WINSTON SALEM, NC – Burt Myers opened the 2015 season in dominant fashion Saturday night, leading 165 laps en route to his 62nd career victory at Bowman Gray Stadium in the Haye’s Jewelers 200.
Myers jumped out front on lap 35 and never looked back after passing polesitter Jason Myers. For Burt, he knew if there was one car in the field who could keep up with his No. 1 chevy, it was his brother Jason.
“I knew we had a really good car. I knew that Jason had a really good car. You know, same shop, same family, and pretty much the same setups. I knew he was going to be hard to beat, but I also knew that out front was where I needed to be for my best chance to win.”
Following in the tire tracks of the Myers Brothers were Brandon Ward, Tim Brown, and Chris Fleming, who rebounded from a turn four spin on lap 168 for a top five finish.
After winning the pole last weekend before rain washed out the season opener, Jason carried that momentum into the start of the race. He led the first 34 laps of the event, pulling away before Burt Myers got around him on the outside.
For Burt, back-to-back wins in the season-opening 200 lap feature was no walk in the park. On lap 188, Michael Clifton got together with Justin Loftin and Randy Butner, setting up a 10-lap shootout to the finish.
“Well you know, cautions here breed cautions. I knew that as long as I didn’t make a mistake and didn’t let anything crazy happen, I’d probably be ok. Jason got a great restart on that last restart, and I didn’t want to do anything stupid and it cost both of us, but I knew if I could get clear and get out front, I’d be alright.”
Perennial Bowman Gray favorite Tim Brown’s night was anything but ordinary. A new car gave the No. 83 Haye’s Jewelers team trouble all race long, with Brown soldiering home in fourth place.
“It’s a brand new car, and all the parts are new on it. The coil or MSD box has a miss in it from 6500 RPM and up, and on the restarts it just wouldn’t go. Once we had a long green flag run, the guys ahead of me with all the power were heating their tires up and I could get back to them. Then a caution would come back out and I’d lose it to them. It’s just one of those deals with new car gremlins. We’ll be back.”
For Brown, his Bowman Gray Stadium win total stands at 72, just one victory behind all-time leader Junior Miller’s 73 checkered flags.
The Brad’s Golf Cars Modified Series will be back in action at the Madhouse May 9 for the Kevin Powell Motorsports 100.