Statistical Advance: UNOH Showdown
Analyzing the NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour at Thompson
Daytona Beach, FL — The seventh season of the NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour continues at Thompson (Conn.) International Speedway with Southern Thompson 125 on Sunday, Sept. 11. The division will also match up with its NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour counterparts for the UNOH Showdown 50-lap race later on Sunday at the historic track located in northeast Connecticut.
Tim Brown (No. 02 Chevrolet)
• Finished second in the season-ending points standings a record three times from 2006-2008.
• Has 67 career NWSMT starts, ranks second in top-five finishes with 38 and has 56 top-10 finishes.
• Has six wins, the most recent came on Sept. 4, 2010 at Langley Speedway.
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 37 top 10s in 51 career NWSMT starts.
• Will make his third start at Thompson International Speedway this Sunday and has one top-10 finish.
Frank Fleming (No. 40 Ford)
• Is tied for the most career NWSMT starts with 80 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.
• Will be his first start at Thompson since finishing 18th in 1986.
• 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 63 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. He has made 13 starts at Thompson with a best finish of third at the track in 2002.
• Has also made 13 NASCAR Nationwide Series and six NASCAR Camping World Truck Series starts.
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.
• Picked up his most recent win at Charlotte on Oct. 14, 2010.
• Has made two starts in the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour at Thompson with a pair of 14th-place finishes.
Jason Myers (No. 4 Ford)
• Is tied with Frank Fleming for most career NWSMT starts with 80.
• Picked up his lone win at Bowman Gray on Aug. 5, 2006.
• Has 59 total top-10 finishes since 2005.
• Holds the record for consecutive NWSMT starts with 72; started every race since Martinsville (9/5/05).
Andy Seuss (No. 11 Chevrolet)
• Hampstead, N.H., native has nine career wins, including a single-season high of four victories in 2009.
• Led more laps last season than any other driver with 318.
• Has 10 wins and 37 top-10 finishes in 52 career NWSMT starts.
• Also has three top-10 finishes in 23 career NWMT starts.
John Smith (No. 25 Chevrolet)
• Picked up his first NWSMT win at Caraway on July 3, 2010.
• Has 42 top-10 finishes in 59 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. Also finished third in the first race of the year at Caraway on March 13.
• Has 11 top-10 and three four-five finishes in 26 career NWSMT starts.
Thompson Intl. Speedway Data
Race: #10 of 14 overall
Track Layout: .625-mile paved oval
Banking: 26 degrees in the turns
Race Length: 125 laps/78.125 miles, Showdown: 50 laps/31.25 miles
Qualifying/Race Data
2010 pole winner: New Event
2010 race winner: New Event
Track qualifying record: New Event
Track race record (150 L): New Event
NWSMT Top-10 Points Standings
1. George Brunnhoelzl III 1500
1. John Smith 1399
3. Andy Seuss 1386
4. Jason Myers 1365
5. L.W. Smith 1349
6. Frank Fleming 1300
7. Tim Brown 1256
8. Austin Pack 1198
9. Burt Myers 1042
10. Thomas Stinson 917
Up To Speed:
• Since the NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour formed in 2005, there have been 81 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 him the record outright. He was tied with 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.
• Andy Seuss scored an emotional win at Caraway when he won the Caraway 150 last time out driving his old car from the 2010 season for car owner Eddie Harvey and old car owner David Riggs. Riggs also won the race in 2010.
• Seuss became the third driver this season to win back-to-back races this season when he won the Newport News Shipbuilding 150 at Langley Speedway on Saturday, Sept. 3.
Fast Facts:
• This will be the first NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour race ever held in the state of Connecticut.
• The track was built in 1938 by John Hoenig and is still operated today by the family. The track has played host to more than 100 NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour events in the history of the tour.
• A total of five drivers who have visited Victory Lane in the NWSMT races this season will compete this weekend. Leading the group will be George Brunnhoelzl III, Andy Seuss and L.W. Miller, who each have two wins this season. The other race winner is Frank Fleming. Ted Christopher won the remaining two races on the schedule and he will be competing in the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour this weekend at Thompson.
Sources:Tim Southers/NASCAR WSMT PR