PRACTICE: Preece Tops Charlotte Charts
Whelen Mod Points Leader Seeks 2nd SoMod Win
CONCORD, N.C. – Ryan Preece led NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour practice on Thursday for the UNOH Southern Slam 150 on the quarter-mile track at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
Preece, the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour points leader with one race to go, is making his third Whelen Southern Modified Tour start of the season which includes an Aug. 3 victory at Bowman Gray Stadium in Winston-Salem, N.C. The Berlin, Conn., driver posted best lap of 14.811 seconds for an average speed of 60.766 mph on the quarter-mile track located on the frontstretch of the 1.5-mile tri-oval. The time came in the first 45-minute session of the day. Preece is a member of the NASCAR Next program that spotlights young, talented drivers in NASCAR.
J.R. Bertuccio paced the field in final practice at 14.813 seconds (60.757 mph) followed by Kyle Ebersole at 14.861 seconds (60.561 mph). Danny Bohn scored the fourth-fastest lap across the two sessions at 14.913 seconds (60.350 mph) with 2010 Charlotte winner Burt Myers in fifth at 14.914 seconds (60.346 mph).
Tim Brown, Bryan Dauzat, points leader George Brunnhoelzl III, rookie Luke Fleming and Andy Seuss rounded out the top-10 drivers in practice.
Brunnhoelzl, the defending race champion, will clinch his third straight Southern Modified Tour championship, and fourth overall, when he takes the green flag for the race. He brings a 32-point lead over Ebersole into the event.
Seuss has won the last three tour events dating back to Sept. 8 at Caraway Speedway near Asheboro, N.C., and is looking for his first Charlotte win.
Qualifying for the UNOH Southern Slam 150 is scheduled for 5:05 p.m. ET with the race scheduled to get underway approximately 8:30 p.m. following NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Coors Light Pole qualifying.
Race video of the UNOH Southern Slam 150 will be streamed live on NASCARHomeTracks.com with coverage getting underway immediately following the ESPN2 telecast of NASCAR Sprint Cup Series qualifying.
PRACTICE RESULTS
NWSMT Charlotte 10/10/13 Practice
Submitted by ssbarra on October 10, 2013 – 1:15pm
Final Practice
Pos No. Name Sponsor Best Tm Best Speed In Lap Diff
1 2 J R Bertuccio Gershow Recycling 14.813 60.757 35
2 5 Kyle Ebersole Ebersole Excavating 14.861 60.561 19 0.048
3 41 Ryan Preece East West Marine/NAPA 14.887 60.455 8 0.074
4 65 Danny Bohn Cedar Peaks Ent/Rustoleum 14.913 60.350 2 0.100
5 1 Burt Myers CitruSafe/Adams Towing & Recovery 14.914 60.346 26 0.101
6 97 Bryan Dauzat OB Builders 14.924 60.306 4 0.111
7 28 George Brunnhoelzl lll Epox-Z/Oval Speed 14.928 60.289 32 0.115
8 40 Luke Fleming* Koma Unwind/AutosByNelson.com 14.942 60.233 3 0.129
9 02 Tim Brown Hayes Jewlers/ T&C Motorsports 14.950 60.201 35 0.137
10 80 Cody Ware* SupportMilitary.org 15.003 59.988 49 0.190
11 4 Jason Myers WestBend Vinyards & Brewhouse 15.031 59.876 5 0.218
12 11 Andy Seuss Tammie Davis/Phoenix Pre-Owned 15.034 59.864 56 0.221
13 73 Cole Powell* Copp’s BuildAll/Tricar 15.057 59.773 15 0.244
14 25 John Smith G-Oil/Shady Grady Racing 15.075 59.701 25 0.262
15 7 Thomas Stinson Dennis’ Towing/New Image Cleaning 15.081 59.678 24 0.268
16 77 Gary Putnam Stock Car Steel 15.113 59.551 3 0.300
17 04 David Calabrese* Diamond Back Towing 15.124 59.508 44 0.311
18 70 Jeremy Gerstner* GMR Complete Lawn /Fountain Motorspts 15.149 59.410 27 0.336
19 82 Danny Watts Jr* Horton Avenue Materials 15.324 58.731 9 0.511
20 12 Mike Norman Auto Solutions/Combs Wholesale Produce 15.338 58.678 9 0.525
21 8 Dalton Baldwin* Woman 2 Woman Breast Cancer Fdn 15.502 58.057 10 0.689
First Practice
Pos No. Name Sponsor Best Tm Best Speed In Lap Diff
1 41 Ryan Preece East West Marine/NAPA 14.811 60.766 26
2 02 Tim Brown Hayes Jewlers/ T&C Motorsports 14.920 60.322 46 0.109
3 65 Danny Bohn Cedar Peaks Ent/Rustoleum 14.965 60.140 16 0.154
4 40 Luke Fleming* Koma Unwind/AutosByNelson.com 14.967 60.132 25 0.156
5 11 Andy Seuss Tammie Davis/Phoenix Pre-Owned 14.973 60.108 66 0.162
6 28 George Brunnhoelzl lll Epox-Z/Oval Speed 14.990 60.040 5 0.179
7 99 A.J. Winstead Health Diagnostic Laboratory 15.027 59.892 22 0.216
8 73 Cole Powell* Copp’s BuildAll/Tricar 15.034 59.864 19 0.223
9 5 Kyle Ebersole Ebersole Excavating 15.050 59.801 25 0.239
10 04 David Calabrese* Diamond Back Towing 15.067 59.733 60 0.256
11 2 J R Bertuccio Gershow Recycling 15.102 59.595 53 0.291
12 97 Bryan Dauzat OB Builders 15.143 59.433 13 0.332
13 25 John Smith G-Oil/Shady Grady Racing 15.160 59.367 35 0.349
14 1 Burt Myers CitruSafe/Adams Towing & Recovery 15.178 59.296 6 0.367
15 7 Thomas Stinson Dennis’ Towing/New Image Cleaning 15.190 59.250 6 0.379
16 80 Cody Ware* SupportMilitary.org 15.196 59.226 9 0.385
17 77 Gary Putnam Stock Car Steel 15.215 59.152 14 0.404
18 4 Jason Myers WestBend Vinyards & Brewhouse 15.252 59.009 26 0.441
19 70 Jeremy Gerstner* GMR Complete Lawn /Fountain Motorspts 15.307 58.797 32 0.496
20 12 Mike Norman Auto Solutions/Combs Wholesale Produce 15.487 58.113 35 0.676
21 8 Dalton Baldwin* Woman 2 Woman Breast Cancer Fdn 15.634 57.567 12 0.823
22 82 Danny Watts Jr* Horton Avenue Materials 15.732 57.208 12 0.921
* Sunoco Rookie of the Year contender
Sources: Shon Sbarra/NASCAR WSMT PR