DAYTONA BEACH, FL :: Wins are hard to come by in the NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour, but that doesn’t stop Andy Seuss from agonizing over his recent lack of trips to Victory Lane.
Over a 12-race span from Oct. 2008 to Sept. 2009, Seuss of Hampstead, N.H., won five times, but he has just one victory in his last 18 Southern Modified Tour starts. In 73 career Southern Modified starts he has 42 top-five and 55 top-10 finishes and in a bit of a statistical anomaly Seuss’ career average starting position is 7.2 which is identical to his average finishing position.
In his last tour start on July 6 at Caraway Speedway near Asheboro, N.C., the 26-year-old Seuss finished third for his best result of the season, but it could have been more. He tangled with race leader George Brunnhoelzl III while going for the lead on Lap 136 and came out on the short end of the stick.
Despite obviously being disappointed, Seuss was able to look on the bright side following the race.
“I’m happy that we had a winning car. We used to be pretty good (at Caraway), but not recently,” he said. “It’s good to get a podium finish again.”
It’s not for a lack of confidence or faith for the No. 11 Tammie Davis/Phoenix Pre-Owned Motors Chevrolet team.
“Eddie Harvey – car owner and crew chief – and the whole team has been working extremely hard to make the car faster,” Seuss stated. “I have every confidence in them and I thank them for their confidence in me. We are all a hundred percent committed to the program.”
The Southern Modified Tour makes its annual visit to Bowman Gray Stadium in Winston-Salem, N.C., for the Kevin Powell Motorsports 199. The ‘Madhouse’ is always a good for high drama when every driver has to fight and scratch for each inch of track position.
Qualifying at the quarter-mile bullring is tantamount to success. In the five of the previous eight contests there the race winner has started inside the top five and started sixth on two other occasions. The only aberration was Luke Fleming winning in 2009 after starting 19th in his tour debut.
At Bowman Gray, Seuss has three fifth-place finishes – including last year’s race – in five outings. To illustrate the need for laying down a great qualifying lap, his average finishing position is 7.4, but his average starting spot is 10.0.
Seuss and the rest of the competitors need to come up with a plan to derail George Brunnhoelzl III, who is the defending race champion and winner of the last three tour events. The win streak has powered the three-time champ to a 24-point lead in the season standings.
| RACE: | Kevin Powell Motorsports 199 |
|---|---|
| PLACE: | Bowman Gray Stadium, Winston-Salem, N.C. |
| DATE: | Saturday, Aug. 3 |
| TIME: | 8:40 p.m. ET |
| TRACK LAYOUT: | Quarter-mile flat asphalt oval |
| 2012 WINNER: | George Brunnhoelzl III |
| 2012 POLE SITTER: | Burt Myers |
| EVENT SCHEDULE: | Final Practice 3:15-4 p.m., Qualifying 5:30 p.m., Driver Autograph Session 6:45 p.m. |
| TRACK CONTACT: | Loren Pinilis, 336-765-6802, [email protected] |
| TRACK TWITTER: | @BGSRacing |
| EVENT TWITTER HASHTAG: | #KPM199 |
| NASCAR CONTACT: | Shon Sbarra, 704-309-5493, [email protected], @ShonSbarra |
FAST FACTS
The Race: The Kevin Powell Motorsports 199 is the sixth race of the 2013 NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour and the ninth time the southern tour has visited the Stadium.
The Procedure: The maximum starting field will be 26 cars, including provisionals. The first 23 starting positions will be based on two-lap time trials and the remaining three will be filled through the provisional process. The race will be 199 laps (49.75 miles).
The Track: Bowman Gray Stadium was NASCAR’s first weekly track and has a storied history in the sport. The famed quarter-mile has been in continuous operation since 1949. Bowman Gray Stadium has played host to the NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour every year since NASCAR began sanctioning the tour in 2005. It also has hosted the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East on three occasions including earlier this season.
The Records: The one-lap qualifying record for the NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour is 13.186 seconds (68.254 mph), set by Tim Brown on Aug. 4, 2008. The 199-lap race record is held by L.W. Miller at 1 hour, 57 seconds (48.975 mph) was set on Aug. 7, 2010.
BOWMAN GRAY RACE NOTES
Another Roll: Three-time and defending tour champion George Brunnhoelzl III is again at the top of the standings and has taken the checkered flag in each of the last three Southern Modified Tour events. He is also the defending race winner.
Drought Relief: The Myers family is synonymous with Bowman Gray and brothers, Burt and Jason, accounted for the wins in each of the tour’s first three events at the track with Burt winning in 2005 and 2007, and Jason taking the checkered flag in 2006. However, neither has gone to Victory Lane in a SoMod event since.
North/South Weekend Plans: Three weeks after a trio of Southern Modified Tour drivers went to New Hampshire Motor Speedway to compete in the northern tour event, this week could see the northerners return the favor. If all goes well on Friday in the CARQUEST 150 at Stafford (Conn.) Motor Speedway, NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour drivers Woody Pitkat, Cole Powell and Ryan Preece will head to Bowman Gray. Pitkat and Powell will attempt to do the north-south double in the same race cars while Preece will compete at Bowman Gray in his family-owned Modified instead of the No. 16 he drives in the northern tour.
Short-Track Buffett: In addition to experiencing one of the sport’s greatest short-track venues, a fan will win a pair of tickets to another legendary short-track event – the Irwin Tools Night Race at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series.
HOME TRACKS: McCaskill Opens Lead
Through the latest NASCAR Whelen All-American Series national points update on July 23, late-model driver Deac McCaskill leads the North Carolina state standings by 42 tallies over Tommy Lemons Jr. followed by a quintet of Bowman Gray modified drivers. Burt Myers with six wins tops that list and he leads the track standings, as well. Jason Myers is second followed by John Smith, Tim Brown and Danny Bohn.
LAST TIME OUT: Caraway
Rain forced a postponement on July 5 and everyone reconvened the next day with the exception of Tim Brown, who missed the make-up date due to a personal conflict. Here are some highlights of the Daggett Schuler Attorneys-at-Law/Rusty Harpe Memorial 150:
• Brunnhoelzl III went wire-to-wire for the win.
• Kyle Ebersole finished a season-best second.
• Andy Seuss tangled with Brunnhoelzl going for the lead on Lap 136 and settled for third place.
• Brunnhoelzl extended his lead in the point standings to 24 over Ebersole
NEXT TIME OUT: Bristol
The NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour heads to Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway for the Titan Roof 150 and its annual head-to-head competition with the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour. The North’s Ron Silk won the race last year while George Brunnhoelzl III was the top-finishing SoMod competitor.
