Whelen So. Modified Stat Advance: Caraway
Analyzing The Prestoria Farms 150 At Caraway Speedway
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – The NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour returns to Caraway Speedway for the fifth and final time this season Saturday night for the Prestoria Farms 150. This race was rescheduled from March 29 after rain postponed the event. Below is a statistical look at the performance of selected drivers at the track:
Prestoria Farms150 Setup:
• George Brunnhoelzl III cut Andy Seuss’ points lead in half last weekend when he won the Zooland 150 and Seuss finished fifth in the race. Brunnhoelzl now trails Seuss by just nine points (504-495).
• Brunnhoelzl is the defending winner of this event and he now owns the track record for most tour wins at Caraway with 11. Seuss is second with 10 wins.
• Seuss and Brunnhoelzl have combined to win 13 of the last 17 tour races at Caraway, and 21 of 30 since 2008.
• Burt Myers is tied with Seuss for the most wins this season with three. Brunnhoelzl and J.R. Bertuccio are the only other drivers with multiple wins this season with each scoring a pair of victories.
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 52 entering this race. No other track has played host to more than 10.
• There have been 11 different winners across the 52 previous NWSMT events at Caraway, led by Brunnhoelzl with 11 wins.
• 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 pole sitter.
• Jason Myers is the only driver to compete in all 52 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 21 victories in the last 30 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 four 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: #13 of 14 overall, 5 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: George Brunnhoelzl III
2013 Race Winner: George Brunnhoelzl III
Track Qualifying Record: George Brunnhoelzl III, Chevrolet, 15.648 sec., 104.678 mph, April 21, 2012
Active Category Leaders at Caraway:
Wins
1. George Brunnhoelzl III … 11
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. George Brunnhoelzl III … 27
2. Brian Loftin … 26
3. Andy Seuss … 22
Top 10s
1. Jason Myers … 39
2. Burt Myers … 37
3. Brian Loftin … 32
George Brunnhoelzl … 32
Laps Led
1. Andy Seuss … 1,531
2. George Brunnhoelzl III … 1,352
3. Brian Loftin … 954
Laps Completed
1. Jason Myers … 7,187
2. Burt Myers … 7,150
3. Brian Loftin … 6,276
Starts
1. Jason Myers … 52
2. Burt Myers … 50
3. Brian Loftin … 46
Selected Driver Highlights:
JR Bertuccio (No. 2 Gershow Recycling Chevrolet)
• Has two wins and 18 top 10s in 38 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 Motor Speedway on Aug. 20.
• Is fourth in points on the strength of a career-best six top fives.
• Has five top fives and nine top 10s in 17 career starts at Caraway.
Danny Bohn (No. 65 Rustoleum/Cedar Peaks Chevrolet)
• The 2012 Sunoco Rookie of the Year has two wins, four poles, 15 top fives and 27 top 10s in 34 career NWSMT starts
• Ranks fifth in points after 12 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 seven top fives and 11 top 10s in 14 career starts at the track.
George Brunnhoelzl III (No. 28 Composite Technologies Chevrolet)
• Has a record four NWSMT championships (2009, `11, `12, `13).
• Has 22 wins, 22 poles, 48 podiums, 60 top fives, 74 top 10s and 2,750 laps led in 91 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.
• Has recorded at least one win a season in every year he has competed full-time on the NWSMT since 2008 with two wins so far this season at Caraway last weekend and at Langley in April. Brunnhoelzl competed in the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour in 2010.
• Has 11 wins, 11 poles, 22 podiums, 26 top fives, 32 top 10s and 1,352 laps led in 39 career starts at Caraway.
• Has finished on the podium in 21 of his last 26 starts at Caraway, including all 11 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 12 career starts.
• Finished ninth at Caraway in July for his first top 10 in four starts at Caraway.
• Is the leading contender for the Sunoco Rookie of the Year Award ahead of 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 34 career starts. The first victory was earned at Langley in 2013 and second came at South Boston on Sept. 13.
• 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 14 career Caraway starts
Luke Fleming (No. 40 AutosByNelson.com/Koma Unwind Ford)
• The 2013 NWSMT Sunoco Rookie of the Year has a win and 13 top 10s in 22 career starts. The win came at Bowman Gray Stadium in his 2009 tour debut.
• Ranks seventh in points with nine top 10s in 12 starts this year.
• Has an average finish of ninth and a best result of sixth (2013) in eight career Caraway starts.
Brian Loftin (No. 23 L&R Transmissions Chevrolet)
• The 2008 NWSMT champion has 12 wins, 13 poles, 39 top fives and 52 top 10s in 85 career starts.
• Sits 17th in points with two top-10 finishes (7th-Caraway) in six starts.
• Has eight wins, seven poles, 26 top fives and 32 top 10s in 46 career races at Caraway.
• Won his first pole at Caraway since 2011 last weekend in the Zooland 150.
Burt Myers (No. 1 Citrusafe/Speedway Auto Auction/Adams Towing Ford)
• The 2010 NWSMT champion has 14 wins, a tour record 28 poles, 61 top fives and 97 top 10s in 116 career starts.
• Ranks third in points with three wins, 11 top 10s and eight top fives in 12 races.
• Has two wins, a record 13 poles, 20 top fives and 37 top 10s in 50 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 88 top 10s in a NWSMT-record 120 career starts. Has competed in all but one race (2005-Martinsville Speedway) in the tour’s 10 seasons.
• Sits eighth in points with eight top 10s and two top fives.
• Is the only driver to participate in all 52 previous NWSMT races at Caraway, where he has a win (2013), 19 top fives and a record 39 top 10s.
Joe Ryan Osborne (No. 15 Pinnacle Trucking/Osborne Construction Chevrolet)
• Rookie has eight top 10s in his first 12 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 43 career starts with a best finish of fifth at Caraway in 2013.
• Ranks ninth in the 2014 standings with seven top 10s in 12 races.
• Has eight top 10s and an average finish of 11th in 19 career starts at Caraway.
Andy Seuss (No. 11 Ideal Finance/Phoenix Motors Chevrolet)
• Has 18 wins, 11 poles, 55 top fives and 72 top 10s in 92 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 10 top fives and is the only driver to finish in the top 10 in all 12 races this season.
• Second to George Brunnhoelzl III with 10 career wins at Caraway. Also has eight poles, 22 top fives, 29 top 10s and a record 1,531 laps led in 39 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.
• 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.
• 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 on Aug. 20. The win moved him to third in the standings, 12 points behind second-place Brunnhoelzl (286-274) and 28 points behind leader Seuss.
• Burt Myers won an action-packed race on Aug. 30 at Langley after he and then leader Brunnhoelzl made contact in Turn 4 on the final lap. It was the first win of the season for Myers. 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 Seuss on a green-white-checkered restart to score his second straight victory on Sept. 5 at Caraway. 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 Seuss for the win around lapped traffic at South Boston to score his first checkered flag of the season and second of his career on Sept. 13.
• On Sept. 20 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. This is the third time in his career he has won three races in a season.
• Brunnhoelzl was able to pass Burt Myers on Lap 85 and later held off Myers in a green-white-checkered finish to score his second win of the season on Sept. 27 at Caraway. The win allowed Brunnhoelzl to trim Seuss’ points lead to single digits (nine) for the first time since April of this year when Seuss led Brunnhoelzl by just fives points.
Sources: Tim Southers, NASCAR PR