Whelen So. Mod. Stat Advance: Bowman Gray
• For the first time in the 11-year history of the tour, brothers Jason and Burt Myers enter this event first and second in the points standings.
• Danny Bohn scored his first Bowman Gray touring series win when the tour visited on the historic flat quarter-mile track in last year.
• Burt (2005, 2007) and Jason Myers (2006) accounted for the first three NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour wins at Bowman Gray, but haven’t won there since.
• In 2013, Ryan Preece, the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour champion that season, came down and scored his first win in the Southern Tour. Preece is scheduled to compete this week and will joined by fellow NWMT competitor Eric Goodale, who won the NWSMT opener at Caraway Speedway in March.
At Bowman Gray
History
• The NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour has made nine visits to Bowman Gray Stadium.
• The quarter-mile track was built and opened on May 18, 1949 by NASCAR founder Bill France Sr. and Alvin Hawkins. Fonty Flock won the first race.
• The track also hosts nearby Winston-Salem State University home football games in the infield of the stadium.
Notebook
• The 10 tour events at Bowman Gray have resulted in seven different race winners. Burt Myers and L.W. Miller, with two each, are the only drivers with multiple wins.
• There have been six different pole winners at Bowman Gray. Burt Myers, with four, is the only driver with multiple poles.
• Tim Brown and Burt Myers are tied for the most top-five finishes at Bowman Gray with six each.
• Burt Myers also holds the record for the most top 10s at Bowman Gray with eight.
• With a 5.6 mark in 10 tour starts, Burt Myers has the best average finish among drivers with five or more appearances at Bowman Gray.
• George Brunnhoelzl III led the most laps in tour competition at Bowman Gray – running out front for 325.
• Only Burt Myers and Jason Myers have competed in all 10 tour events at Bowman Gray. John Smith, who is second with nine, missed last season due to a fractured wrist suffered in a NASCAR Whelen All-American Series race at Bowman Gray earlier in the season.
• Sixty-nine different drivers have competed in the tour at Bowman Gray.
Bowman Gray Data
Race: #6 of 14 (8/2/14)
Track Layout: .25-mile paved flat oval
Race Length: 199 laps (49.99 miles)
Records
1-Lap Qualifying: Tim Brown, 13.186 seconds, 68.254 mph, Aug. 8, 2008
Race Record: L.W. Miller, 1 hour 57 seconds, 48.975 mph, Aug. 7, 2010
Category Leaders at Bowman Gray:
Wins
1. L.W. Miller … 2
2. Burt Myers … 2
3. Six drivers … 1
Poles
1. Burt Myers … 4
2. Six drivers … 1
Top Fives
1. Burt Myers … 6
2. Jason Myers … 4
3. Andy Seuss … 4
Top 10s
1. Burt Myers … 6
2. Jason Myers … 4
3. Andy Seuss … 4
Laps Led
1. George Brunnhoelzl III … 325
2. Ryan Preece … 199
3. Danny Bohn … 196
Laps Completed
1. Burt Myers … 1,923
2. Jason Myers … 1,716
3. John Smith … 1,620
Starts
1. Burt Myers … 10
2. Jason Myers … 10
3. John Smith … 9
Selected Driver Highlights:
JR Bertuccio (No. 2 Gershow Recycling Chevrolet)
• Has two wins and 22 top 10s in 44 career NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour starts. The wins came at Southern National Motorsports Park and Bristol Motor Speedway (NWSMT) last season.
• Enjoyed his best career finish to date in the final points standings (fourth) in 2014.
• Finished 14th last year in his second start at Bowman Gray Stadium.
George Brunnhoelzl III (No. 28 Composite Technologies Chevrolet)
• Has a record four NWSMT championships (2009, `11, `12, `13).
• Has 23 wins, 23 poles, 50 podiums, 63 top fives, 77 top 10s and 3,106 laps led in 98 career starts.
• Holds NWSMT all-time records for wins and laps led. Ranks second in poles, third in top fives and fourth in top 10s.
• Has recorded at least one win a season in every year he has competed full-time on the NWSMT since 2008.
• Competed in the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour in 2010.
• Has one win, one pole, three top fives, four top 10s and 325 laps led in seven career starts at Bowman Gray.
David Calabrese (No. 43 Diamondback Towing Chevrolet)
• Has four top fives and seven top 10s in 29 career starts.
• Finished 17th at Bowman Gray last season for his best finish in two career starts.
• Finished 11th in the final standings last year and enters this weekend ninth overall in 2015.
Kyle Ebersole (No. 5 Ebersole Excavating Ford)
• Has two wins, 20 top fives and 31 top 10s in 41 career starts. The first victory was earned at Langley Speedway in 2013 and the second came at South Boston Speedway on Sept. 13, 2014.
• Ranked sixth in points with 10 top-10 finishes last season.
• Has an average finish of eighth and has finished sixth (twice) in three career starts at Bowman Gray.
Frank Fleming (No. 40 AutosByNelson.com Chevrolet)
• This veteran driver has returned to the seat for the first time since 2012. He has one win (NWSMT Bristol – 2011) one pole, 26 top-five and 63 top-10 finishes in 101 career starts.
• Finished in the top 10 in the final standings each year from 2005-12, with a career best of fifth in 2009.
• Has one pole and four top-10 finishes in eight career starts at Bowman Gray.
Jeremy Gerstner (No. 15 GMR Lawncare/Shady Grady Racing Chevrolet)
• Competing fulltime this season for modified veteran car owner Grady Jeffreys Sr.
• Has scored four top 10s in 21 career starts with a best finish of seventh at Bowman Gray in 2013.
• Has a total of three starts at Bowman Gray with an average finish of 12th.
Eric Goodale (No. 58 GAF Roofing/Supreme Skylights Chevrolet)
• Has a win, a pole and 40 top 10s in 93 career NWMT starts. The win came at his home track Riverhead Raceway in June 2014.
• Maintains the NWMT’s longest active starts streak, now at 91 races.
• Picked up his first career NWSMT win on March 15 at Caraway.
• Has one win in four career starts in the NWSMT. His first start came at Southern National in 2013.
Bobby Measmer Jr. (No. 74 Powerhouse Recycling/Lead 2 Real Estate Chevrolet)
• Has one top five and six top 10s in 19 career starts.
• Started fourth and finished 19th in his lone start at Bowman Gray last season.
• Enters this weekend 11th in the 2015 point standings.
Burt Myers (No. 1 Remington SCT/Speedway Auto Auction Ford)
• The 2010 NWSMT champion has 16 wins, a tour record 28 poles, 65 top fives and 102 top 10s in 123 career starts.
• Finished third in the final standings last season with four wins, nine top fives and 12 top 10s in 14 races.
• Has two wins, a pole, six top-fives and eight top 10s in starts at Bowman Gray.
• Enters this weekend in second place in the standings just two points behind his brother Jason.
Jason Myers (No. 4 Adams Towing/Corks, Caps & Taps Ford)
• Has recorded three wins, 39 top fives and 93 top 10s in a NWSMT-record 127 career starts. Has competed in all but one race (2005-Martinsville Speedway) in the tour’s previous 10 seasons.
• Finished 2014 in 10th-place in the final standings with eight top 10s and two top fives.
• Joins brother Burt as the only driver to participate in all 10 previous NWSMT races at Bowman Gray, where he has a win (2006), four top fives and six top 10s.
Gary Putnam (No. 77 Curb Records Chevrolet)
• Has 26 top 10s in 50 career starts with a career best finish of fifth at Caraway in 2013.
• Finished in the top 10 in the final 2014 standings with a career-best showing of eighth place with seven top 10s in 14 races.
• Has two top 10s in three starts at Bowman Gray with a career best finish of seventh last season.
• One of just three drivers to finish in the top-10 in all five races this season.
Andy Seuss (No. 11 Northeast Race Cars/Ideal Finance Chevrolet)
• Has 19 wins, 11 poles, 59 top fives and 77 top 10s in 99 career NWSMT starts. His 19 wins rank second all-time.
• Finished first in the championship standings last season with a pair of wins at Caraway and one at South Boston. He had 12 top fives and was the only driver to finish in the top 10 in all 14 races.
• Has an average finish of seventh with four top five and six top-10 finishes at Bowman Gray.
Up To Speed:
• Eric Goodale was able to pass Jason Myers on a restart on Lap 124 and held off a late charge by
• Myers to pick up his first NWSMT win in his second start on March 15 at Caraway Speedway. The race featured five former or defending NASCAR Whelen Modified and Southern Modified Tour champions in the field with all five suffering either mechanical issues or involved in an accident.
• Andy Seuss was able to hold off Goodale on a late restart and score his 11th career win at Caraway on March 28.
• Ryan Preece kept JR Bertuccio at bay on the second green-white-checkered attempt at South Boston Speedway to score his second career win on the southern tour and first of the season on April 4.
• Burt Myers became the first repeat winner at Langley when he scored his first win of the season at the track on April 11.
• George Brunnhoelzl III broke out of a mini slump to score his first win of the season at Caraway Speedway on July 4.
Sources: