to catch the lead duo. Bobby Santos III had worked his way into the top-five.
The teams struggled near lap 47 when a host of cautions slowed the field. The likes of Eddie Flemke, Jr. and Charlie Pasteryak were involved in separate incidents. On the second attempt at a restart, Blewett got out of shape slightly. As the field checked up a number of cars stacked up on the front stretch including Rowan Pennink, Todd Szegedy, and Chris Whitenight, Jr. Woody Pitkat. Glenn Reen, and Earl Paulus, were also involved.
When green flag racing resumed Myers continued to lead Silk and Christopher. Hirschman got around Santos to rejoin the top-five once again. Myers was beginning to stretch out his lead while Christopher and Hirschman were both getting racy at this stage of the event. Brunnhoelzl came back to life as well.
As the race approached halfway, Myers enjoyed a five-car length advantage over Silk, who had little breathing room back to Christopher. Hirschman was a distance back in fourth. Eric Beers was using the high groove in an effort to get to Brunnhoelzl and Santos.
Myers meticulously motored his way through lapped traffic to maintain his comfortable lead. The remainder of the top-five now ran nose-to-tail. Myers had yet to make his pit stop that was required between laps 30-110.
The caution flew on lap #98 when Santos spun in turn four. The caution allowed Myers the opportunity to head to pit road. He was joined by Silk, Szegedy, Rusty Smith and others. With the stop, Hirschman had inherited the top spot. The ensuing restart meant problems for another front runner Christopher, who spun in turn one. After a false start, Hirschman was able to jump out to the lead over Preece and Beers. Preece lost a quick battle for the second spot. Beers began to run down Hirschman. It looked for awhile that it might be a repeat of last year’s finish with the Northampton, PA residents running at the front.
There was a scary moment at lap 104 when the Hillbilly Racing teammates Silk and Flemke split Southern Whelen Modified Tour champion Brian Loftin to make it three-wide exiting turn four. All three cars came through the corner unscathed. Myers, meanwhile, was picking his way back to the front of the pack. He passed his brother Jason, then Flemke, and Brunnhoelzl to find the top-five.
Myers’ march to the front continued by taking the fourth spot from Silk. He immediately erased the distance between himself and Preece. Just as quickly he disposed of Preece. With only four laps remaining, the field was single file with Hirschman at the helm. Beers was losing ground to Hirschman while Myers continued to gain it.
The caution flew on lap 118 when contact dislodged one of the foam blocks placed on the track for safety. Ryan Preece watched his great fun come to an end when he headed to pit road for fuel. A spin by Flemke forced another caution in the event.
With two laps remaining, Hirschman lined up ahead of Beers, Myers, Silk, and Brunnhoelz. Beers faltered on the restart giving way to Myers and others. With the crowd on their feet, Myers got a great run to move ahead of Hirschman to take the lead. The enthusiasm could not quell even when the 13th and final caution flew when the #9 of Beers stalled on the front stretch.
Myers pulled away on the final restart to streak under the checkers as the 2008 North-South Shootout champion. Myers was ecstatic in victory lane and proud of his Southern heritage. The two-time winner Hirschman had to settle for second. Silk joined the duo on the podium. Christopher and Santos completed the top five. It was the best showing for the Southern competitors with Brunnhoelzl finishing sixth followed by J. Meyers. Glen Reen, Chuck Hossfeld, and Rusty Smith rounded out the top-ten.
Earlier in the day, Jay Mize bested the field in the non-qualifiers event. The Southern Modified tour competitor was given the opportunity to take his earnings or advance to the main event. Mize opted to start the main event.
In the early going of the East-West Supermodified Shootout, David Shullick, Jr. of Ridgeville, OH, had checked out by nearly a full straightaway lead over McKnight. Within 13 laps, Shullick had encountered lapped traffic. Disaster struck for the leader when something broke in the left front sending Shullick hard into the foam blocks between turns one and two.
McKnight inherited the lead with Randy Burch taking chase in second and Charlie Schultz in third. The action was slowed again when Tim Ice spun leaving debris on the speedway. On the ensuing restart, Schultz looked high to make a move on Burch but settled back to run in third. Under green, McKnight was able to pull away from Burch. Schultz fell back slightly while the Lane Racing Teammates Robbie Summers and Bobby Santos III ran nose to tail.
Santos began to get racy looking to make a pass on his teammate. At halfway, McKnight continued to lead Burch, Summers, and Santos. On lap 31, Burch lost the handle on his mount exiting turn four to bring out the caution. Shultz moved up to second over Summers and Santos. In striking distance, Shultz made a quick bid on McKnight’s lead to no avail.
Mike Litchey began to make his presence known moving past Santos. He immediately applied pressure to Summers. The battle was short-lived; however, as the left rear tire broke lose on Summers’ car stranding him at the end of the front stretch. Under the caution, Jeff Russell, who had towed in from Boise, ID retired from the event.
Although McKnight resumed his lead, Litchey was the one to watch. On a lap 34 restart, there was slight contact between Schultz and Litchey. Lap-after-lap, Litchey looked high trying to make a move around Schultz. The efforts paid off when Litchey was able to take over the second spot on lap 39. The sparks continued to fly when Litchey had reeled in McKnight.
With only three laps to go, McKnight and Litchey made contact. Both were able to continue and McKnight retained his lead. McKnight went on to take the victory over Litchey. Schultz, Mark Sammut, and Scott Martel completed the top five.
Christopher took top honors in the caution-filled main event for the SK-Type Modifieds. It took several attempts to get the 50-lapper underway. A multi-car accident in turn three that involved Mike Carpenter, Henry Stampfl, Shaun Carrig, Ryan Preece and others required the first of two complete restarts. On the second attempt at a start, contact between Kenny Horton and Steven Reed sent Horton spinning and the caution flag flying once again. Jeffrey Earnhardt, making his SK-Type Modified debut, was also involved.
With green flag racing finally underway, pole sitter Ronnie Silk showed the way with Reed in tow. Cravenho pressured Christopher for third while Jimmy Blewett and Ron Yuhas, Jr. jockeyed for position. A pass on lap five put Christopher at the head of the field.
Keith Rocco, who had started scratch on the field after missing qualifying to attend the early portion of the NASCAR All-American Series banquet, found himself comfortably inside the top ten and making fast tracks to the top-five. His progress was slowed when Richard Schwartz and Michael Carpenter where involved in an incident on lap seven to bring out the caution again.
On lap 9, Rocco was able to make his way passed Yuhas and set sail for Cravenho for third. Up front Christopher continued to chase Silk. Sparks began to fly between Rocco and Cravenho as they battled for position. The two made contact. Yuhas went low to move by both competitors; however, contact with Cravenho sent Yuhas hard into the outside wall. Cravenho was sent to the tail end of the field for his involvement.
Doug Coby was on the move after a lap 16 restart taking the fourth spot from Eric Beers, aboard the TS Haulers #5. Jimmy Blewett was also making his way to the front. Blewett passed Tommy Farrell to take over the fifth spot. While battling for the second position with Silk, Rocco watched his bid for victory end in the turn two wall. Silk was penalized for his involvement. The running order at halfway found Christopher leading Coby, Beers, Blewett, and Farrell.
Things settled down for a portion of the event with Coby taking chase of Christopher through lapped traffic. With only four laps remaining Farrell spun exiting turn four. Christopher watched his sizeable lead disappear with the yellow. Beers encountered mechanical problems falling off the pace on the final restart. Christopher was able to pull away from Coby. Blewett made his move after the restart to grab second from Coby. A scary looking incident that involved Gary Young, Jr. and Marc Nappi slowed the event with only two laps remaining. Christopher was up to the challenge on the final restart to take the victory in the 50 lap main event. Blewett settled for second. Steven Reed also earned a podium finish. Farrell recovered from an early incident to finish fourth. Coby fell back to fifth at the checkers. Horton also rebounded nicely to finish sixth. Reed received the RH2Way bonus as the highest finishing driver to compete in only the SK-Type Modified division.
In support division action, Pete Brittain of Oakhurst, NJ, who was doing triple duty on the weekend, scored the victory in Vintage action. Jeff Melton was the victor in the Street Stock main event that was held on Friday night.
A host of specialty and contingency awards were awarded for the 6th Annual John Blewett III Memorial North-South Shootout. A complete rundown will be available in the near future.
6th Annual John Blewett III Memorial North-South Shootout Tour Modified 125 Lap Feature Finish (Pos. North/South Designation) Car # Driver’s Name, Hometown): 1. (S) 1 Burt Myers, Kernersville, NC; 2. (N) 60 Matt Hirschman, Northampton, PA; 3. (N) 79x Ronnie Silk, Norwalk, CT; 4. (N) 36 Ted Christopher, Plainville, CT; 5. (N) 98 Bobby Santos III, Franklin, MA; 6. (S) 28 George Brunnhoelzl III, Mooresville, NC; 7. (S) 4 Jason Myers, Walnut Cove, NC; 8. (N) 17 Glen Reen, Wilbraham, MA; 9. (N) 98H Chuck Hossfeld, Ransomville, NY; 10. (N) 34 Rusty Smith, Oxford, NY; 11. (N) 2 Todd Szegedy, Ridgefield, CT; 12. (S) 23 Brian Loftin, Lexington, NC; 13. (N) 45 Erick Rudolph, Ransomville, NY; 14. (N) 40 Ryan Preece, Kensington, CT; 15. (N) 88 Woody Pitkat, Stafford, CT; 16. (N) 79 Ed Flemke, Jr., Berlin, CT; 17. (N) 5 Charlie Pasteryak, Lisbon, CT; 18. (N) 75 Carl Pasteryak, Lisbon, CT; 19. (S) 8 Jay Mize, Clemmons, NC; 20. (N) 93 Rowan Pennink, Huntingdon Valley, PA; 21. (N) 9 Eric Beers, N. Hampton, PA; 22. (S) 07 Frank Fleming, Mount Airy, NC; 23. (N) 659 Danny Bohn, Rockwell, NC; 24. (S) 31 Gene Pack, Walkertown, NC; 25. (N) 8 Earl Paules, Palmerton, PA; 26. (S) 19 Jimmy Blewett, Howell, NJ; 27. (N) 06 Les Hinckley, Windsor Locks, CT; 28. (N) 17 Chris Whitenight, Jr., Berwick, PA; 29. (N) 99 Jamie Tomaino, Howell, NJ; 30. (N) 08 Thomas Farrell III, Neptune, NJ; 31. (N) 44 Rick Kluth, Brockport, NY; 32. (N) 66 Pete Brittain, Oakhurst, NJ; 33. (N) 3 Daren Scherer, Binghamton, NY; DNS (S) 34 Josh Nichols, Cleveland, NC.
6th Annual John Blewett III Memorial North-South Shootout Tour Modified 25 Lap Non-Qualifiers Event Finish (Pos. North/South Designation) Car # Driver’s Name, Hometown): 1. (S) 8 Jay Mize, Clemmons, NC; 2. (S) 98 Richie Kuiken, Jr., Staffordville, NJ; 3. (N) 4 Barry Callavini, Hazleton, PA; 4. (N) 29 Kenny Horton, Guilford, CT; 5. (N) 76 Jason Trinchere, Easton, PA; 6. (S) 03 Luke Fleming, Mount Airy, NC; DNS-(N) 00 Keith Rocco, Wallingford, CT; (N) 22 Lloyd Agor, New Milford, CT; (N) 68 Johnny Bush, Huntington Station, NY.
East-West Supermodified Shootout 50 Lap Feature Event Finish (Pos. Car # Driver’s Name, Hometown): 1. 94 Dave McKnight, Brampton, ONT; 2. 84 Mike Litchey, Concord, NC; 3. 7 Charlie Schultz, Lorain, OH; 4. 78 Mark Sammut, London, ONT; 5. 14 Scott Martel, Bradford, MA; 6. 9 Bobby Santos, Franklin, MA; 7. 92 Larry Lehnert, Lagrange, OH; 8. 77 Tim Ice, Seville, OH; 9. 38 Randy Burch, Middlebury Heights, OH; 10. 97 Rob Summers, Vernon, CT; 11. 85 Jeff Russell, Boise, ID; 12. 32 Doug Didero, Mooresville, NC; 13. 61 David Shullick, Jr., Ridgeville, OH.
6th Annual John Blewett III Memorial North-South Shootout Tour Modified 50 Lap SK-Type Modified Feature Finish (Pos. Car # Driver’s Name, Hometown): 1. 00 Ted Christopher, Plainville, CT; 2. 12 Jimmy Blewett, Howell, NJ; 3. 55 Steven Reed, Freehold, NJ; 4. 8 Thomas Farrell III , Neptune, NJ; 5. 10 Doug Coby, Milford, CT; 6. 19 Kenny Horton, Guilford, CT; 7. 81 Ryan Preece, Kensington, CT; 8. 91 Shaun Carrig, Little Falls, NJ; 9. 12 Kevin Flockhart, Jr., Whiting, NJ; 10. 5 Eric Beers, Northampton, PA; 11. 61 Richie Evans, Jr., Sea Girt, NJ; 12. 51 Rob Janovic, Jr., Waterford, CT; 13. 3 Henry Stampfl, Norwood, MA; 14. 8 Jeffrey Earnhardt, Mooresville, NC; 15. 8 Patti Pruitt, Owego, NY; 16. 45 Gary Young, Jr., Burlington, NC; 17. 31 Tommy Cravenho, Raynham, MA; 18. 58 Ronnie Silk, Norwalk, CT; 19. 27 Adam LaCicero, Lavallette, NJ; 20. 74 Sherri Hogan, Belwood, Ontario; 21. 71 Jimmy Zacharias, Candor, NY; 22. 14 Marc Nappi, Howell, NJ; 23. 48 Rick Kluth, Brockport, NY; 24. 11 Pete Brittain, Oakhurst, NJ; 25. 6 Keith Rocco, Wallingford, CT; 26. 4 Ron Yuhas, Jr., Groton, CT; 27. 38 Robert Schwartz, Jr., Cornelius, NC; 28. 77 Michael Carpenter, Brick, NJ; 29. 1 Richard Knapp, Jr., Mooresville, NC; DNS 8 Earl Paules, Palmerton, PA.
Vintage Feature Finish: 1. Pete Brittain; 2. Brian Janik; 3. Dean Slappey; 4. Anthony Colosimo; 5. Randy McAnulty; 6. Willie Wall; 7. Shaun Magum; 8. Ken Pullen; 9. Johnny Gregory; 10. David Poskit. DNS Don Skaggs
Street Stocks Feature Finish: 1. Jeff Melton; 2. AJ Sanders; 3. Brian Love; 4. Charles Hutto; 5. Archie Sanders; 6. David Miller; 7. Patty Markin; 8. Debbie Hickman; 9. Jay Mudra; 10. Terry Price.
Sources: Dale Wolbrink/North-South Shootout PR