Analyzing the Spring Explosion 150 at Concord Speedway
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – The second race of the 2016 NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour season is set for Saturday at Concord Speedway with the Spring Explosion 150. This will be the first time the tour has visited the track since 2009 and is rescheduled from March 19 after rain postponed the event. Below is a statistical look at the performance of selected drivers in the only previous event at Concord:
Southern Sizzler 150 Setup:
• NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour veteran Ted Christopher returns to defend his race win from 2009 at the ultra-fast half-mile oval.
• There will be seven drivers in the field that also competed in the only other visit to Concord. George Brunnhoelzl III and Burt Myers join Christopher as drivers who finished in the top five at the track during the 2009 event at third and fourth, respectively.
At Concord Speedway:
History
• Concord Speedway was opened in 1982 at its current location, originally as a dirt track and later paved. The complex features both a half-mile and quarter-mile track.
• The NWSMT is the only NASCAR-sanctioned touring series event to be hosted at the track.
Notebook
• Concord also hosts the non-NASCAR sanctioned North-South Shootout in November with participation from many NWSMT and NWMT competitors.
• Concord was a weekly NASCAR Whelen All-American Series until a change in focus to special events.
• Some NASCAR drivers who began their driving career and called Concord Speedway their home track included former NASCAR national series drivers Bobby Labonte, Ernie Irvan, Jack Sprague, Jeff Purvis and Butch Miller.
Concord Speedway Data
Race: #2 of 11 overall
Track Layout: .5-mile asphalt oval
Banking/Turns: 14 degree
Banking/Straights: 11 degrees
Banking/Dogleg: 10 degrees
Race Length: 150 laps / 75 miles
Qualifying/Race Data
2015 Pole Winner: No event held
2015 Race Winner: No event held
Track Qualifying Record: Burt Myers, Ford, 15.181 sec., 118.569 mph, March 21, 2009
Active Category Leaders at Concord:
Wins
1. Ted Christopher … 1
Poles
1. Burt Myers … 1
Top Fives
1. George Brunnhoelzl III … 1
Ted Christopher … 1
Burt Myers … 1
Top 10s
1. George Brunnhoelzl III … 1
Ted Christopher … 1
Burt Myers … 1
Laps Led
1. Ted Christopher … 150
Laps Completed
1. four drivers with … 150
Starts
1. seven drivers with … 1
Selected Driver Highlights:
JR Bertuccio (No. 2 Gershow Recycling Chevrolet)
• Has two wins and 26 top 10s in 48 career NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour starts. The wins came at Southern National Motorsports Park and Bristol Motor Speedway (NWSMT) in 2014.
• Enjoyed his best career finish to date in the final points standings (fourth) in 2014.
• Finished 11th in his lone visit to Concord Speedway in 2009.
George Brunnhoelzl III (No. 28 Dunleavy’s Truck & Trailer Repair/Comp. Technologies Chevrolet)
• Has a record four NWSMT championships (2009, `11, `12, `13).
• Has 25 wins, 26 poles, 53 podiums, 67 top fives, 82 top 10s and 3,530 laps led in 104 career starts.
• Holds NWSMT all-time records for wins and laps led. Ranks second in poles, third in top fives and fourth in top 10s.
• Has recorded at least one win a season in every year he has competed full-time on the NWSMT since 2008. Ran on the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour in 2010.
• Finished third at Concord in 2009.
Kyle Ebersole (No. 5 Ebersole Excavating Ford)
• Has two wins, 21 top fives and 35 top 10s in 47 career starts. The first victory was earned at Langley Speedway in 2013 and the second came at South Boston Speedway in 2014.
• Ranked fifth in points with eight top-10 finishes last season.
• This will be his first NWSMT start at Concord.
Danny Bohn (No. 40 Dunleavy’s Truck & Trailer Repair/William Smith Trucking Chevrolet)
• This New Jersey native has four wins, six poles, 20 top-five and 33 top-10 finishes in 41 career starts.
• Finished in the top 10 in the final standings each year from 2012-14 and competed part-time last year. Returns to full-time competition this season with Frank and Chris Fleming.
• This will be his first NWSMT start at Concord.
Ted Christopher (No. 00 M&T Enterprises Chevrolet)
• Has six wins in 18 starts in the NWSMT with five of his six wins coming in a Brady-owned entry.
• The Connecticut native won a NWMT championship in 2008.
• Led all 150 laps in his win at Concord in the only other visit by the southern tour at the track in 2009.
• The Plainville, Connecticut, native has made over 500 career starts in various NASCAR-sanctioned series from the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series to the modifieds with 58 victories combined.
Jeremy Gerstner (No. 15 GMR Lawncare/Shady Grady Racing Chevrolet)
• Competing fulltime again this season for modified veteran car owner Grady Jeffreys Sr.
• Has scored 10 top 10s in 27 career starts with a best finish of third at Bowman Gray in 2015.
• This will be his first NWSMT start at Concord.
Bobby Measmer Jr. (No. 74 Powerhouse Recycling/Lead 2 Real Estate Chevrolet)
• The Concord, North Carolina, driver has one pole (South Boston, 2015), four top-five and 12 top-10 finishes in 25 career starts.
• His runner-up last week in the opener at Caraway was his NWSMT career-best finish.
• This will be his first start in a modified at his home track, however he won a championship at the track in limited and pro late models in 2007 and 2011, respectively.
Burt Myers (No. 1 Remington SCT/Speedway Auto Auction Ford)
• The 2010 NWSMT champion has 17 wins, a tour record 28 poles, 69 top fives and 107 top 10s in 129 career starts.
• Finished fourth in the final standings last season with one win, six top fives and eight top 10s in 10 races. It was his third consecutive finish inside the top five in the final standings.
• Won the pole and finished fourth in his only other NWSMT start at Concord.
Jason Myers (No. 4 Moorefield Enterprises Ford)
• Has recorded three wins, 43 top fives and 99 top 10s in a NWSMT-record 133 career starts. Has competed in all but one race (2005-Martinsville Speedway) in the tour’s 12 seasons.
• Finished 2015 a career-best third place in the final standings as the only driver to finish in the top 10 in every race.
• Finished 14th in the previous NWSMT race at Concord.
Richie Pallai Jr. (No. 79 Hillbilly Racing Pontiac)
• Has 46 starts in the NWMT with one top five (2011-Lime Rock Park) and eight top-10 finishes.
• Finished ninth in his first start in the NWSMT last weekend driving for Hillbilly Racing this season in the southern tour.
• This will be his first NWSMT start at Concord.
Gary Putnam (No. 77 Curb Records Chevrolet)
• Has 25 top 10s in 56 career starts with a career best finish of fifth at Caraway in 2013.
• Finished in the top 10 in the final 2015 standings with six top 10s in 10 races, equaling his career-best showing of eighth place in 2014.
• Works full-time at Ganassi Racing in Concord.
• This will be his first NWSMT start at Concord.
Andy Seuss (No. 11 Davis Roofing/Vestal Buick GMC Chevrolet)
• Has 21 wins, 12 poles, 63 top fives and 83 top 10s in 105 career NWSMT starts. His 21 wins rank second all-time.
• The two-time defending tour champion won last year at Caraway, Bristol and South Boston. He had five top fives and eight top 10s in 10 races.
• Suffered mechanical problems early and finished 20th in his only other NWSMT start at Concord.
Other Driver Notes:
• NASCAR XFINITY Series and former NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour champion Ryan Preece returns to compete at Concord. Preece has two wins, nine poles and 10 top-10 finishes in 14 starts in the southern tour. His most recent win on the tour came at South Boston Speedway last April.
• Concord resident Bryan Dauzat will also make his first NWSMT start at Concord. The Alexandria, Louisiana, native has made 51 career starts with one top-five and 12 top-10 finishes. He returns this season full-time for the first time since 2013.
Up To Speed:
• Burt Myers made a late pass around Danny Bohn to pick up the season-opening win and 17th overall in his career in the southern tour.
