Statistical Advance: Analyzing The UNOH Perfect Storm 150 At Bristol Motor Speedway
Daytona Beach, FL — The NASCAR Whelen Modified and Whelen Southern Modified Tours will get together for the lone combination race of the season this Wednesday, Aug. 18 for the UNOH Perfect Storm 150 at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway.
At Bristol Motor Speedway:
• First NASCAR race was on July 30, 1961 … The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race was won by Jack Smith.
• Bristol Motor Speedway was originally an even half-mile oval with a seating capacity of 18,000. The configuration was expanded to .533 miles in 1969 and the capacity has increased to its current level of 160,000.
• There have been a total of 99 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, 56 NASCAR Nationwide Series and 12 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series events at BMS entering this week.
• Wednesday’s UNOH Perfect Storm 150 will mark the second time the NASCAR Whelen Modified and Whelen Southern Modified Tours have competed at BMS.
• Donny Lia captured the checkered flag in the inaugural race at BMS last year en route to the NWMT title … George Brunnhoelzl III, who crossed the line fourth overall, was credited with NWSMT first-place points as that Tour’s top finisher. There was no pole winner as qualifying was rained out.
• This year’s event will see new winners for the respective Tours. Lia now competes in the NCWTS and Brunnhoelzl now drives for a NWMT team.
Bristol Motor Speedway Data
Race: NWMT #10 of 14, NWSMT #6 of 10
Track Layout: .533-mile concrete oval
Banking: 24-30 degrees in the turns, 6-10 in the straights
Race Length: 150 laps/79.95 miles
UPDATED ENTRY LIST
Qualifying/Race Data
2009 Pole Winner: None (rain)
2009 Race Winner: Donny Lia (75.782 mph, 1:03:18)
Qualifying Record: No record set.
2010 NWMT Points Leaders
1. Ted Christopher … 1583
2. Bobby Santos … 1569
3. Mike Stefanik … 1498
4. Ron Silk … 1467
5. Todd Szegedy … 1463
2010 NWSMT Points Leaders
1. L.W. Miller … 831
2. James Civali … 794
3. Andy Seuss … 792
4. John Smith … 776
5. Burt Myers … 739
Up to Speed, NWMT:
• Bobby Santos opened the 2010 season with a win in the Icebreaker at Thompson International Speedway on April 11. He established a track record in qualifying as he earned the pole.
• Santos also set the track record in qualifying at Stafford Motor Speedway for the Spring Sizzler on April 24. The race was postponed to May 1, and was won by Ted Christopher.
• Santos was back in Victory Lane in the third race of the season on May 28 at SMS. Prior to the race, Santos also earned the Coors Light Pole Award.
• Santos earned his third win in four outings when he captured the Martinsville Speedway checkered flag on June 6. Mike Stefanik was the pole winner.
• NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver Ryan Newman captured the pole and the race win in the New England 100 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway on June 26.
• Todd Szegedy earned the pole and led all but four laps in the inaugural race at Lime Rock Park on July 3, but Dale Quarterley wound up with the checkered flag.
• In the NWMT’s first trip to Monadnock Speedway since 1990, Christopher edged pole winner Erick Rudolph for the checkered flag on July 17.
• Rowan Pennink earned his first career NWMT win at Riverhead Raceway on July 31 while George Brunnhoelzl III also captured his first career Coors Light Pole Award.
• Szegedy ended the longest winless drought of his career when he took the checkered flag at SMS on Aug. 6. Ron Silk earned his first career SMS pole prior to the race.
• Christopher returned to Victory Lane for the third time in 2010 with a win last time out at TIS. He also earned the pole award prior to the race.
• For the first time this year, Santos has relinquished the championship lead. With the win at TIS, Christopher now has a 14-point lead on Santos with four races remaining.
Up To Speed, NWSMT:
• Corey LaJoie won the NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour season opener at the Atlanta Motor Speedway quarter-mile on March 5.
• Andy Seuss won the next race at Caraway Speedway on March 15.
• James Civali won the NWSMT portion of the doubleheader with the K&N Pro Series East at South Boston Speedway on April 3. It was his first NWSMT win.
• John Smith picked up his first tour win at Caraway Speedway on July 2.
• L.W. Miller won his first NWSMT race since 2008 last time out at Bowman Gray Stadium.
• With the Bowman Gray win, Miller took the championship lead and is now 37 tallies ahead of Civali.
• There has not been a repeat winner this season.
Selected Driver Highlights:
Eric Beers (NWMT No. 76 Horwith Freightliner Chevrolet)
• Has two wins, nine poles and 60 top 10s in 150 career starts.
• Has improved from 15th to seventh in points in the last four races.
• Finished 14th at Bristol Motor Speedway in 2009.
Zach Brewer (No. 11 Quality Inn/Phoenix Pre-Owned/Triad Auto Chevrolet)
• Has two top fives in 22 career NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour starts.
• Made six starts in 2009 with two top-10 finishes.
• Has won two Coors Light Pole Awards this season with his first one at South Boston on April 3, 2010 and Aug. 7 at Bowman Gray Stadium.
Tim Brown (NWSMT No. 02 T&C Motorsports Chevrolet)
• Has finished second in the season-ending points standings a record three times from 2006-2008.
• Has 54 career starts on the NWSMT and is tied for the lead in career top fives with 34 and has 45 top-10 finishes.
• Has five wins on the NWSMT, with his most recent coming on Sept. 27, 2008 at Caraway Speedway.
• This will be his first NWSMT start at BMS.
George Brunnhoelzl III (NWMT No. 46 Cape Cod Aggregates/Oval Speed/PT Chevrolet)
• The 2009 NASCAR NWSMT champion.
• Has four top 10s in 11 career NWMT starts, with a best finish of fifth at Riverhead Raceway.
• Was the highest-finishing NWSMT driver last year at BMS when he finished fourth overall.
• Competed in the NWSMT from 2006-09. Has six wins, seven poles and 27 top 10s in 40 career NWSMT starts.
Ted Christopher (NWMT No. 13 Al-Lee Installations Chevrolet)
• The 2008 NWMT champion. Has 37 wins and 22 poles in 290 career starts. His 37 wins rank third all-time and his 22 poles are ninth. Has at least one win in 12-straight seasons.
• Brings a 14-point lead in the standings thanks to his third win of the year last time out at Thompson International Speedway. Also has wins this year at Stafford Motor Speedway and Monadnock Speedway. Has seven top fives in 10 races this year.
• Led the first 110 laps at BMS last year and finished as the race runner-up.
• Will race No. 13 this week instead of his traditional No. 36 due to a conflict with the No. 36 NWSMT car of L.W. Miller. No. 13 is his NASCAR Whelen All American Series number.
James Civali (NWSMT No. 79 Hill Enterprises/Coors Light/Le Blue Water Pontiac)
• Competes in both the NWMT and NWSMT, but will be designated a NWSMT car at BMS.
• Enters BMS second in the NWSMT point standings after leading since March. Now trails L.W. Miller by 37 points.
• Has 10 career NWSMT starts. Earned first NWSMT win at South Boston on April 3, 2010.
• Finished 40th last season at BMS after being involved in a four-car accident on Lap 1.
• The 2006 NWMT Sunoco Rookie of the Year. Has four wins, a pole and 29 top 10s in 55 career NWMT starts. Has four top 10s in eight NWMT 2010 starts.
Frank Fleming (NWSMT No. 40 Jerry Hunt Auto & Truck Sales/Lewisville Motors Ford)
• Has 20 top fives and 43 top 10s in 66 career NWSMT starts. Is tied for first for most career starts and has missed only one race since the NWSMT was formed in 2005.
• Has finished second seven times, with his most recent runner-up finish coming at Caraway Speedway on July 3, 2009.
• Finished in the top 10 in 11 of 14 starts in 2009.
• Has more than 50 total wins at Bowman Gray Stadium.
L.W. Miller (NWSMT No. 36 John Baker Plumbing & Utilities Pontiac)
• The 2007 NWSMT champion. Earned the title by 25 points over Tim Brown (1,930-1,905).
• Is tied for first place on the NWSMT career wins list with 11, in only 50 starts. Won last time out on Aug. 7, 2010 at Bowman Gray Stadium to take the points lead.
• Has a win and 10 top 10s in 75 career NWMT starts. All but three of those starts came prior to the formation of the NWSMT in 2005.
• Finished 13th last year at Bristol Motor Speedway and was fourth among NWSMT regulars.
Burt Myers (NWSMT No. 1 Capital Bank/Patterson’s Foods/Cumbernauld Ford)
• Most decorated driver in the history of the NWSMT to have not won a championship. Holds NWSMT records for most Coors Light Pole Awards (23), top 10s (53), top fives (36) and consecutive starts (49).
• Finished ninth last season at BMS, and second among NWSMT drivers.
• Has raced with his brother, Jason, in the NWSMT since 2005.
Jason Myers (NWSMT No. 14 Capital Bank/Moorefield & Trantham/FloMet Ford)
• Tied with Frank Fleming for most career NWSMT starts, with 66.
• Picked up his lone NWSMT win at Bowman Gray Stadium on Aug. 5, 2006.
• Has 47 top-10 finishes since 2005.
• Has three top fives in five starts this season. One of four drivers to have multiple top fives.
Ryan Newman (NWMT No. 7 Aggressive Hydraulics/Menards Chevrolet)
• Made NWMT debut with a pole and a 20th-place finish at NHMS in September 2008.
• This will be his sixth career NWMT start. Four previous races were at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, and the inaugural BMS race a year ago, which ended for him with a first-lap crash.
• Won the June NHMS race this year. Previous best NWMT finish was an eighth-place effort in September 2009 at NHMS.
• All NWMT starts have come in the No. 7 owned by Kevin Manion, who is crew chief for Jamie McMurray in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series.
• Has a win (NASCAR Nationwide Series, 2005) and 15 top 10s in 25 combined NASCAR national series starts at BMS.
Rowan Pennink (NWMT No. 93 Monk Mechanics Hand Cleaner Chevrolet)
• Has a win and 23 top 10s in 53 career starts.
• Has four top 10s – highlighted by his first career win at Riverhead Raceway – in 10 starts this year and is 10th in points.
• Finished seventh overall at BMS in 2009.
Ryan Preece (NWMT No. 3 Cape Cod Copper/Mizzy Construction Chevrolet)
• Has four poles, three wins and 26 top 10s in 53 career starts.
• Slipped to sixth in points following a 16th-place finish last time out. Has five top fives this year.
• Has slipped from fourth to sixth in points the last two races.
• Finished third overall at BMS a year ago.
Erick Rudolph (NWMT No. 98 Mohawk Northeast/Original Pizza Logs Chevrolet)
• Has a win, a pole and 17 top 10s in 31 career starts.
• Is seventh in points with five top 10s in 10 starts this year.
• Finished 10th overall at BMS in the 2009 event.
Bobby Santos (NWMT No. 4 “Mystic Missile” Dodge)
• Has four wins, three poles and 20 top 10s in 39 career starts.
• Led in points through the first nine races, but was passed last week by Ted Christopher. Is now 14 points out of first and has eight top 10s in 10 starts this year.
• Has wins this year at TIS, SMS and Martinsville to become the first driver in NWMT history to win three of the first four races of a season. Also earned the pole for the first three races.
Andy Seuss (NWSMT No. 47 Q Racing Oil/Glad Precision/MUA Dodge)
• Has three top 10s in four races this season, highlighted by his win at the Spring Classic 150 at Caraway on March 14, 2010.
• Has 27 top-10 finishes in 38 career NWSMT starts and a total of seven wins.
• Commutes from his home in New Hampshire to drive in the NWSMT. Also competes part-time in the NWMT, where he has three top 10s in 20 career starts, including five starts in 2010.
Ron Silk (NWMT No. 6 T.S. Haulers/Calverton Tree Farm Chevrolet)
• Has four wins, two poles and 37 top 10s in 77 career starts.
• Is up to fourth in points with top fives in each of the last six races.
• Finished 33rd with a blown engine last year at BMS.
John Smith (NWSMT No. 25 Tutterrow Surveying/Rick’s Home Repair Chevrolet)
• Picked up first NWSMT win at Caraway by winning the Firecracker 150 on July 2, 2010.
• Has 29 top-10 finishes in 45 career NWSMT starts.
• Only driver to finish in the top 10 in all five races so far in 2010.
• Finished 23rd overall at BMS last year.
Mike Stefanik (NWMT No. 16 Diversified Metals/R.B. Enterprises Pontiac)
• The 1989, 1991, 1997, 1998, 2001, 2002 and 2006 NWMT champion.
• Holds NWMT records for most titles (7), wins (70), poles (43), top fives (207) and top 10s (272).
• Is third in points after 10 races with eight top 10s.
• Finished 25th with a blown engine last year at BMS.
Todd Szegedy (NWMT No. 2 UNOH/Wisk/Snuggle Ford)
• The 2003 NWMT champion. Has 14 wins, seven poles and 85 top 10s in 133 career starts.
• Is fifth in points after 10 races with six top fives, highlighted by a win at SMS in August.
• Finished sixth overall at BMS in 2009.
Sources: Jason Cunningham/NASCAR WMT PR