News & Notes: Christopher, Seuss Take Momentum To Ace Speedway
Two races and two different winners. That is a quick review of the 2009 season so far on the NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour. This Friday night’s race could give NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour fans their third winner in as many races to start the season.
There will be two drivers that hope that isn’t the case this weekend.
Ted Christopher (No. 00 Sherm’s Towing Chevrolet) won the season opener on March 21 at Concord (N.C.) Speedway and followed that up by winning the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour’s season-opening Icebreaker Sunday at Thompson (Conn.) International Speedway.
Christopher heads South again this weekend. Christopher, the defending NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour champion, has three career wins in the NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour competition in nine starts.
Andy Seuss (No. 47 Advance Auto Parts/Q Racing Oil Dodge) erased some bad memories from Concord by winning Saturday night at South Boston (Va.) Speedway for his third career win and hopes to make it two in a row this Friday night at Ace Speedway. (CLICK HERE FOR RACE EVENT PAGE)
“I can’t wait to get to Ace Speedway,” said Seuss. “We have run well there in the past and this team has a lot of momentum right now and we want to get back on the track as quickly as possible.”
One driver who will try and keep Christopher and Seuss out of Victory Lane is L.W. Miller.
Miller drove his No. 36 John Baker Plumbing and Utilities Pontiac to victory after winning the Coors Light Pole last year at Ace. It was Miller’s second win in the first two races of 2008, but he hasn’t been able to break through for another win since.
Miller will also be joined by Burt Myers (No. 1 Capital Bank Ford) as one of the favorites at Ace.
Myers, who holds the series record with 18 Coors Light Pole Awards since the tour began in 2005, says qualifying is very important at a small track like Ace, which has very tight turns.
“You definitely want to qualify as good as you can at any race but Ace is a place that can be a challenge so you want to be up front,” said Myers. “I love racing at Ace and we have so many great Whelen Modified fans that always support us in the area and I can’t wait to get out there this weekend and help put on a great show.”
The Lightnin’ Fast 150 was originally scheduled in late March but rain forced NASCAR and Ace Speedway to postpone the event to this Friday night.
The Lightnin’ Fast 150 race day will begin with practice at 12:30 p.m. with qualifying scheduled for 7 p.m. and the field taking the green flag at 8 p.m. For more information, please contact Ace Speedway at (336) 585-1200.
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| The Race | Lightnin’ Fast 150 |
|---|---|
| The Place | Ace Speedway, Altamahaw, N.C. |
| The Date | Friday, April 10, 2009 |
| The Time | 8 p.m. ET |
| Track Layout | .400-mile paved |
| Race Purse | $24,806 |
| 2008 Winner | L.W. Miller |
| 2008 Pole | L.W. Miller |
| Schedule | Friday, April 10: Practice 12:30-2 p.m., Time Trials: 7 p.m. |
| Track Contact | Kathy Thompson, (336) 585-1200 kft119@hotmail.com |
| NASCAR Contact | Tim Southers, (386) 235-3634 tsouthers@nascar.com |
CLICK HERE FOR COMPLETE ENTRY LIST
News & Notes
The Race … The Lightin’ Fast 150 will be the third of 16 races on the NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour schedule, and one of two trips to Ace. The tour will return Oct. 2.
The Procedure … Starting Positions 1-24 will be determined from time trials. The remaining two spots will be filled through the provisional process. The race is 150 laps (60 miles).
The Track … A semi-banked, .400-mile oval, Ace Speedway dates back to the 1950s in Alamance County. Formerly known as Southern Speedway, Ace is located in Altamahaw. It was constructed in 1956 by Roy Maddren, and operated as a .333-mile dirt track until 1984 when it was expanded.
Race Winners … There have been six different race winners in six races at Ace Speedway. The inaugural event – Sept. 5, 2005 – was actually run as a double-header. Junior Miller won the first race, while Burt Myers (who finished second to Miller) came back to win the second. Jay Hedgecock (2005), Brian King (2006), Tim Brown (2007) and L.W. Miller (2008) have also picked up wins at Ace.
Pole Winners … There have been four different Coors Light Pole Award winners at Ace. Brown is the only driver to have won twice. He also holds the qualifying record with his run of 14.710 seconds (97.893 mph) in 2007. Myers, Michael Clifton and L.W. Miller have also won poles at Ace.
History … Myers has enjoyed the most success at Ace. In addition to his win, he has finished in the top four in four of the other five events. Brian Loftin is second with four top-five finishes, including a runner-up finish in Oct. 2005. His 17th-place finish at Ace last year was the worst of his championship run.
Final Notes From South Boston
Seuss cleans up … Not only did Andy Seuss (No. 47 Advance Auto Parts/Q Racing Oil/Stuart Auto Dodge) win the race, but he also cleaned up in the contingency department. Seuss, who started eighth after the redraw of the top eight spots, earned the Coca-Cola Move of the Race Award for improving eight spots. And after his last-place finish in the season opener, Seuss also earned the Featherlite Most Improved Driver Award for moving up the most spots from the previous race.
Veteran also recovers from opening night bad luck … Gene Pack (No. 31 B&J BH’s, Inc./Wing-N-Things Chevrolet) finished eighth to collect his first top-10 finish of the season after he finished 19th in the season opener at Concord. Pack currently sits in 12th place in the points standings.
Defending champion returns to top-five form … Brian Loftin (No. 23 L&R Transmissions/QMF Metal Solutions Chevrolet) finished fifth for his first top-five finish of the year. Loftin, who admitted his team tried some new things on his car at Concord, finished a disappointing 15th in the season’s first race.
Consistent starts for two drivers … George Brunnhoelzl III (No. 28 Oval Speed/Fibrwrap/PT Ford) and Burt Myers (N0. 1 Capital Bank Ford) are the only two drivers on the NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour to collect top-five finishes in both races held this season.
Brunnhoelzl III started last in the field at Concord and rebounded to finish third. He also won the Coors Light Pole Award and finished second at South Boston. Myers also has a pole award from Concord and finishes of fourth at Concord and third at South Boston.
Faucette Wins Season Opening Race At Ace
Speedy Faucette was able to hold off Dustin Rumley to win the 76-lap Late Model Stock feature in NASCAR Whelen All-American Series season-opening action last weekend at Ace Speedway. Rodney Cook followed in third with Jason Payne and Ryan Wilson completing the top five.
Brian King qualified on the pole and led all 35 laps in the Modified feature. Josh Nichols followed in second with Randy Butner third.
Jimmy Rice won the Limited Sportsman race, Chuck Wall won the Mini Stock feature, Keith Brame won the X-Treme 20-lap feature and Ed Peters won the 25-lap Mini Cup feature.
This weekend, the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series late models will join Friday’s program for a 50-lap feature and the Limited Sportsman cars will also have a 30-lap feature.
The Mini Stocks will return to action as well with a 25-lap race and the X-Treme cars will also hold a 20-lap feature to close out the night’s racing action with a total of five events and 275 laps of racing action scheduled at the track.
For more information, please visit the official website at www.acespeedway.com.
Caraway Speedway 150 at Caraway Speedway
(CLICK HERE FOR RACE EVENT PAGE)
Getting To Know: Burt Myers
Burt Myers is ready for a rare doubleheader this weekend when the NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour visits Ace and Caraway Speedways this Friday and Saturday night, respectively.
Myers holds the record for most Coors Light Pole Awards (18), winning his most recent one at Concord (N.C.) Speedway. He has won two poles at Ace and eight at Caraway. Myers’ lone wins at each Ace and Caraway came in the inaugural season of the Tour in 2005 and the veteran is ready to get back to Victory Lane at each track.
What is your favorite restaurant? Buffalo Wild Wings
Do you have a favorite track on the Tour? I would say it is Concord. You are on the edge every lap there and you have to go as hard as you can every lap and it really challenges you as a driver.
How special is it to be able to race with your brother each week? It is a wonderful blessing to be able to race against and with my brother and have both my parents there every week. We are a racing family. My mom (Pam) even spotted for me for the first time last week at South Boston.
What would you do for a living if you didn’t drive a race car? I really enjoy designing my own decals for the cars so I would probably do something in graphic designs.
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| The Race | Caraway Speedway 150 |
|---|---|
| The Place | Caraway Speedway, Asheboro, N.C. |
| The Date | Saturday, April 11, 2009 |
| The Time | 8 p.m. ET |
| Track Layout | .455-mile paved |
| Race Purse | $24,806 |
| 2008 Winner | Brian Loftin |
| 2008 Pole | Burt Myers |
| Schedule | Saturday, April 11: Practice 4:30-5:15 p.m., Time Trials: 6:30 p.m. |
| Track Contact | Renee Hackett, (336) 629-5803 carawayspeedway@embarqmail.com |
| NASCAR Contact | Tim Southers, (386) 235-3634 tsouthers@nascar.com |
CLICK HERE FOR COMPLETE ENTRY LIST
News & Notes
The Race … The Caraway Speedway 150 will be the fourth of 16 races on the NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour schedule, and first of seven trips to the Asheboro, N.C., oval.
The Procedure … Starting Positions 1-24 will be determined from time trials. The remaining two spots will be filled through the provisional process. The race is 150 laps (68.25 miles).
The Track … Caraway Speedway is a 455-mile paved oval. The track has hosted 23 NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour events, dating back to March 2005.
Race Winners … Brian Loftin and L.W. Miller lead all drivers at Caraway with six victories apiece.
Pole Winners … Burt Myers has eight of his record 18 Coors Light Pole Awards at Caraway, while Tim Brown is second with five poles at Caraway.
Caraway Speedway Ready To Host Modifieds
Hopefully the third time is the charm as the NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour makes its third attempt to race at Caraway Speedway this weekend with the Caraway Speedway 150. The track has been forced to postpone its first two scheduled events at the track due to rain showers.
Among the drivers expected to challenge for the win include last week’s winner at South Boston and the driver who won the last modified race at Caraway – Andy Seuss.
Others entered who have enjoyed success at the track located in Asheboro, N.C., include L.W. Miller, who has six career wins at the track, and defending Tour champion Brian Loftin. Loftin joins Miller with six career wins and did not finish outside the top five at Caraway last year en route to winning his first NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour championship.
“If you can run well at Caraway and win a few races and hold your own at the other tracks then you should have a pretty good chance of winning the title,” said Loftin. “We hope we can continue our good streak of strong finishes there this weekend.”
Other drivers entered for this weekend’s races who have also visited Victory Lane at Caraway include Tim Brown and Ted Christopher with each scoring two victories.
In addition to the Caraway Speedway 150, the track will also host its regular NASCAR Whelen All-American Series divisions with a 50-lap Late Model Super Truck, 30-lap Sportsman, 15-lap Mini Stock and a 10-lap U-Cars race.
Sources: Tim Southers/NASCAR WSMT PR