Brunnhoelzl gets the Firecracker 150 win
Asheboro, NC — George Brunnhoelzl III avoided a spinning race leader L.W. Miller on lap 113 and took the lead for good on lap 119 en route to winning the Firecracker 150 Friday night at Caraway Speedway.
It was the second career NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour win for the third-generation driver and first since last season at Lanier National Speedway.
“I was racing L.W. as hard as I could and we here using up our brakes to stay off of him,” said Brunnhoelzl after the race. “We have worked really hard get the No. 28 Oval Speed/Fibrwrap/PT Ford back to Victory Lane and I am glad we finally got back here. We had a really good car tonight.”
Frank Fleming (No. 40 Jerry Hunt Automotive/Pro Health Systems Pontiac) followed in second and Seuss (No. 47 Advance Auto Parts/Q Racing Oil/Stuart Automotive Dodge) was third. Ron Silk and Brian Loftin rounded out the top five.
Brunnhoelzl pushed his points lead to 17 over Seuss.
The race was slowed seven times by caution with one red flag for cleanup following Jay Mize’s engine issues. Miller, who led four times for 94 laps, finished 12th after his late-race spin.
Seuss won his first Coors Light Pole Award of the season with a time of 15.881 seconds (102.009 mph) earlier in the day.
The NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour returns to action on August 1, at Bowman Gray Stadium.
Sources: Tim Southers/NASCAR WSMT PR
NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour-Firecracker 150 Unofficial Results
Friday
At Caraway Speedway
Asheboro, NC
Lap length: 0.45 miles
(Start position in parentheses)
1. (1) George Brunnhoelzl III, West Babylon, N.Y., Ford, 150 laps, 63.579 mph, $2,000.
2. (6) Frank Fleming, Mount Airy, N.C., Pontiac, 150, $1,750.
3. (5) Andy Seuss, Hampstead, N.H., Dodge, 150, $1,475.
4. (13) Ron Silk, Norwalk, CT, Pontiac, 150, $1,350.
5. (7) Brian Loftin, Lexington, N.C., Chevrolet, 150, $1,000.
6. (12) Zach Brewer, Winston-Salem, N.C., Chevrolet, 150, $900.
7. (11) Buddy Emory, Petersburg, Va., Chevrolet, 150, $800.
8. (3) Jason Myers, Walnut Cove, N.C., Ford, 150, $730.
9. (4) Burt Myers, Walnut Cove, N.C., Ford, 150, $640.
10. (9) Gene Pack, Washington, D.C., Chevrolet, 150, $600.
11. (18) J.R. Bertuccio, Centerrach, NY, Chevrolet, 150, $575.
12. (2) L.W. Miller, Dushore, Pa., Toyota, 150, $550.
13. (17) Rich Kuiken Jr., Staffordsville, N.J., Chevrolet, 149, $540.
14. (19) Bryan Dauzat, Midland, NC, Chevrolet, 147, $535.
15. (14) Scott Rigney, Chevrolet, 145, $530.
16. (10) Brandon Ward, Winston-Salem, NC, Chevrolet, 70, accident, $635.
17. (8) John Smith, Mount Airy, N.C., Chevrolet, 56, accident, $520.
18. (15) Thomas Stinson, Richmond, Va., Chevrolet, 49, accident, $510.
19. (16) Jay Mize, Clemmons, N.C., Chevrolet, 42, engine, $500.
Race Statistics
Time of Race: 1 hour 3 minutes 42 seconds
Margin of Victory: .771 seconds
Fastest Qualifier: A.Seuss (102.009 mph, 15.881 seconds)
Caution Flags: 7 for 40 laps.
Lead Changes: 9 among 3 drivers.
Lap Leaders: L. Miller 1-54; G. Brunnhoelzl III 55; L. Miller 56-58; G. Brunnhoelzl III 59-75; L. Miller 76-81; G. Brunnhoelzl III 82; L. Miller 83-113; G. Brunnhoelzl III 114-118; A. Seuss 119; G. Brunnhoelzl III 120-150.
Standings: 1. G. Brunnhoelzl III, 815; 2. A. Seuss, 798; 3. B. Loftin, 753; 4. B. Myers, 735; 5. F. Fleming, 731; 6. L. Miller, 702; 7. J. Bertuccio, 702; 8. J. Myers, 698; 9. B. Emory, 644; 10. J. Smith, 635.