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ASHEBORO, N.C. – George Brunnhoelzl III opened the 2012 season just like he finished the 2011 season during his NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour championship run – with a win at Caraway Speedway on Saturday night.
Although Brunnhoelzl started from the pole and led every lap it wasn’t easy, as he had to hold off Jason Myers on the final lap to win by just .236 seconds for his 12th career win and sixth at Caraway Speedway.
L.W. Miller followed Myers for third with Brandon Ward fourth and John Smith fifth. Daniel Hemric was sixth with Brian Loftin seventh and Burt Myers eighth. Gary Fountain Sr., and Rich Kuiken Jr. completed the top 10.
Although Brunnhoelzl has enjoyed recent success at Caraway Speedway he really didn’t know what to expect in the season opener.
“This is a brand new car and the guys did a great job building this car and Howard gives me great equipment,” Brunnhoelzl said. “We had a little bit of a problem with the steering but all in all it was a good day for us here at Caraway.”
For Jason Myers, he was all smiles after his second-place showing.
“Second place in one of these races is a big deal because you are racing the best of the best in these Whelen Southern Modifieds,” Jason Myers said. “Running second is good but knowing we had the fastest car at the end of the race really puts a lot of hope for the future for this race team especially here at Caraway where you have to run well to have a chance to win the championship.”
Although the contact with Seuss didn’t end the night for Miller, he said he had nothing for Brunnhoelzl.Miller finished third but was involved in an incident with Andy Seuss on Lap 93 on a restart when the drivers made contact in Turn 2 sending Seuss into the wall and ending his night.
“The pit stop we made at halfway helped us a little, but he (Brunnhoelzl) had the best car all night long,” Miller said. “Jason (Myers) had the fastest car at the end and probably would have won the race if had gotten by me a little sooner.”
Daniel Hemric led the group of seven rookies in the field with his sixth-place finish to earn Sunoco Rookie of the Race honors, while John Smith won the Featherlite Move of the Race and Gary Fountain Sr. used his first career top-10 finish to win the Coca-Cola Move of the Race.
The race was slowed nine times by caution with one red flag for 17:58 after the Seuss-Miller incident on Lap 93.
With his victory, Brunnhoelzl locked up a spot in the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour race at the UNOH Battle at the Beach at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway during next February’s Speedweeks.
Brunnhoelzl and the rest of the NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour competitors return to Caraway Speedway for the Farm Bureau Insurance 150 on Saturday, April 7.
| Fin | Str | Car | Driver | Team | Laps | Points | B/Points | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | 9 | George Brunnhoelzl, III | Phoenix Pre-Owned Chevrolet Chevrolet | 150 | 48 | 5 | Running |
| 2 | 4 | 4 | Jason Myers | Trantham Moorefield/Wendell Edwards Ford Ford | 150 | 42 | Running | |
| 3 | 3 | 88 | L W Miller | Tax Sleyer/Speedco Chevrolet Chevrolet | 150 | 41 | Running | |
| 4 | 6 | 44 | Brandon Ward | Clemmons Speed Shop/Hire’s Automotive Chev | 150 | 40 | Running | |
| 5 | 14 | 25 | John Smith | Shady Grady Racing Chevrolet Chevrolet | 150 | 39 | Running | |
| 6 | 13 | 79 | Daniel Hemric * | Hill Enterprises/Coors Light/LeBleu Water Pont | 149 | 38 | Running | |
| 7 | 9 | 23 | Brian Loftin | QMF Metal & Electronic Sol/L & K Trans Chevrolet | 149 | 37 | Running | |
| 8 | 5 | 1 | Burt Myers | Adams Towing/Citrusafe Ford Ford | 149 | 36 | Running | |
| 9 | 19 | 33 | Gary Fountain * | Andy Petree Racing/Race Car Engineering Chevrolet | 149 | 35 | Running | |
| 10 | 18 | 1 | Rich Kuiken | Flowmasters Testing & Balancing Chev Chevrolet | 148 | 34 | Running | |
| 11 | 10 | 2 | J R Bertuccio, Jr | Gershow Recycling Chev Chevrolet | 148 | 33 | Running | |
| 12 | 7 | 65 | Danny Bohn * | Rifenburg Construction/Rustoleum Chev Chevrolet | 146 | 32 | Running | |
| 13 | 2 | 02 | Tim Brown | Hayes Jewelers/T&C Motorsports Chev Chevrolet | 144 | 31 | Running | |
| 14 | 11 | 40 | Frank Fleming | Jerry Hunt Auto & Truck Sales/Adams Towing Ford | 142 | 30 | Running | |
| 15 | 17 | 9 | AJ Winstead * | Clark American Sanders Chevrolet Chevrolet | 124 | 29 | Running | |
| 16 | 23 | 80 | Michael Speeney * | UNC Charlotte Motorsports Chevrolet | 96 | 28 | Engine | |
| 17 | 12 | 11 | Andy Seuss | Phoenix Pre-Owned Chevrolet Chevrolet | 94 | 27 | Accident | |
| 18 | 16 | 48 | Jonny Kievman | A Best Forklift Chevrolet Chevrolet | 94 | 26 | Accident | |
| 19 | 22 | 37 | Joe Scarbrough * | Hyperion Stud Chevrolet Chevrolet | 87 | 25 | Accident | |
| 20 | 24 | 12 | Mike Norman | Auto Solution Mag/Perfection Exhaust Ford Chevrolet | 79 | 24 | Accident | |
| 21 | 21 | 77 | Gary Putnam | Stock Car Steel Chevrolet Chevrolet | 78 | 23 | Suspension | |
| 22 | 20 | 97 | Bryan Dauzat | O B Builders Inc Chevrolet Chevrolet | 78 | 22 | Radiator | |
| 23 | 15 | 7 | Thomas Stinson | Cowardin Jewelers/United Solar Chevrolet Chevrolet | 77 | 21 | Accident | |
| 24 | 8 | 51 | Kyle Ebersole * | Ebersole Excavating Inc Chevrolet Ford | 40 | 20 | Suspension |
RACE STATISTICS
Fastest Qualifier: George Brunnhoelzl, III, Time: 15.807 Seconds, Speed: 103.625 mph
Time of Race: 1 hrs., 6 mins, 53 secs Average Speed: 61.226 mph Margin of Victory: 0.236 Seconds
Caution Flags: Laps 2-6 (#23 spins); 29-31 (#9 spins); 33-35 (#01 spins); 40-42 (#33 spins); 53-55 (#9 spins); 75-77 (80 spins and half way break); 81-86 (#12 spins); 89-99 (#33 spins went back to green on lap 94–did not complete a lap–#11, 40, 48 wreck –red flag). 8 for 37 laps.
Lap Leaders: George Brunnhoelzl, III 1-150.
Total Laps Led: George Brunnhoelzl, III 150. 0 changes involving 1 drivers.
Top 10 Driver Points: George Brunnhoelzl, III 48, Jason Myers 42, L W Miller 41, Brandon Ward 40, John Smith 39, Daniel Hemric * 38, Brian Loftin 37, Burt Myers 36, Gary Fountain * 35, Rich Kuiken 34
* Denotes Rookie of the Year Contender
Story and main image thanks to hometracks.nascar.com
Other image thanks to: www.racingreference.info
