Seuss Makes It Two In A Row At Caraway
Records Eighth Career Win At Track
ASHEBORO, N.C. – Andy Seuss found himself in familiar territory on Saturday night – Victory Lane at Caraway Speedway.
Nearly three weeks after winning at the .455-mile oval for the first time since Oct. 2011, Seuss was right back there after winning the Zooland 150. It was the Hampstead, N.H., driver’s eighth win at the track and the 14th of his tour career which gives him sole possession of second place on the all-time wins list.
“We definitely have it going in the right direction right now,” said Seuss. “We were just being patient early on and set ourselves up for the end.”
After starting from the second position Seuss took the lead from pole sitter Burt Myers on Lap 63.
“He was working pretty hard to keep that pace and our car was going pretty well,” said Seuss. “I just waited for an opportunity to pass him clean.”
Seuss’ No. 11 Tammie Davis/Phoenix Pre-Owned Chevrolet had everything it needed following the halfway break.
“The guys have the halfway adjustments figured out right now,” he said. “They get it dialed in and it has whatever I need.”
Second-place finisher George Brunnhoelzl III – the career leader with 20 Southern Modified victories – extended his lead in the point standings to 30 over Kyle Ebersole with just two races remaining. Brunnhoelzl was right there with Seuss, who led a race-high 88 laps, down the stretch, but could never mount a solid challenge for the lead. Brunnhoelzl is looking for his third straight tour title and fourth overall.
“Our car was good tonight, but just not as good as Andy’s,” said Brunnhoelzl. “We’ll just march on to the next one, get to Victory Lane and see what’s left.”
John Smith matched his season-best finish of third, which he recorded his last time out at Caraway on Sept. 8, en route to his fourth straight top-five finish.
“We’ve really gained on this place,” Smith said. “The guys have worked hard on this car and I can’t thank them enough. We’ll head over to Southern National and see what we have, but we’ve gained a lot over the last several weeks.”
J.R. Bertuccio and Jason Myers finished in fourth and fifth, respectively, while Danny Bohn, Bryan Dauzat, Burt Myers, Gary Putnam and Mike Norman completed the top 10.
Earlier in the day, Burt Myers won his second consecutive Coors Light Pole Award and 26th of his career to extend his career mark in that category.
The NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour returns to the track Saturday, Oct. 5 for the G-Oil 150 at Southern National Raceway Park in Kenly, N.C., to make up a race that was postponed due to weather on Sept. 21.
RESULTS | RACE CENTRAL LIVE RECAP | AUDIO: RUNNER-UP GEORGE BRUNNHOELZL III | AUDIO: THIRD PLACE JOHN SMITH
Sources: John Tejeda/NASCAR WMT PR
NWSMT Caraway 9/28/13 Unofficial Results
Whelen Southern Modified Tour
Race: NWSMT Caraway 9/28/13
Fin Str Car Driver Team Laps Points B/Points Status
1 2 11 Andy Seuss Tammie Davis/Phoenix Pre-Owned Chevrolet 150 48 5 Running
2 3 28 George Brunnhoelzl, III Epox-Z/Oval Speed Chevrolet 150 42 Running
3 7 25 John Smith G-Oil/Shady Grady Racing Chevrolet 150 41 Running
4 9 2 JR Bertuccio Gershow Recycling Chevrolet 150 40 Running
5 13 4 Jason Myers Westbend Vineyards & Brewery Ford 150 39 Running
6 8 65 Danny Bohn Cedar Peaks/Rustoleum Chevrolet 150 38 Running
7 12 97 Bryan Dauzat O.B. Builders Chevrolet 150 37 Running
8 1 1 Burt Myers Citrusafe/Adam’s Towing & Recovery Ford 150 37 1 Running
9 15 77 Gary Putnam Stock Car Steel Chevrolet 150 35 Running
10 14 12 Mike Norman Auto Solutions/DMC Auto Exchange Chevrolet 148 34 Running
11 10 99 AJ Winstead * Health Diagnostic Laboratory Chevrolet 147 33 Running
12 5 5 Kyle Ebersole Ebersole Excavating Ford 147 32 Running
13 16 70 Jeremy Gerstner * GMR Complete Lawn/Fountain Mtspts. Chevrolet 147 31 Running
14 4 2 Tim Brown Hayes Jewelers/T&C Motorsports Chevrolet 139 30 Running
15 6 40 Luke Fleming * Koma Unwind/Kevin Powell Motorsports Ford 128 29 Accident
16 11 04 David Calabrese * Diamond Back Towing/airgraphix.com Chevrolet 65 28 Rear End
RACE STATISTICS
Fastest Qualifier: Burt Myers, Time: 15.906 Seconds, Speed: 102.980 mph
Time of Race: 0 hrs., 57 mins, 37 secs Average Speed: 71.073 mph Margin of Victory: .456 Seconds
Caution Flags: Laps 76-78 (Competition – Halfway Break [77]); 92-96 (Car #4 spin in Turn 4. [12]); 127-133 (Cars #99 and #02 accident in Turn 1. [5]); 141-144 (Cars #02 and #77 accident on backstretch. [none]). [Beneficiary in brackets.] 4 for 19 laps.
Lap Leaders: Burt Myers 1-62, Andy Seuss 63-150.
Total Laps Led: Andy Seuss 88, Burt Myers 62. 1 changes involving 2 drivers.
Top 10 Driver Points: George Brunnhoelzl, III 423, Kyle Ebersole 393, Andy Seuss 384, Burt Myers 377, Tim Brown 368, John Smith 362, Jason Myers 354, Gary Putnam 349, Luke Fleming * 328, JR Bertuccio 325
Next Race: Oct. 5 at Kenly, N.C.
* Sunoco Rookie of the Year contender