Southern Modified News & Notes: Thompson
Seuss Excited About Opportunity In Native New England
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – The NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour returns to Thompson (Conn.) International Speedway this weekend for the second annual doubleheader with the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour. The weekend will consist of two 75-lap points events with a combined exhibition combination race to follow. The UNOH Showdown will be a 50-lap sprint for bragging rights between the two tours and a nice payday.
One driver looking forward to heading back to New England is New Hampshire native Andy Seuss. Seuss captured the pole during Coors Light Pole qualifying at Thompson last season and finished fourth in the race.
“I love racing at Thompson and I can’t wait to get back up there,” said Seuss, who recently moved to North Carolina. “I have a lot of laps at the track throughout my career and it will be a chance for a lot of my family and fans to come out and see me race without having to travel south.”
Seuss has had an up-and-down season to say the least, with a couple of DNF’s and getting collected in accidents that has seen him go winless so far this season. That is something Seuss is not used to after picking up at least one win in the five previous seasons.
“We needed a good run at Langley after getting collected in the accident at Bristol,” Seuss said of his run this past Saturday at Langley Speedway. “We were able to work on the car during the race and made it better and we came home third after some terrible luck over the past few months. I couldn’t think of a better place to get our first win of the season than at Thompson.”
Seuss also knows the competition will be tough at Thompson.
“We know there will be some guys who enter the race that have a lot of experience up at Thompson,” Seuss said. “But I know [car owner and crew chief] Eddie [Harvey] and the guys will give me a great car to drive and I am going to give it everything I have.”
RACE: GreenPointe Energy Southern 75
PLACE: Thompson (Conn.) International Speedway
DATE: Sunday, Sept. 9
TIME: 1:45 p.m. ET
TRACK LAYOUT: 5/8-mile asphalt oval
2011 WINNER: George Brunnhoelzl III
2011 POLE WINNER: Andy Seuss
EVENT SCHEDULE: Saturday: Practice 12-12:45 p.m. and 1:30-2:15 p.m., Qualifying 4:30 p.m., Sunday: Driver Autograph Session 10 a.m., Race 1:45 p.m., UNOH Showdown 5:30 p.m.
TRACK CONTACT: Russ Dowd, 860-923-2280, pitcrew@thompsonspeedway.com
EVENT HASHTAG: #UNOHShowdown
NASCAR CONTACT: Kevin Green, 386-566-8543, kgreen@nascar.com, Twitter: @KevinW_Green
EVENT SCHEDULE | ENTRY LIST
FAST FACTS
The Race: GreenPointe Energy Southern 75 will be the ninth of 11 races on the 2012 NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour schedule, and the lone trip to Thompson International Speedway. The 75 will be followed by the UNOH Showdown exhibition combination race with the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour.
The Procedure: The maximum starting field for the GreenPointe Energy Southern 75 is 25 cars, including provisionals. The first 20 cars will have secured starting positions based on two-lap qualifying. The remaining five spots will be awarded through the provisional process. The race is scheduled for 75 laps (46.875 miles) and it is a no-tire-change race.
The maximum field for the UNOH Showdown is 32 cars, including provisionals. The highest-finishing 10 cars from both the GreenPointe Energy Southern 75 and the Town Fair Tire Northern 75 NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour race will transfer to the UNOH Showdown, with the remaining 12 positions filled through the provisional process. The Showdown is scheduled for 50 green flag laps (31.25 miles) and teams will have the option to take four new tires prior to the race. Championship points will not be awarded for the UNOH Showdown.
The Track: A .625-mile high-banked oval that opened in 1940, Thompson was the first entirely asphalt track in the nation, and was the largest in New England for five decades. There has only been one NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour race previously held at the track.
Race Winners: Last year George Brunnhoelzl won last year’s inaugural event at the track.
Pole Winners: Andy Seuss won the inaugural pole for this race last season.
THOMPSON RACE NOTES
New Faces Heading North: Among the new drivers expected to start in their first race at Thompson International Speedway will be several of the talented rookies. Danny Bohn leads the group with Kyle Ebersole, A.J. Winstead, Joe Scarbrough and Cole Powell.
Myers to Return: Burt Myers intends to return to action this weekend at Thompson. The Whelen Southern Modified Tour veteran missed last Saturday’s event at Langley Speedway due to an injury he suffered in his race shop on Friday.
Welcome Back: Among the drivers expected to enter this race for a one-time start are Matt Hirschman and Rob Fuller. Hirschman is a former full-time driver on the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour where he posted a pair of wins and 37 top 10s in 73 starts. He also has two top 10s in three career NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour starts. For Fuller, who has also has 11 starts in the northern circuit, it will mark the second year in a row he has entered UNOH Showdown weekend as a southern car.
Can Brunnhoelzl Make it Two in a Row: Although George Brunnhoelzl III scored his lowest finish of the season last week in 10th at Langley, the West Babylon, N.Y., native will attempt to make it two wins in a row at Thompson.
LAST TIME OUT: Langley Speedway
The most recent NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour race was held at Langley Speedway on Sept. 1 in Hampton, Va. Here are some highlights from the Newport News Shipbuilding/BayPort Credit Union 150:
• Jason Myers broke a 71-race winless streak when he held off Frank Fleming for the win. Myers, who last won on Aug. 6, 2005 at Bowman Gray Stadium, is also tied with Fleming for the most starts in the history of the tour.
• Sunoco Rookie of the Year contender Danny Bohn picked up his first Coors Light Pole Award during qualifying earlier in the day, but his night ended before he was able to lead the field to green. Bohn’s Chevrolet suffered transmission problems during the warm-up laps and he was forced to park the car after just two laps.
• Corey LaJoie returned to action on the tour as he was called into emergency duty after Burt Myers suffered an arm injury in his shop the day before the race. LaJoie, who has a tour win after taking the checkered flag at the season opener in 2010 at Atlanta Motor Speedway, qualified on the outside pole and led a race-high 71 laps before suffering mechanical issues with less than 50 laps remaining in the race while leading.
NEXT TIME OUT: Caraway
The NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour will head to Caraway Speedway for the fifth and final time this season on Saturday, Sept. 29. Brunnhoelzl has won three of the previous four races held at the track this season. Brian Loftin is the only other tour driver to visit Victory Lane at the track this year.
Sources: Tim Southers/NASCAR PR
NWMT-NWSMT Thompson 9/9/12 Schedule
Time Series Event
Saturday
7:30 a.m. NWMT/NWSMT Haulers Enter
8:30 a.m. NWMT/NWSMT Garage Opens
8:30 a.m. Paddock Gate Opens
10 a.m. Grandstand Opens
11 a.m.-12 p.m. NWAAS Practice
12-12:45 p.m. NWMT/NWSMT Practice
12:45-1:30 p.m. NWAAS Final Practice
1:30-2:15 p.m. NWMT/NWSMT Final Practice
2:15 p.m. NWAAS Qualifying
Following NWAAS Features
4:30 p.m. NWSMT Qualifying
5 p.m. NWMT Qualifying
6:30 p.m. NWMT/NWSMT Garage Closes
Sunday
8 a.m. NWMT/NWSMT Garage Opens
8 a.m. Paddock Gate Opens
9:30 a.m. Grandstand Opens
10-11:30 a.m. NWAAS/NWMT/NWSMT Autograph Session (on-track)
12 p.m. NWMT/NWSMT Driver/Crew Chief Meeting
12:15 p.m. Opening Ceremonies
12:30 p.m. NWAAS Features
1:45 p.m. NWSMT GreenPointe Energy 75
2:30 p.m. NWMT Town Fair Tire 75
Following NWAAS Features
5:30 p.m. NWMT/NWSMT UNOH Showdown
NWSMT Thompson 9/9/12 Entry List
CAR DRIVER/HOMETOWN TEAM OWNER CREW CHIEF
1 Burt Myers, Walnut Cove, N.C. Citrusafe/Adams Towing Ford Kim Myers Ronnie Holbrook Jr.
2 J.R. Bertuccio, Centereach, N.Y. Gershow Recycling Chevrolet Joseph Bertuccio TBA
02 Tim Brown, Cana, Va. Hayes Jewelers/T&C Motorsports Chevrolet Tommy Lythgoe Mark Ruhmann
4 Jason Myers, Walnut Cove, N.C. Trantham Moorefield/Wendell Gary Myers Mike Queen
7 Thomas Stinson, Chester, Va. Cowardin Jewelers/United Solar Chevrolet Mark Hunter Mark Hunter
09 George Brunnhoelzl, III, West Babylon, N.Y. Phoenix Pre-Owned Chevrolet Howard Harvey George Brunnhoelzl III
9 AJ Winstead, Richmond, Va. * Clark American Sanders Chevrolet Susanne Winstead Neil Culley Jr.
11 Andy Seuss, Hampstead, N.H. Phoenix Pre-Owned Chevrolet Eddie Harvey Eddie Harvey
25 John Smith, Mount Airy, N.C. Asheboro Recycling/Havoline Plus Chevrolet Grady Jeffreys Grady Jeffreys Jr.
37 Joe Scarbrough, Richmond, Va. * Hyperion Stud/Atlantic Solar Chevrolet Vicky Castegren Johnathan McCullen
40 Frank Fleming, Mount Airy, N.C. AutosByNelson/Lewisville Motors Ford Gina Fleming Chris Fleming
50 Matt Hirschman, Northampton, Pa. Heritage Wide Plank Flooring Chevrolet Nancy Goodale Kevin Goodale
51 Kyle Ebersole, Hummelstown, Pa. * Ebersole Excavating Inc. Chevrolet Bob Ebersole Bob Ebersole
59 Renee Dupuis, Glastonbury, Conn. Ed Bennett Properties Chevrolet Kyle Bennett Chris Bennett
65 Danny Bohn, Freehold, N.J. * Rifenburg Const./Rustoleum Chevrolet Eddie Bohn Eddie Bohn
71 Rob Fuller, Boylston, Mass. Draco Spring Ford Rob Fuller Rob Fuller
73 Cole Powell, Mt. Brydges, Ontario, Canada Copp's Tricar/Fountain Mtspts. Chevrolet Todd Powell Ted Musgrave Jr.
77 Gary Putnam, Concord, N.C. Stock Car Steel Chevrolet Marcy Putnam Michael Larochelle
80 Michael Speeney, Newtown, Pa. * MRI Graphics Chevrolet Michael Speeney Mack Kanupp
97 Bryan Dauzat, Alexandria, La. O B Builders Inc Chevrolet Bryan Dauzat Bob Rahilly
* Denotes Sunoco Rookie of the Year Contender