Statistical Advance: Analyzing The UNOH Southern Slam 150 At Charlotte
Daytona Beach, FL — The sixth season of the NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour will conclude with the inaugural visit to Charlotte Motor Speedway and the running of the UNOH Southern Slam 150 on Thursday, Oct. 16. The race will be contested on the quarter-mile track located along the front stretch of the 1.5-mile speedway located in Concord, N.C.
Up To Speed
• This will be sixth time the NWSMT has visited the state of North Carolina this season.
• The NWSMT has crowned four different champions: Junior Miller (2005, 2006), L.W. Miller (2007), Brian Loftin (2008), and George Brunnhoelzl III (2009) in it’s previous five years of competition.
Charlotte Motor Speedway Data
Race: #10 of 10 (10-25-10)
Track Layout: .25-mile oval
Banking: paved oval
Race Length: 150 laps/37.50 miles
Qualifying/Race Data:
Inaugural event at the speedway for the NWSMT.
NWSMT Points Leaders
1. James Civali 1,460
2. Andy Seuss 1,457
3. L.W. Miller 1,432
4. Burt Myers 1,419
5. John Smith 1,395
6. Jason Myers 1,315
7. Zach Brewer 1,264
8. Frank Fleming 1,219
9. Brandon Hire 1,218
10. Gene Pack 1,166
NWSMT All-Time Win Leaders
1. Brian Loftin 11
1. L.W. Miller 11
3. Junior Miller 10
4. Andy Seuss 8
5. Burt Myers. 7
6. George Brunnhoelzl III 6
6. Tim Brown 6
8. Ted Christopher 4
9. James Civali 2
10. John Smith, Jason Myers and three others tied 1
At Charlotte Motor Speedway:
• Since the NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour formed in 2005, there have been 71 races in the history of the series.
• Charlotte Motor Speedway opened in 1960 and Joe Lee Johnson won the first race held at the track on June 19.
• This will be the first NWSMT race at the track.
• The quarter-mile track hosts weekly racing as part of its Summer Shootout Series.
• Three of the previous four NWSMT champions are scheduled to race at CMS. 2007 champion L.W. Miller will be joined by 2008 champion Brian Loftin in the 26-car field. George Brunnhoelzl III, who won the title in 2009 and competed full-time in the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour this season, is also scheduled to make a start on Thursday.
• A total of six drivers who have visited Victory Lane in the NWSMT will compete this Thursday. Leading the group will be Loftin and Miller, who share the record for most wins with 11.
• Burt Myers holds the career record for the most Coors Light Pole awards with 23 and enters this week’s race as the most recent winner on the tour after winning the Tri-County 150 at Tri-County Motor Speedway on Sept. 25, 2010.
• L.W. Miller has the opportunity to become just the second driver to win multiple titles if he wins the championship. Junior Miller won in 2005 & 2006.
Selected Driver Highlights:
Zach Brewer (No. 11 Chevrolet)
• Brewer has competed at Charlotte Motor Speedway when the former Goody’s Series cars raced at the track in the late 1990s.
• Made six starts in 2009 with two top-10 finishes.
• Won his first career Coors Light Pole award at South Boston on April 4, 2010. Picked up his second pole at Bowman Gray Stadium on Aug. 7, 2010.
• Has a season-best finish of fourth at Langley on Sept. 4.
Tim Brown (No. 02 Chevrolet)
• Brown has finished second in the season-ending points standings a record three times from 2006-2008.
• Has 59 career starts on the NWSMT, ranks second in top-five finishes with 35, and has 49 top-10 finishes.
• Has six wins on the NWSMT with his most recent coming on Sept. 4, 2010 at Langley Speedway, his first since 2008.
Greg Butcher (No. 0 Chevrolet)
• One of four rookies competing full-time this season on the tour.
• Has won Sunoco Rookie of the Race honors four times this season with the most recent coming at Tri-County Motor Speedway on Sept. 25, 2010.
• Has 16 career starts on the tour with one top-10 finish at Myrtle Beach Speedway in 2009.
• Finished a season-best 12th place at Bristol on Aug. 18, 2010.
James Civali (No. 79 Pontiac)
• One of just two drivers to have multiple wins on the tour this season.
• Has led the points standings on three different occasions this season and enters this weekend at CMS as the leader by just three points over Andy Seuss.
• Was the 2006 Sunoco Rookie of the Year in the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour.
• Has 11 career starts on the NWSMT, with his first win coming at South Boston on April 3, 2010. His second win was at Bristol Motor Speedway on Aug. 18, 2010 as the highest-finishing NWSMT competitor.
• Has led 295 laps this year on the tour, second most of any driver.
Frank Fleming (No. 40 Ford)
• Tied for first for most career starts in the series with 70 in the NWSMT. Has only missed one race on the tour since 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 wins at his home track of Bowman Gray Stadium.
• Brother, Chris Fleming, serves as his crew chief.
• Has a season-best finish of third at Atlanta and Bristol on March 5 and Aug. 18, 2010, respectively.
Daniel Hemric (No. 19 Pontiac)
• Won the inaugural Legends Million special event at CMS on Saturday, July 17, 2010.
• Driving team car from Hillbilly Racing and current points leader James Civali.
• Finished 15th in his lone NWSMT start this season at Caraway Speedway on Aug. 28, 2010.
Brandon Hire (No. 44 Chevrolet)
• Returning to the NWSMT full time this season after missing last year with a broken leg.
• Currently sits ninth in the 2010 point standings.
• Finished fifth in the season opener at Atlanta.
• Has 27 career starts on the tour with a career-best fourth-place finish twice with the most recent one coming at Tri-County Motor Speedway on Sept. 25, 2010.
Jonathan Kievman (No. 8 Chevrolet)
• Lone full-time competitor from the state of Florida.
• Collected his first top-10 finish at Caraway Speedway on Aug. 28, 2010.
L.W. Miller (No. 36 Pontiac)
• Enters this weekend in third place in the standings after leading prior to Langley Speedway. He trails leader Civali by 32 points (1,460-1,428) and second-place Andy Seuss by 29 (1,457-1,428).
• 2007 NWSMT Champion. Won by 25 points over Tim Brown (1,930-1,905).
• Is tied for first place with Brian Loftin for most career wins with 11 in 54 starts.
• Has 74 NWMT career starts.
• Won his first race since April 11, 2008 when he won at Bowman Gray Stadium on Aug. 7, 2010.
Burt Myers (No. 1 Ford)
• Most decorated driver in the history of the NWSMT to have not won a championship. Holds NWSMT records for most top-10s (57), top-fives (36), and consecutive starts (48).
• Holds the record for the most Coors Light Pole Awards with 23.
• Has raced with his brother, Jason, in the NWSMT since 2005.
• Picked up his most recent win at Tri-County Motor Speedway on Sept. 25, 2010.
Jason Myers (No. 4 Ford)
• Tied with Frank Fleming for most career starts on the NWSMT with 70.
• Picked up his lone win on the tour at Bowman Gray Stadium on Aug. 5, 2006.
• Has 51 top-10 finishes since 2005.
• Has led 90 laps during competition in 2010.
• Has a season-best finish of fourth in three consecutive races from Caraway through Bristol of this year.
Mike Norman (No. 12 Ford)
• Has driven full time this season on the tour, competing for Sunoco Rookie of the Year honors.
• Won Sunoco Rookie of the Race Award at the season opener at Atlanta Motor Speedway on March 5 and at Bowman Gray Stadium on Aug. 7, 2010.
• Finished 18th in the season-opening race at Atlanta in a car owned by Pam Myers.
Gene Pack (No. 31 Chevrolet)
• Career-best finish of second at Martinsville Speedway in 2006 as second-highest finishing full-time NWSMT competitor at combination event.
• Has finished in the top 10 five times so far this season and is 10th in the point standings.
• Enjoyed most successful season to date in 2009 with seven top-10 finishes and two top-five showings in 13 starts.
Gary Putnam (No. 77 Chevrolet)
• Has started both races in 2010 with a pair of top-20 finishes.
• Works full-time as car chief for Earnhardt-Ganassi Racing with Jamie McMurray.
• One of four drivers competing for Sunoco Rookie of the Year honors in 2010.
• Picked up his first career top-10 finish at Caraway Speedway on July 2, 2010.
Andy Seuss (No. 47 Dodge)
• Has won twice this season with both wins coming at Caraway Speedway on March 14, and Aug. 28, 2010, leading all 150 laps in both events.
• Hampstead, N.H., native won four times in 2009.
• Has 31 top-10 finishes in 42 career starts and a total of eight wins.
• Has picked up wins at Lanier, South Boston, Myrtle Beach, Music City (Nashville), Caraway (three times) and Ace Speedways.
• Has led more laps this season than any other driver on the tour with 318 going into Charlotte.
John Smith (No. 25 Chevrolet)
• Picked up his first tour win on July 3, 2010 at Caraway Speedway.
• Streak as only driver on the NWSMT to finish in the top 10 in every NWSMT race this season ended at Langley when he finished 13th on Sept. 4, 2010.
• Has 32 top-10 finishes in 49 career NWSMT starts.
• Enters Charlotte with five top-five finishes in the previous six races on the tour.
John Sutton (No. 10 Chevrolet)
• Works at the NASCAR Research and Development center in Concord, N.C.
• Has made two career NWSMT starts.
• Finished ninth in his first tour start at Caraway Speedway on July 3, 2010.
Upcoming Milestones/Benchmarks:
• This will be the 72nd race in the history of the tour.
• Civali and Seuss enter the final race of the season with the closest points race on the NWSMT since Junior Miller defeated Tim Brown by just six points (2,098-2,092) in 2006.
Sources: Tim Southers/NASCAR WSMT PR