The NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour is set to roll into the Caraway Speedway in Asheboro, N.C. for the second time this season for a 150-lapper on Saturday night.
    It’s the fourth race of the season and heading into Saturday night’s race Junior Miller finds himself in a familiar position as the two-time defending NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour champion comes in as the current point leader coming off his victory last Saturday night at Greenville-Pickens (S.C.) Speedway .
    It’s been a busy last three weeks for the NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour drivers and teams as they have had three races in three different states.
    L.W. Miller overcame a flat tire and held off a late charge by Burt Myers to win the season opener at Caraway. Andrew Seuss followed by posting his first career NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour victory at the Music City Motorplex in Nashville , Tenn.
    Last weekend, Junior Miller took the lead away from Matt Hirschman late in the race and went on to take the win at Greenville-Pickens (S.C.) Speedway . It also gave him the points lead for the first time when L.W. Miller dropped out of the race after competing only 44 laps due to electrical problems and wound up finishing 24th.
    Junior Miller, who has five wins and eight top five finishes in 12 Whelen Southern Modified Tour races run at Caraway, leads second-place Myers by 28 points and third-place Tim Brown by 33. L.W. Miller dropped back to fourth, 49 points out of the lead.
BROWN STREAK AT 16: Brown finished third at Greenville-Pickens, extending his record to 16 straight top 10 finishes. Brown opened the season with an eighth-place finish at Caraway, which enabled him to break the record of 13 straight top 10 finishes held by Junior Miller. Junior Miller finished in the top 10 in the last eight races of 2005 and the first six in 2006 before a radiator forced him out at Martinsville ( Va. ) Speedway after just 15 laps. The last time Brown finished outside the top 10 was a 12th-place finish in the 2005 finale at Ace Speedway in Altamahaw (N.C.).
    MYERS GOES FOR RECORD: Burt Myers will be looking to break the NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour record for most consecutive Bud Pole Awards. Myers has won the pole in each of the first three races of the season. Jay Hedgecock took the pole in the second, third and fourth races of the 2005 season, and Brian Loftin won the pole in races three, four and five in 2006.
    In addition, Myers can match the record for Bud Poles in a season of four – set by Hedgecock in 2005 and matched by Myers in 2006. Myers has 10 career poles; the rest of the Southern Modified Tour have 14 combined.
    RUNNING ELSEWHERE: Matt Hirschman was fourth at Caraway in the first race of the season. He led from lap five to lap 129 at Greenville-Pickens last weekend before losing the lead; a late-race spin sent him back to 11th. But the 24-year-old Pennsylvania driver will not be at Caraway this weekend. Hirschman plans to run the full NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour schedule – where his father, Tony, is a five-time champion – and that season opens this weekend at Thompson , Conn. Also, leading rookie of the year contender Brandon Ward announced plans to pursue a Hooters ProCup ride in hopes of moving up to the NASCAR Busch East Series. Ward is fifth in points after back-to-back top five finishes.
    NEWS AND NOTES: NASCAR announced that it has fined and suspended car owner Bobby Loftin and fined driver Robert Loftin as a result of a post-race incident at the NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour race at Music City Motorplex in Nashville , Tenn. Sunday, April 1. Bobby Loftin’s suspension took affect prior to the Saturday, April 7 race at Greenville-Pickens Speedway in Greenville , S.C.
    Bobby Loftin was suspended two races and fined $500. Robert Loftin was fined $300 and placed on probation until Dec. 31, 2007.
    The actions taken by NASCAR resulted from violations of 12- 4-A (actions detrimental to stock car racing). The suspension of Bobby Loftin was a result of a violation of 12-4-F (fighting).

FAST FACTS
What: Whelen Southern Modified Tour 150
NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour Race #4
Where: Caraway Speedway , Asheboro , N.C.
When: 8:00 p.m., Saturday, April 14
Track Layout: .455-mile
Distance: 150 Laps, 68.25 miles.
Posted Awards: $24,272
Records: Qualifying – Burt Myers, 15.793 seconds, 103.723 mph. March 24, 2007.
Race – Junior Miller, 44 minutes 30 seconds. Sept. 9, 2006.
Pre-race schedule: Saturday – Practice, 4-4:45 p.m. Qualifying, 6:00 p.m. All times subject to change.

Track Contact: Renee Hackett (336) 629-5803