L.W. Miller holds championship lead heading into Caraway
NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour driver L.W. Miller is likely to have a few sleepless nights over the course of the next two weeks as the final two races of the season are set to be settled.
The reason the Mooresville, N.C., driver will be a bit worried is because he is the current Whelen Southern Modified Tour championship leader with a 55-point cushion over second-place Tim Brown. L.W. Miller is 77 points ahead of Burt Myers in third and 101 points ahead of two-time and defending Whelen Southern Modified Tour champion Junior Miller in fourth.
It should come as some consolation to L.W. Miller that the final two races – including this Saturday night’s Whelen Southern Modified Tour 150 – will take place at Caraway Speedway in Asheboro, N.C. L.W. Miller has won the last five Whelen Southern Modified Tour races at the Caraway short track in a span that dates back to the 2006 season.
“I obviously have a lot of momentum going into Caraway based on my past few races at that place,” L.W. Miller said. “I race to win, but with only two races left, I realize I’m sitting in a good position as far as the points are concerned. I know that just one mistake on my part can cause me to lose all those points and let somebody else take the championship. There are going to be some elements that are out of our hands. If we have mechanical failure, that’s just the way it goes in racing and that will be my destiny.”
L.W. Miller knows that he has to take somewhat of a cautious approach into the final two Whelen Southern Modified Tour events if he is to ultimately clinch the championship.
“I hate to race this way, but I have to go into these next two races and be conservative and try to come away with solid top-five finishes,” Miller said. “My goal is to win every race at Caraway this season, but I can’t take any chances and jeopardize the championship. I’m too close to the title and I’m not going to take any stupid chances. I don’t like to race this way but I have to do what’s best for me and my team. I have to keep the big picture in mind even though that’s really not my style.
“I’m not saying that I’m just going to go into these last two races and just ride around, but I’m not going to jeopardize the position that we have worked to get to all season long. We’ve been a championship team all year long and we all know what we’ve got to do to accomplish our mission.”
L.W. Miller is quick to point out that even though he appears to be in a fairly safe position, he is taking nothing for granted and one small mistake could easily allow Brown, Myers and Junior Miller to get back in the championship picture.
“We are, by no means, sitting in what you’d call a safe position because anything can happen,” L.W. Miller said. “Tim Brown has had a great season and his team has done a great job of getting into a position to strike if something happens to us. Burt has also done a great job at putting himself into a position to win the championship and the same can be said about Junior Miller. I know all the Whelen Southern Modified Tour fans are going to be sitting on the edge of their seats these last two races because nobody knows what’s going to happen and who will walk away as the champion.”
Brown is one driver that certainly shouldn’t be counted out as the Cana, Va., driver has won two of the last three races so he will also be carrying momentum into the last two races at Caraway. Brown, however, concedes it’s going to take a mistake on L.W. Miller’s part if he lets anybody stop his path to the Whelen Southern Modified Tour title.
“L.W. is going to have to have some bad luck to let anybody else back into the championship picture,” Brown said. “All we can do is go out and win these last two races and then see how it all plays out. I just want to run well in these last two races because we’ve been the car to beat the last few races. My goal in these last two races is to sit on the pole and win the race. If L.W. has bad luck, it’s going to let a couple of us to gain ground but if we runs like he’s run all year, he’s going to win the championship and there’s nothing more we could have done. The way I look at it is that if L.W. wins the championship, then he deserves it.”
Myers also concedes that he is going to need some help to be able to sneak back into the championship picture.
“Mathematically we’re not out of it and we’re not going to quit until there’s nothing else we can do,” Myers said. “I’ve just got to go into these last two races and try to win and let the points fall where they may. If I win these last two races and L.W. finishes second, I’ll be happy. I can honestly say that because we as a team have worked as hard as we could have possibly worked. If we come up short, then we come up short. That’s not something I’m going to hang my head down and be disappointed because I’ve had a great season. No matter what happens, we as a team are going to walk away from our season with a smile on our face.”
Sources: NASCAR WSMT PR