Myers will Finally Get to Celebrate Title

NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour Wrap-up

There was one description that was used when mentioning Burt Myers that he hated. The description — the most decorated driver on the NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified to have never won a championship. That statement is no longer valid.

After an up and down season that saw Myers rebound from outside the top 10 in points, to a strong finish in the last third of the season, Myers can now celebrate as a champion next week in Charlotte during the 2010 NASCAR Night of Champions Touring Awards Gala.

Myers has been in contention before and he currently holds no less than three records on the tour (most pole, most top-five and top-10 finishes).

Now that he got the job done on the track he is ready to celebrate and thank everyone who helped him complete his career resume in modified racing in the South.

“I know we already have about 34 or 35 people scheduled to come to the banquet and that list could grow by next Saturday night.

It will be a busy week in Charlotte for Myers, who will also represent North Carolina as its state champion in the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series after winning five races and the track title for the fourth time at Bowman Gray Stadium.

Myers won twice on the tour this year, in back-to-back fashion in the final two races of the season, which helped him vault from fourth to first in the point standings during that time.

Myers was able to pilot his No. 1 Capital Bank/Patterson Brand Foods Ford to the win at Tri-County Motor Speedway in September and led the most laps and won the season-ending UNOH Southern Slam 150 at Charlotte Motor Speedway’s quarter-mile track in October.

Myers will be the first NASCAR Touring series champion in the family, but that is the only difference according to Myers.

“This is going to be a celebration for everyone,” he added. “We all work together in the same shop with my car and my brother Jason’s car. So I feel like this is a championship that all of us can be a part of and that is one reason why this is special for me to have everyone in Charlotte celebrating.”

Myers credits the continuity of having the same car owner, Philip Smith, and crew chief, Scott Widener for more than four years. Widener has also celebrated winning track titles and races with Myers before, but this will also be his first touring championship.
Smith, who has been Myers’ car owner since they both began on the tour in 2005 when NASCAR first sanctioned the tour, will be on hand with Myers’ brother, Jason and parents Gary and Pam.

Myers finished the season with nine top-10 finishes and also wound up with seven top-five showings, the most of any driver on the tour.

Final Review Of The 2010 Season

Myers Rebounds Nicely… After finishing out of the top-10 to open the season, Myers worked his way back up through the field and was able to win the championship after making up a 41-point deficit entering the final race of the season at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

Coors Light Pole Award … After leading the points after more events than any other driver this season, James Civali (No. 79 Hill Enterprises/Coors Light Pontiac) won the overall title with three pole awards to win the overall prize this season. Zach Brewer (No. 11 Phoenix Pre-owned/Triad Auto Sales Chevrolet and Burt Myers each finished the season with two pole awards. Myers now has 23 career poles.

Parity rules the day ….. Seven different drivers won races this season with Andy Seuss (No. 47 Q Racing Oil/Rockingham Boats Dodge) joining Civali and Myers as the only drivers to win multiple races this season. Other race winners included 2007 champion L.W. Miller, Corey LaJoie, Tim Brown and first-time race winner John Smith.

Rookie honors handed out …. Greg Butcher (No. 0 Butcher Racing Chevrolet) outdistanced Mike Norman to win the 2010 Sunoco Rookie of the Year award. Butcher was the only rookie to attempt to qualify for every race on this year’s schedule. Butcher won rookie of the race honors four times this season while Norman collected the post-race award twice. Other rookie competitors to win post-race honors were Gary Putnam twice and David Brigati once.

Nice move …. John Smith (No. 25 Tutterow Surveying/Rick’s Home Repair Chevrolet) had a lot to be happy about this season. He picked up his first career win at Caraway Speedway in July and also collected two Coca-Cola Move of the Race awards during the season. He and Zach Brewer were the only two drivers to win multiple awards during the 10-race season.

Long time coming … Although it was not a surprise that he won a race, the surprise was in the way Tim Brown (No. 02 T&C Motorsports Chevrolet) picked up his first win since 2008 this past year. Brown, who started the season driving for his brother Ben, moved into the car owned by Tommy Lythgoe and won the first ever tour race held at Langley Speedway in September.

Fleming wins Featherlite Awards …. Despite an and down season, Frank Fleming (No. 40 Jerry Hunt Auto & Truck Centers Ford) collected three Featherlite Most Improved Driver awards in 2010 to take top honors in the category. Fleming shares the record for most starts on the tour with Jason Myers at 71 out of a possible 72 races.

New tracks offered exciting races …. Langley Speedway, Tri-County Speedway, and Atlanta Motor Speedway all hosted tour races for the first  time in 2010. Langley and Tri-County will once again host races in 2011.

Special day for Pack … Gene Pack has been a part of the tour since 2005 and he got the chance to make the July 2nd race at Caraway one he will never forget. Pack’s grandson, Austin Pack, made his first career start and finished a respectable 12th, four spots behind his grandfather who finished the race in eighth place.

Year-End Awards Gala Set In Hall Of Fame

NASCAR will honor its ‘stars of tomorrow’ and short-track veterans by gathering them in the greater Charlotte (N.C.) area for two special year-end celebrations.

NASCAR will return to Charlotte with a special week of activities culminating with the 2010 NASCAR Whelen All-American Series Awards Banquet on Friday, Dec. 10 and the NASCAR Night of Champions Touring Awards Gala on Saturday, Dec. 11. The banquets will be held at the Charlotte Convention Center’s Crown Ballroom in the NASCAR Hall of Fame. Fans throughout the U.S., Canada, and around the globe, will again be able to watch the festivities from both nights via a live webcast on nascarhometracks.com.

“With the recent opening of the NASCAR Hall of Fame, this is a tremendous opportunity to honor the top drivers throughout NASCAR’s developmental series in a most appropriate setting: the showcase of our sport’s history,” said George Silbermann, NASCAR managing director of racing operations.

“The week-long schedule of special activities for our champions, track promoters and industry members will put the spotlight on the important series and tracks that make up NASCAR’s foundation. We are especially pleased to be able to bring the events from both nights to fans everywhere – who have followed their favorite drivers all season at their favorite tracks – through the NASCAR Home Tracks website.”

In addition to the new NASCAR Hall of Fame complex, the region is the home of the NASCAR Research & Development Center in Concord, N.C., as well as a majority of today’s NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, NASCAR Nationwide Series and NASCAR Camping World Truck Series teams.

The NASCAR Night of Champions Touring Awards Gala will feature the series champions and top drivers from NASCAR’s regional touring series including invitees from the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East, the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West, the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour, the NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour, and the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series presented by Mobil 1. Today, drivers from many of these key regional touring series are thrilling fans in each of NASCAR’s three national series.

The Westin Charlotte will be the host hotel for both awards banquets.

Up Next: NASCAR Toyota All-Star Showdown

The 2011 NASCAR Toyota All-Star Showdown, the sport’s premier short-track racing showcase will return to the Toyota Speedway at Irwindale (Calif.) on Jan. 28-29.

The eighth running of the event, which brings together the top racers from across North America and has grown into the ”Daytona 500 of short-track racing,” will be highlighted by the 225-lap NASCAR K&N Pro Series all-star race.

The NASCAR Toyota All-Star Showdown main event is broken up into three sections – two 100-lap segments preceding a 25-lap dash to the finish. Last year, Joe Gibbs Racing driver Joey Logano became just the second driver to win two Showdowns when he held off a furious challenge over the closing laps from the 17-year-old Sergio Pena, who was making his series debut for Revolution Racing/Drive for Diversity.

The race features secured starting spots for the 2010 champions of NASCAR’s developmental series and race winners of the NASCAR K&N Pro Series from the 2010 season. Eighteen-year-old Ryan Truex leads the field of drivers who have already earned spots, having recently wrapped up his second straight NASCAR K&N Pro Series East championship.

Other drivers who have secured starting spots include NASCAR K&N Pro Series race winners Ty Dillon, Max Gresham, Paulie Harraka, Erik Holmes, Patrick Long, David Mayhew, Brett Moffitt, Andrew Ranger, Greg Pursley, Auggie Vidovich, and Darrell Wallace Jr., in addition to NASCAR Whelen All-American Series national champion Keith Rocco and NASCAR Canadian Tire Series presented by Mobil 1 champion DJ Kennington.

The schedule also includes a 75-lap NASCAR Whelen All-American Series Super Late Model race and a 50-lap NASCAR Whelen All-American Series Late Model race. The top five NASCACR state champions in attendance will have secured starting spots in the Late Model race. New to this year, the 25-car fields for each of those races will be set by a pair of heat races – 25 laps for the the Super Late Models and 20 laps for the Late Models.

Both nights of racing will air live on SPEED as part of full weekend of racing on SPEED that includes the Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series’ Rolex 24 at Daytona.

The NASCAR Toyota All-Star Showdown main event – contested in NASCAR K&N Pro Series cars – is open to any driver approved to drive on a half-mile or longer tracks in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series.

Current national series drivers such as Logano, Ricky Carmichael, Brian Ickler, Trevor Bayne, Matt Crafton, Ron Hornaday Jr. and Justin Lofton have competed in the NASCAR Toyota All-Star Showdown.

Final NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour Final Special Awards Standings

Most Wins
James Civali, 2
Burt Myers, 2
Andy Seuss, 2
Tim Brown, 1
Corey LaJoie, 1
L.W. Miller, 1
John Smith, 1

Special Race Award Winners

COCA-COLA MOVE OF THE RACE AWARD
John Smith, 2
Zach Brewer, 2
George Brunnhoelzl III, 1
James Civali, 1
Corey LaJoie, 1
Frank Fleming, 1
L.W. Miller, 1
Burt Myers, 1

COORS LIGHT POLE AWARD
James Civali, 3
Zach Brewer, 2
Burt Myers, 2
Andy Seuss, 2
George Brunnhoelzl III, 1

FEATHERLITE MOST IMPROVED DRIVER AWARD
Frank Fleming, 3
L.W. Miller, 2
Tim Brown, 1
James Civali, 1
Brandon Hire, 1
Jason Myers, 1
John Smith, 1

SUNOCO ROOKIE OF THE RACE AWARD   
Greg Butcher, 4
Mike Norman, 3
Gary Putnam, 2
David Brigati, 1

Sources: Tim Southers/NASCAR WSMT PR

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