Brewer announces new ride
Chance meeting yields new partnership
Daytona Beach, FL — The new year has already brought in something good for Zack Brewer. Brewer has announced he will be driving full time in the NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour this season for veteran car owner Howard Harvey.
Harvey is no stranger to NASCAR Whelen Modified racing, having owned a car for over 30 years and has competed most recently in both the NASCAR Whelen Modified and Southern Modified Tours with Jamie Tomaino Sr.
Brewer, who competed in five races in 2009 on the NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour, said he was planning on running his family-owned team with his father, Doug, until he ran into Harvey at a restaurant in North Carolina one day during lunch.
“I saw Mr. Harvey and we just stopped and started talking about racing and one thing led to another,” Brewer said. “We live close to one another anyway and we just started discussing each other’s plans for this year and we decided to join forces and make a run for the championship in the Whelen Southern Modified Tour.”
After Brewer and Harvey talked to one another they decided the time was right to make a change. Harvey had been a full-time participant in the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour, but decided to stay in the South and run a full schedule with a driver who has won races on tracks the series visits this season.
For Brewer, he couldn’t be happier for the new opportunity for various reasons.
“Any driver will tell you if you get a chance to race in good equipment they are excited and that is me right now,” Brewer said. “Being able to focus primarily on driving and getting the car the best it can be to race is going to be so much better for me this year.”
Brewer was alluding to the fact that he and his father had to not only prepare the car each race and compete, they also had to find sponsors, dig up money to pay the tire bill and also find a way to keep the team together while also working regular jobs.
“My dad is going to be the car chief and Eddie Harvey will continue to be the general manager and crew chief for his dad on the team,” Brewer said. “We will also use our car on the quarter-mile tracks to help with the costs and this is a win-win for all of us. We also are fortunate some of our primary and associate sponsors like Triad Auto, Phoenix pre-owned cars, Piedmont Wood Floors and DMC Auto Exchange have returned.”
The car will look a little different as it will feature No. 11 instead of the familiar No. 99 that was on the side of the car last season with Tomaino driving, and the car will use Rahmoc engines.
Brewer added that in addition to the NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour schedule, the team also plans to compete in both NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour races at New Hampshire Motor Speedway and at the tour’s June 6 stop at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway.
The first race for Brewer will be the season-opening NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour race at Atlanta Motor Speedway on Friday, March 5.