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04/14/2012 |
WARD WINS SOUTH
BOSTON 150
First Career
Victory In 17th Start |
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Brandon
Ward won the South Boston 150 on Saturday night in NASCAR
Whelen Southern Modified Tour action at South Boston
Speedway.
Ward, racing out of Winston-Salem, N.C., in his No. 44
Konnoak Giant Services/Hire’s Automotive Chevrolet, wrestled
the lead from defending tour champion George Brunnhoelzl
III, who led a race-high 130 laps, on Lap 131 and never
looked back over the 19 laps of the race. It was Ward’s
first tour victory in 17 starts.
Andy Seuss rebounded from an early-race incident to finish
second followed by Danny Bohn in third. Kyle Ebersole and
L.W. Miller finished fourth and fifth, respectively.
For the second time this season, contact at the front of the
field got emotions running hot between competitors as Ward
made contact with Brunnhoelzl while racing for the lead. The
result sent Brunnhoelzl spinning out of contention down the
backstretch.
After the race, Brunnhoelzl showed his displeasure by
chasing down Ward and running beside him during the
cool-down lap.
“We were having to race (Brunnhoelzl) for the lead and he
had a good car,” Ward said. “I felt like we were better we
just needed a few laps to get going. We were real good on
the bottom and I got loose underneath him and he had a run
back on the outside and I just got into him. I really hate
that that happened. He is a great competitor in this
series.”
After the restart for the final of eight cautions during the
race, Ward was able to hold off Seuss for the win and give
car owner Bryan Fishel his first Tour victory.
Ward was the fourth different race winner in as many NASCAR
Whelen Southern Modified Tour events at South Boston. Prior
race winners are Ted Christopher, James Civali and Seuss.
For Seuss, second place is the best finish he has had to
date this season after, in his estimation, a frustrating
start to the year.
Seuss and rookie Kyle Ebersole made contact earlier in the
race and Seuss couldn’t believe his luck after a Lap 39
incident that also collected Jason Myers, Brian Loftin and
AJ Winstead.
“This season has just been such a terrible start for us that
when that happened I was just shaking my head,” Seuss said.
“The lanes just opened up and the car was good. I can’t
thank my guys enough. I hate to see what happened to my
teammate and we could have had a 1-2 (finish) for Ideal
Racing but that’s the way it goes sometimes.”
Bohn is quickly making a name for himself as he picked up
his second top-five finish in as many races in just his
third Tour start. Bohn finished fifth last week at Caraway
Speedway.
“The first time I saw the track was when I came in here this
morning,” Bohn said. “We learned every time we went out and
we are still figuring out our car. I just want to thank the
guys who come out every week.”
Bohn mixed it up with Miller and was able to get by the
veteran and Ebersole to pick off his first podium finish.
“In a long race we were just riding around trying to save
our equipment and when you get down near the end you need to
go and the car seemed to work really good on the bottom. We
just started picking off cars one by one (at the end).”
Miller won the Coors Light Pole Award earlier in the day
during qualifying for his first pole since winning the honor
at Southern National Speedway on Sept. 13, 2008. With his
third-place finish, Miller is the only driver on the Tour to
string together three straight top fives to open the season.
Thomas Stinson, Burt Myers, Brunnhoelzl, Renee Dupuis and
John Smith rounded out the top 10.
Dupuis advanced 11 positions over the course of her 2012
debut to win the Coca-Cola Move of the Race Award. Seuss
captured the Featherlite Move of the Race Award while Bohn
garnered Sunoco Rookie of the Race honors.
In the point standings, Brunnhoelzl and Miller are tied atop
the standings with Brunnhoelzl getting the edge due to his
season-opening win at Caraway Speedway in Asheboro, N.C.
Bohn is in third – 10 points off the leader’s pace. Seuss
and Burt Myers hold down the fourth and fifth spots,
respectively.
The NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour is right back on
the track on Saturday, April 21 at Caraway Speedway in
Asheboro, N.C., for the Caraway 150. It’s the fourth race in
as many weeks for the competitors.
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NWSMT South Boston 4/14/12 Unofficial
Results
Race: NWSMT South Boston 4/14/12
Fin / Str / Car / Driver / Team / Laps / Points /
Bonus / Status
1. 7 44 Brandon Ward Konnoak Giant/Hire's Automotive
Chevrolet 150 47 4 Running
2. 4 11 Andy Seuss Phoenix Pre-Owned Chevrolet 150 42
Running
3. 13 65 Danny Bohn * Rifenburg Construction/Rustoleum Chevrolet
150 41 Running
4. 6 51 Kyle Ebersole * Ebersole Excavating Inc
Chevrolet 150 40 Running
5. 1 88 L W Miller Tax Sleyer/Speedco/Lucas Oil
Chevrolet 150 40 1 Running
6. 8 7 Thomas Stinson United Solar
Graphics/Cowardin Jewelers Chevrolet 150 38 Running
7. 17 1 Burt Myers Citrusafe/Adams Towing Ford 150 37
Running
8. 3 09 George Brunnhoelzl, III Phoenix Pre-Owned/Triad
Auto Sales Chevrolet 150 38 2 Running
9. 20 59 Renee Dupuis Union Insurance Group Chevrolet 150 35
Running
10. 9 25 John Smith Shady Grady Racing Chevrolet 150 34
Running
11. 2 02 Tim Brown Hayes Jewelers/T&C Motorsports
Chevrolet 150 33 Running
12. 11 40 Frank Fleming Autos By Nelson/Perkins & Assoc/Lewisville
Ford 150 32 Running
13. 14 48 Jonny Kievman A Best Forklift Pontiac 150 31 Running
14. 19 79 Chuck Hossfeld Hill Enterprises/Coors Light Pontiac 150 30
Running
15. 23 77 Gary Putnam Stock Car Steel Chevrolet 150 29 Running
16. 26 24 Darryl Lacks * Bass Automotive Chevrolet 150 28 Running
17. 18 12 Mike Norman PestX Exterminating/Auto Sol. Magazine Ford 135
27 Running
18. 12 2 J R Bertuccio, Jr Gershow Recycling Chevrolet 124
26 Running
19. 25 78 Donnie Lacks * Bass Automotive Chevrolet 124 25 Accident
20. 5 4 Jason Myers Moorefield/Trantham/Wendell
Edwards Ford 89 24 Accident
21. 22 9 AJ Winstead * Clark American Sanders Chevrolet 64
23 Overheating
22. 21 37 Joe Scarbrough * Hyperion Stud Chevrolet 52 22 Power
Steering
23. 10 23 Brian Loftin L & R Transmissions/QMF Metal Solutions
Chevrolet 40 21 Rear End
24. 15 97 Bryan Dauzat O B Builders Inc Chevrolet 28 20 Suspension
25. 16 80 Michael Speeney * UNC Charlotte Motorsports Chevrolet 18 19
Accident
26. 24 33 Gary Fountain * Fountain Motorsports/Andy Petree Racing
Chevrolet 18 18 Accident
27. 27 01 Rich Kuiken Flow Masters Testing & Balancing Chevrolet 2 17
Engine
* Sunoco Rookie of the Year Contendern
RACE STATISTICS
Fastest Qualifier: L W Miller, Time: 14.466 Seconds, Speed:
99.544 mph
Time of Race: 1 hrs., 6 mins, 25 secs
Average Speed: 54.203 mph
Margin of Victory: 1.368 Seconds
Caution Flags: Laps 20-26 (#80, #33, #59 spin in Turn 4); 29-35 (#37,
#24, #12, #1 spin in Turn 1); 39-42 (#51, #4, #23, #9 spin in Turn 2); 76-80
(Halfway Break); 91-95 (#4 hits Turn 3 wall); 113-116 (#48 spins in Turn 4);
125-128 (#2, #78 spin in Turn 2); 133-136 (#09 spins on backstretch). 8 for
40 laps.
Lap Leaders: L W Miller 1-2, George Brunnhoelzl, III 3-131, Brandon
Ward 132-150.
Total Laps Led: George Brunnhoelzl, III 129, Brandon Ward 19, L W Miller 2.
2 changes involving 3 drivers.
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Source:
Shon Sbarra /
NASCAR
Posted: April
14, 2012 |
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