Burt Myers didn't rule out the possibility, but he knew his chances of winning the NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour championship weren't very realistic heading into Thursday night's season finale at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
Myers entered the UNOH Southern Slam 150 in fourth place in the standings, trailing leader James Civali by 41 points. To win the title, Myers needed to finish well ahead of three drivers above him in the standings.
He did all he could do. He led all but one lap on the way to his second tour victory this season. Everything else just fell into place.
Civali struggled through a number of accidents, and his championship hopes ended with a 16th-place finish. The same happened to Andy Seuss, who was second in the standings but limped to an 18th-place finish. And L.W. Miller, who was just ahead of Myers in the standings, got caught in a tangle with Civali and finished sixth, not high enough.
Myers wound up with his first Whelen Southern Modified title.
"We had to have everything go our way, and it did," Myers said yesterday. "I was 41 points behind going in, and I knew that was going to be a big jump, but I also knew we at least had a shot. We just went in planning to do everything we could do, and it just all worked out for us. We're blessed, I can say that."
Myers, from Walnut Cove and a four-time champion at Bowman Gray Stadium, was the runner-up in the tour's first season in 2005 but hadn't been able to top that until Thursday.
"Last year at the banquet, when they had my accomplishments listed, it said that I was the most decorated driver to have never won a tour championship," Myers said. "That didn't set too well with me. I thought then that we needed to win the tour championship."
Myers was on his way to Thompson, Conn., yesterday for Sunday's season-ending race in NASCAR's northeastern-based Whelen Modified Tour.
"I'm pretty optimistic about that right now," he said. "If nothing else, the trip up there won't seem as long."
Thursday's race at Charlotte was taped and will be broadcast on the Speed channel at 2:30 today.
UNOH Southern Slam 150
Final results
1. (1) Burt Myers, Walnut Cove, Ford, 150 laps, 34.983 mph, $3,000. 2. (6) Tim Brown, Cana, VA, Chevrolet, 150, $2,000. 3. (12) Zach Brewer, Winston-Salem, Chevrolet, 150, $1,800. 4. (9) John Smith, Mount Airy, Chevrolet, 150, $1,300. 5. (8) Daniel Hemric, Charlotte, Pontiac, 150, $1,200. 6. (4) L.W. Miller, Dushore, PA, Pontiac, 150, $1,050. 7. (3) Frank Fleming, Mt. Airy, Ford, 150, $1,250. 8. (14) Johnny Sutton, Harrisburg, Chevrolet, 150, $900. 9. (11) Jonathan Kievman, Deerfield Beach, FL, Chevrolet, 150, $850. 10. (16) Thomas Stinson, Hampton, VA, Chevrolet, 150, $800.
11. (2) Brandon Hire, Winston-Salem, Chevrolet, 150, $750. 12. (17) Gene Pack, North Myrtle Beach, S.C., Chevrolet, 150, $700. 13. (19) Brad Robbins, Winston-Salem, Chevrolet, 150, $700. 14. (18) Mike Norman, Lewisville, Ford, 150, $800. 15. (13) Bryan Dauzat, Alexandria, LA, Chevrolet, 150, $700. 16. (5) James Civali, Meriden, CT, Pontiac, 150, $630. 17. (7) Jason Myers, Walnut Cove, Ford, 150, $620. 18. (10) Andy Seuss, Hampstead, NH, Dodge, 150, $960. 19. (15) Gary Putnam, Concord, Chevrolet, 150, $600.
Race Statistics
Time: 1 hour 4 minutes 19 seconds. Margin of victory: .615 seconds. Fastest qualifier: A. Seuss (59.717 mph, 15.071 seconds). Cautions: 3 for 23 laps. Lead changes: 2 among 2 drivers. Lap leaders: B. Myers 1-136; T. Brown 137; B. Myers 138-150.
Final standings: 1. B. Myers, 1609; 2. L. Miller, 1578; 3. J. Civali, 1575; 4. A. Seuss, 1566;5. J. Smith, 1555; 6. Z. Brewer, 1429; 7. J. Myers, 1427; 8. F. Fleming, 1365; 9. B. Hire, 1354; 10. G. Pack, 1293.
The following fields overflowed: SOURCE = By Tommy Bowman
JOURNAL REPORTER
