Statistical Advance: Caraway 150
Analyzing the NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour at Caraway
Daytona Beach, FL — The seventh season of the NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour continues at Caraway Speedway with the Caraway 150 on Friday, Aug. 26. The race will be contested on the historic .455-mile track located in the Piedmont Triad region near Asheboro, N.C.
Tim Brown (No. 02 Chevrolet)
• Finished second in the season-ending points standings a record three times from 2006-2008.
• Has 65 career NWSMT starts, ranks second in top-five finishes with 38 and has 52 top-10 finishes.
• Has made 27 starts at Caraway with 22 top-10 and 14 top-five finishes.
• Has six wins, the most recent came on Sept. 4, 2010 at Langley Speedway, his first since 2008.
George Brunnhoelzl III (No. 09 Chevrolet)
• The 2009 NWSMT champion has returned to the tour in 2011 after competing full-time on the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour last season.
• Competes for veteran car owner Howard Harvey.
• Owner of seven wins, 10 poles and 35 top 10s in 49 career NWSMT starts.
• Has four wins and 16 top-10 finishes in 22 starts at Caraway. The last win was on March 13, 2011.
• Also has five career Coors Light Pole Awards at Caraway.
Frank Fleming (No. 40 Ford)
• Is tied for the most career NWSMT starts with 78 and has only missed one race since 2005.
• Was credited with his first career win as the highest finishing NWSMT driver in the UNOH Perfect Storm 150 at Bristol Motor Speedway.
• Has finished second seven times, the most recent one at Caraway was on July 3, 2009.
• Has more than 50 career wins at his home track, Bowman Gray.
• Has 35 starts at Caraway with 24 top-10 finishes and 15 top-five finishes.
• Brother, Chris Fleming, serves as his crew chief.
L.W. Miller (No. 36 Pontiac)
• The 2007 NWSMT Champion. Won by 25 points over Tim Brown (1,930-1,905).
• Finished second in the 2010 final standings, 31 points behind Burt Myers.
• Holds the record for the most career wins on the NWSMT with 13, in just 61 starts.
• Most recent win on the tour was at Bowman Gray Stadium on Aug. 6, 2011.
• Has a win (Martinsville) and 10 top 10s in 75 career NWMT starts.
• Has also made 13 NASCAR Nationwide Series and six NASCAR Camping World Truck Series starts during his racing career.
Burt Myers (No. 1 Ford)
• Defending NWSMT champion.
• Holds NWSMT career records for poles (22), top-fives (41) and top-10s (62).
• Has 25 top-10 finishes in 33 career starts at Caraway.
• Has raced with his brother, Jason, in the NWSMT since 2005.
• Picked up his most recent win at Charlotte on Oct. 14, 2010.
Jason Myers (No. 4 Ford)
• Is tied with Frank Fleming for most career NWSMT starts with 78.
• Picked up his lone win at Bowman Gray on Aug. 5, 2006.
• Has made 35 starts at Caraway with 25 top-10 finishes. Has 56 total top-10 finishes since 2005.
• Holds the record for consecutive NWSMT starts with 70; started every race since Martinsville (9/5/05).
Andy Seuss (No. 11 Chevrolet)
• Won last season at Caraway on March 14 and Aug. 28, and lead all 150 laps both times.
• Hampstead, N.H., native has eight career wins, including a single-season high of four victories in 2009.
• Led more laps last season than any other driver with 318.
• Has 35 top-10 finishes in 50 career NWSMT starts.
• Has made 22 starts at Caraway with four wins and has finished in the top-10 in the past seven races at the track.
• Also has three top-10 finishes in 23 career NWMT starts.
John Smith (No. 25 Chevrolet)
• Has 26 career starts at Caraway and picked up his first NWSMT win at the track on July 3, 2010.
• Has 40 top-10 finishes in 57 career NWSMT starts.
• Finished in the top 10 in the final points standings three years in a row (2008-2010), with a career-best fifth last year.
• Works full-time at Richard Childress Racing.
Thomas Stinson (No. 7 Chevrolet)
• Finished second to record his best career finish in 14 starts at Caraway on April 23, 2011. Stinson also finished third in the first race of the year at Caraway on March 13.
• Has 10 top-10 and three top-five finishes in 25 career NWSMT starts.
Caraway Speedway Data
Race: #8 of 14 overall, #4 of 6 at Caraway
Track Layout: .455-mile paved oval
Banking: variable
Race Length: 150 laps/68.25 miles
Qualifying/Race Data
2010 pole winner: Andy Seuss
2010 race winner: Andy Seuss
Track qualifying record: George Brunnhoelzl III (102.844 mph, 15.752 seconds, 4/11/09)
Track race record (150 L): Tim Brown (90.977 mph, 44:31 min., 9-9-06)
NWSMT All-Time Win Leaders At Caraway Speedway
1. Brian Loftin 7
1. L.W. Miller 7
3. Junior Miller 5
4. George Brunnhoelzl III 4
4. Ted Christopher 4
4. Andy Seuss 4
7. Tim Brown 2
9. Burt Myers 1
10. John Smith 1
NWSMT Top-10 Points Standings
1. George Brunnhoelzl III 1179
1. John Smith 1069
3. L.W. Miller 1056
4. Jason Myers 1045
5. Andy Seuss. 1011
6. Frank Fleming 998
7. Tim Brown 979
8. Austin Pack 933
9. Burt Myers 748
10. Thomas Stinson 742
Up To Speed:
• Since the NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour formed in 2005, there have been 79 races in the history of the tour.
• The NWSMT has crowned five different champions: Junior Miller (2005, 2006), L.W. Miller (2007), Brian Loftin (2008), George Brunnhoelzl III (2009) and Burt Myers (2010) during its previous six years of competition.
• Loftin captured the pole and Brunnhoelzl the checkered flag in the 2011 season opener at Caraway Speedway on March 13.
• Brunnhoelzl took the checkered flag at Hickory Motor Speedway on April 2, for his second win of the season.
• Ted Christopher won the rain-delayed race at South Boston over Brunnhoelzl.
• Christopher returned the next week and won the Caraway 150 in April at Caraway Speedway for his sixth career southern modified win.
• L.W. Miller returned to Victory Lane after almost a year-long absence winning the Firecracker 150 presented by Budweiser. It was his 12th career NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour win giving the record outright. He was tied with Brian Loftin and Junior Miller for the mark prior to the Caraway race.
• L.W. Miller kept his hot streak alive and made it two wins in a row by taking the Strutmasters.com 199 at Bowman Gray Stadium for his 13th career NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour win. He also moved up to third place in the current point standings.
• Frank Fleming made history when he finished the UNOH Perfect Storm 150 with the best showing by a NASCAR Whelen Southern Division regular at Bristol Motor Speedway. Fleming’s eighth-place spot in the final overall rundown gave him credit for his first career win on the tour in his 78th start.
Fast Facts
• This will be the 36th NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour race at Caraway Speedway, the unofficial home track of the tour, and the fourth of six visits to the track this season. Caraway will also play host the NWSMT on Oct. 1 and Sept. 27.
• The track was built in 1966, initially with a dirt surface, and was later paved and configured to its current size of .455-miles in length.
• The track has been owned and operated by Russell & Valastra Hackett and their family since 1977, however this season, Russell’s son Darren and his wife Renee have take over day-to-day operations.
• A total of seven drivers who have visited Victory Lane in the NWSMT races at Caraway will compete this weekend. Leading the group will be Brian Loftin and L.W. Miller, who each have 7 wins at the track.