Champion Car Owner & Crew Chief: George Brunnhoelzl Jr.
Diligence Is Major Key To Success
It was a return to its roots for Brunnhoelzl Racing in 2013.
After picking up a pair of NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour titles with Ideal Racing in 2011 and 2012, George Brunnhoelzl III returned to his family-owned team in 2013 under the guidance of car owner and crew chief George Brunnhoelzl Jr.
The team barely skipped a beat which is testament to the team’s diligence and attention to detail.
“There’s no one thing to point at for our success,” said George Brunnhoelzl Jr. “It’s the whole package – driver, crew and sponsors. This is a team sport and ours is a whole team effort.
“Our sponsors from Epox-Z to Oval Speed and right on down the line are crucial to us. Without them, we wouldn’t be able to do anything.”
With three consecutive tour titles and four in the last five years, maintaining that high level of performance is not as easy as the Brunnhoelzl camp makes it look.
“It’s tough. We have a big bull’s-eye on our backs,” said the Brunnhoelzl patriarch. “We don’t rest on our laurels at all. We are constantly trying new things to maintain that edge. Some work and some don’t, but if we don’t do that, then we’ll be easily passed by. Some say we set the standard in this tour and that’s exactly what we aim to do.”
That sentiment is often shared in the garage area.
“The 28’s been really laying it down on the tour,” said fellow competitor and 2010 tour champion Burt Myers. “I hope to beat them all but to win a championship; you are going to have to beat the 28 to do it.”
One specific area the elder Brunnhoelzl points to as a key ingredient to the continued success is the maturation of his son behind the wheel.
“His experience level has increased so much and his level of communication to me and the crew is at a high, high level,” said the former racer with 105 NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour starts to his credit. “My father raced. I raced. But ‘Georgie’ is the best of all of us. He knows what he feels and what the car needs and is able to verbalize that which makes it much easier. I’m a little biased, but he is one of the best modified drivers out there today. He’s at the top of his game.”
Sources: Shon Sbarra/NASCAR WSMT PR