George Brunnhoelzl III added another track to his
résumé, claiming the Courtyard by Marriott/Pepsi 150
Saturday night at Langley Speedway. It is the 11th
different track the four-time NASCAR Whelen Southern
Modified Tour champion has won at.
Brunnhoelzl led the final 67 laps after passing
points leader Andy Seuss, and survived a
green-white-checkered finish for his first win of
the season. Twice in the previous three races this
year, Brunnhoelzl finished second to Seuss.
It also extended Brunnhoelzl's tour record for
career wins to 21.
Seuss came home second and David Calabrese was a
career-best third. Luke Fleming and Ryan Preece
rounded out the top five.
Seuss took the lead on Lap 62 from Preece, who won
the Coors Light Pole Award with a track record lap
earlier in the day.
Burt Myers was sixth, followed by rookies Bobby
Measmer Jr. and Joe Ryan Osborne, Jason Myers and
Gary Putnam. Measmer established a career-best
finish while Osborne tied his previous personal
mark.
Brunnhoelzl led a race-high 69 laps. The victory
ended the second-longest winless drought of his
career at nine races, and drew him to within five
points of championship the leader Seuss after four
of 15 scheduled races.
“This was one of the tracks that we hadn’t won at,
so it’s great to finally end up in Victory Lane
here,” Brunnhoelzl said. “We’ve struggled for a few
years here. Last year we had a good car (finished
second), this year we had a great car.”
Brunnhoelzl and Seuss have now finished 1-2 in six
of the last eight Whelen Southern Modified Tour
races dating to last year, with Seuss in front the
five instances before Saturday.
“George had an awesome car,” Seuss said. “He got the
lead early, wanted to set the pace, so those guys
earned it. We were right there, we were real close.
In the end I think it came down to track position –
we were equally as good.”
For Calabrese, Saturday was a career night. His best
previous finish in 13 starts was 11th, recorded on
two occasions. In the Courtyard by Marriott/Pepsi
150, he started in the last row on the grid in 15th.
“I waited and waited for everyone to burn their
stuff up, and I just drove on past everybody and
ended up third,” Calabrese said.
The NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour will be
back in action Saturday, April 19 with the Bunny Hop
150 at Caraway Speedway in Sophia, N.C.
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NASCAR Whelen Southern
Modified Tour-Courtyard by Marriott/Pepsi 150
Unofficial Results
Saturday At Langley Speedway, Hampton, Va.
Lap length: 0.396 miles
(Start position in parentheses)
1. (4) George Brunnhoelzl, III, West Babylon, N.Y.,
Chevrolet, 152 laps, 69.120 mph.
2. (2) Andy Seuss, Hampstead, N.H., Chevrolet, 152.
3. (15) David Calabrese, Toms River, N.J., Chevrolet, 152.
4. (9) Luke Fleming, Mount Airy, N.C., Ford, 152.
5. (1) Ryan Preece, Berlin, Conn., Chevrolet, 152.
6. (8) Burt Myers, Walnut Cove, N.C., Ford, 152.
7. (14) Bobby Measmer, Jr., Concord, N.C., Chevrolet, 152.
8. (6) Joe Ryan Osborne, Holland, Pa., Chevrolet, 152.
9. (11) Jason Myers, Walnut Cove, N.C., Ford, 151.
10. (12) Gary Putnam, Vernon, Conn., Chevrolet, 151.
11. (13) Spencer Davis, Dawsonville, Ga., Pontiac, 151.
12. (5) JR Bertuccio, Centereach, N.Y., Chevrolet, 150.
13. (16) Mike Norman, Lewisville, N.C., Chevrolet, 150.
14. (7) Thomas Stinson, Chester, Va., Chevrolet, 150.
15. (3) Danny Bohn, Freehold, N.J., Chevrolet, 125, mechanical.
16. (10) Brian Loftin, Lexington, N.C., Chevrolet, 76, handling.
Race Statistics
Time of Race: 0 hours 52 minutes 15 seconds
Margin of Victory: 0.210 seconds
Fastest Qualifier: R. Preece (97.145 mph, 14.675 seconds)
Caution Flags: 6 for 24 laps.
Lead Changes: 3 among 3 drivers.
Lap Leaders: A. Seuss 1-2; R. Preece 3-61; A. Seuss 62-83; G.
Brunnhoelzl III 84-152.
Standings: 1. A. Seuss, 179; 2. G. Brunnhoelzl III, 174; 3. J.
Bertuccio, 160; 4. B. Myers, 155; 5. L. Fleming, 154; 6. J. Myers, 144; 7.
D. Bohn, 141; 8. J. Osborne, 141; 9. G. Putnam, 139; 10. K. Ebersole, 132. |
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