Whelen So. Modified Stat Advance: Caraway
Analyzing The Zooland 150 At Caraway
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – The NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour returns to Caraway Speedway for the fourth time this season. The track will host the Zooland 150 this Saturday night. Below is a statistical look at the performance of selected drivers at the track:
Zooland 150 Setup:
• Burt Myers ended Andy Seuss’ four-race win streak at Caraway Speedway when he took the checkered flag in the last race at the track on Sept. 5th.
• Seuss is the defending winner of this event from last season and he is tied with Brunnhoelzl for the most career wins at the track with 10.
• Seuss and Brunnhoelzl have combined to win 12 of the last 16 Caraway races, and 20 of 29 since 2008.
• Myers is tied with Seuss for the most wins this season with three.
At Caraway Speedway:
History
• Caraway Speedway opened in 1966 as a dirt track and was paved in 1972.
• Caraway held three NASCAR Nationwide Series events from 1982-83, won by Dale Earnhardt, Jack Ingram and Butch Lindley.
• Caraway has featured weekly NASCAR Whelen All-American Series racing each year since 1986.
• The first NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour race at Caraway Speedway was held on March 26, 2005 and was won by Ted Christopher.
Notebook
• Caraway has held the most events in NWSMT history with 51 entering this race. No other track has played host to more than 10.
• There have been 11 different winners across the 51 previous NWSMT events at Caraway, led by Brunnhoelzl III and Seuss with 10.
• Seven different drivers have earned Coors Light Pole Awards at Caraway since the first race in 2005. Burt Myers leads that contingent with 13. He was also the inaugural event’s polesitter.
• Jason Myers is the only driver to compete in all 51 previous NWSMT events at Caraway.
• Brian Loftin, Junior Miller and L.W. Miller combined to win 17 of the first 21 NWSMT races at Caraway. Brunnhoelzl and Andy Seuss have accounted for 20 victories in the last 29 trips.
• L.W. Miller holds the record for consecutive victories at Caraway with five, which spanned the 2006-07 seasons.
• Seven Caraway races have been won wire-to-wire, including back-to-back wins by Seuss in the tour’s two of the three previous visits this season (March 9 & July 4).
• Seuss was the youngest Caraway race winner at 21 years, 6 months, 19 days.
• Junior Miller was the oldest Caraway victor at 55 years, 4 months, 14 days.
Caraway Speedway Data
Race: #12 of 14 overall, 4 of 5 at Caraway
Track Layout: .455-mile asphalt oval
Banking/Turns: 13 degrees
Banking/Straights: 9 degrees
Race Length: 150 laps / 68.25 miles
Qualifying/Race Data
2013 Pole Winner: Burt Myers
2013 Race Winner: Andy Seuss
Track Qualifying Record: George Brunnhoelzl III, Chevrolet, 15.648 seconds, 104.678 mph, April 21, 2012
Active Category Leaders at Caraway:
Wins
1. George Brunnhoelzl III … 10
2. Andy Seuss … 10
3. Brian Loftin … 8
Poles
1. Burt Myers … 13
2. George Brunnhoelzl III … 11
3. Andy Seuss … 8
Top Fives
1. Brian Loftin … 26
2. George Brunnhoelzl III … 26
3. Andy Seuss … 21
Top 10s
1. Jason Myers … 38
2. Burt Myers … 36
3. Brian Loftin … 31
Laps Led
1. Andy Seuss … 1,531
2. George Brunnhoelzl III … 1,284
3. Brian Loftin … 891
Laps Completed
1. Jason Myers … 7,034
2. Burt Myers … 6,997
3. Brian Loftin … 6,123
Starts
1. Jason Myers … 51
2. Burt Myers … 49
3. Brian Loftin … 45
Selected Driver Highlights:
JR Bertuccio (No. 2 Gershow Recycling Chevrolet)
• Has two wins and 17 top 10s in 37 career NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour starts. The wins came at Southern National Motorsports Park on March 16 and he was credited with a win as the highest finishing Southern Modified driver at Bristol on Aug. 20.
• Is fourth in points on the strength of a career-best six top fives.
• Has four top fives and eight top-10 finishes in 16 career starts at Caraway.
Danny Bohn (No. 65 Rustoleum/Cedar Peaks Chevrolet)
• The 2012 Sunoco Rookie of the Year has two wins, four poles, 14 top fives and 26 top 10s in 33 career NWSMT starts.
• Ranks fifth in points after 11 races, highlighted by his second career win at Bowman Gray Stadium on Aug. 2, when he also won the Coors Light Pole Award.
• His first tour victory came at Caraway in 2012. Has six top fives and 10 top 10s in 13 career starts at the track.
George Brunnhoelzl III (No. 28 Composite Technologies Chevrolet)
• Has a record four NWSMT championships (2009, `11, `12, `13).
• Has 21 wins, 22 poles, 47 podiums, 59 top fives, 73 top 10s and 2,682 laps led in 90 career starts.
• Holds NWSMT all-time records for wins and laps led. Ranks second in poles, third in top fives and fourth in top 10s.
• He has also recorded at least one win a season in every year he has competed full-time on the NWSMT since 2008 with his lone win so far this season at Langley in April. Brunnhoelzl competed in the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour in 2010.
• Has 10 wins, 10 poles, 21 podiums, 25 top fives, 31 top 10s and 1,284 laps led in 38 career starts at Caraway.
• Has finished on the podium in 20 of his last 25 starts at Caraway, including all 10 wins.
Bryan Dauzat (No. 97 O.B. Builders Chevrolet)
• One top five and 12 top 10s in 49 tour starts with a best career finish of fifth at Bowman Gray (2009).
• Has six top-10s finishes in 22 starts at Caraway, finishing eighth in the most recent race at the track.
• Average finish this season of 12th.
Spencer Davis (No. 79 Hillbilly Racing Pontiac)
• Has two top fives and six top 10s in 11 career starts.
• Finished ninth at Caraway in July for his first top 10 in three starts at Caraway.
• Is the leading contender for the Sunoco Rookie of the Year Award leading fellow rookies Joe Ryan Osborne and Bobby Measmer Jr.
Kyle Ebersole (No. 5 Ebersole Excavating Ford)
• Has two wins, 16 top fives and 25 top 10s in 33 career starts. The firstvictory was earned at Langley in 2013 and second came at South Boston on September 13th.
• Ranks sixth in points with nine top-10 finishes this season.
• Has an average finish of eighth and a best result of second (2013) in 13 career Caraway starts
Luke Fleming (No. 40 AutosByNelson.com/Koma Unwind Ford)
• The 2013 NWSMT Sunoco Rookie of the Year has a win and 12 top 10s in 21 career starts. The win came at Bowman Gray Stadium in his 2009 tour debut.
• Ranks sixth in points with seven top 10s in eight starts this year.
• Has an average finish of 10th and a best result of sixth (2013) in seven career Caraway starts.
Brian Loftin (No. 23 L&R Transmissions Chevrolet)
• The 2008 NWSMT champion has 12 wins, 12 poles, 39 top fives and 51 top 10s in 84 career starts.
• Sits 18th in points with one top-10 finish (7th-Caraway) in four starts.
• Has eight wins, six poles, 26 top fives and 31 top 10s in 45 career races at Caraway.
Burt Myers (No. 1 Citrusafe/Speedway Auto Auction/Adams Towing Ford)
• The 2010 NWSMT champion has 14 wins, a tour record 28 poles, 60 top fives and 96 top 10s in 115 career starts.
• Ranks third in points with three wins, 10 top 10s and seven top fives in 11 races.
• Has two wins, a record 13 poles, 19 top fives and 36 top 10s in 49 career Caraway starts.
• Was the NWSMT’s inaugural event polesitter at Caraway, and won the second-ever race there on April 9, 2005.
Jason Myers (No. 4 Adams Towing/Corks, Caps & Taps Ford)
• Has recorded three wins, 37 top fives and 87 top 10s in a NWSMT-record 119 career starts. Has competed in all but one race (2005-Martinsville Speedway) in the tour’s 10 seasons.
• Sits ninth in points with 10 top 10s and two top fives.
• Is the only driver to participate in all 51 previous NWSMT races at Caraway, where he has a win (2013), 19 top fives and a record 38 top 10s.
Joe Ryan Osborne (No. 15 Pinnacle Trucking/Osborne Construction Chevrolet)
• Rookie has eight top 10s in his first 11 NWSMT starts.
• Currently sits second in the Sunoco Rookie of the Year standings.
• Finished 10th in his NWSMT debut in the Caraway opener in April.
Gary Putnam (No. 77 Curb Records Chevrolet)
• Has 19 top 10s in 42 career starts with a best finish of fifth at Caraway in 2013.
• Ranks eighth in the 2014 standings with seven top 10s in 11 races.
• Has eight top 10s and an average finish of 11th in 18 career starts at Caraway.
Andy Seuss (No. 11 Ideal Finance/Phoenix Motors Chevrolet)
• Has 18 wins, 11 poles, 54 top fives and 71 top 10s in 91 career NWSMT starts. His 18 wins rank second all-time.
• Leads the championship standings with wins a pair of wins at Caraway and one at South Boston. He has nine top fives and is the only driver to finish in the top 10 in all 11 races this season.
• Tied with George Brunnhoelzl III (10) on the track wins list. Also has eight poles, 21 top fives, 28 top 10s and a record 1,531 laps led in 38 total starts there.
• Four of his five career wire-to-wire wins have come at Caraway, including the first two races held in 2014 at the track.
Thomas Stinson (No. 7 Dennis’ Towing & Recovery Chevrolet)
• Has 26 top 10s in 54 career starts.
• Sits 16th in points after seven races with a best finish of ninth in the opener at Caraway.
• Has an average finish of 12th and a career-best result of second (2011) in 24 previous Caraway races.
Up To Speed:
• The 2014 NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour schedule consists of 14 events at seven different tracks across three states.
• The competition season opened with the non-points UNOH Battle At The Beach on the short track at Daytona International Speedway on Feb. 18. Ryan Preece was the polesitter and Doug Coby took the checkered flag. Jason Myers was the highest-finishing NWSMT driver in the event when he crossed the line second.
• Andy Seuss won from the pole in the points season opener on March 9 at Caraway Speedway.
• JR Bertuccio captured his first career victory on March 15 at Southern National Motorsports Park. George Brunnhoelzl III was the event’s pole winner.
• The Prestoria Farms 150 at Caraway was to be contested on March 29, but was postponed due to rain. That event will be made up on Oct 4.
• Danny Bohn sat on the pole, but it was Seuss who led all but one lap en route to victory at South Boston Speedway on April 5.
• At Langley Speedway on April 12, Ryan Preece earned the pole in his fourth NWSMT appearance in a row and Brunnhoelzl drove to Victory Lane for his first win at the track.
• Andy Seuss picked up his third win of the season and second at Caraway with a victory in the Daggett Shuler Attorneys at Law 150 on July 4.
• Danny Bohn picked up his first win of the season and second of his career in the Strutmasters.com 199 at Bowman Gray Stadium on Aug. 2.
• JR Bertuccio was credited with the win at Bristol Motor Speedway as the highest finishing NWSMT driver in the annual combination event with the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour. The win moved him to third in the standings, 12 points behind second-place Brunnhoelzl (286-274) and 28 points behind leader Andy Seuss.
• Bert Myers won an action-packed race after he and then leader George Brunnhoelzl III made contact in Turn 4 on the final lap. It was the first win of the season for Myers. Andy Seuss maintained his points lead and enjoys a 14-point lead (343-329) over Brunnhoelzl after eight races.
• Burt Myers was able to get the lead from Andy Seuss on a green-white-checkered restart to score his second straight victory. It was the first time Myers has won back-to-back races since 2010.
• Kyle Ebersole used effective pit strategy and key track position while racing Andy Seuss for the win around lapped traffic at South Boston Speedway to score his first checkered flag of the season and second of his career.
• Burt Myers won the pole and led every lap en route to his third win in the past four races and third win in seven starts at Southern National Motorsports Park. This is the third time in his career he has won three races in a season.
Sources: Tim Southers, NASCAR PR