Burt Myers (1) and Lee Jeffreys (77) traded the lead back and forth several times during the running of they Hayes Jewelers 200 at Bowman Gray Stadium Saturday night. Photo by Eric Hylton Photography
Saturday night was a test of endurance for Modified drivers at Bowman Gray Stadium in Winston-Salem, NC.
And Burt Myers passed the test with flying colors.
Myers qualified on the pole and then fought lap after lap through 13 cautions and 10 lead changes to take the checkered flag in the season-opening Hayes Jewelers 200 for the Brad’s Golf Cars Modified Series.
The 200-lapper is the longest and most prestigious race of the season, pushing the patience and focus of the drivers as well as the stability of cars and tires. With 13 cautions and the double-file restart cone, there was rarely any moment when a driver could settle in.
As the green flag waved, the #1 car of Myers claimed the lead by overpowering the outside pole-starter of Lee Jeffreys of Wallburg. But Myers’s dominance would be short-lived. During the first double-file restart, Jeffreys took to the outside and grabbed the lead away.
A few laps later, another double-file restart allowed Myers to reclaim the lead. And then after a few more laps, Jeffreys grabbed the lead back yet again. The two ended up trading the lead back and forth eight times.
“It was not a coincidence that everybody kept getting beat off of the inside tonight,” said Myers. “The grip on the inside on the restarts was absolutely terrible.” Lee Jeffreys agreed: “On the restarts, you were able to get a better run on the outside,” said Jeffreys.
The back and forth battles forced Myers and Jeffreys to push their cars to the limit, a situation that wasn’t optimal during a lengthy 200-lap race.
Burt Myers celebrates Saturday night's win in victory lane. Photo by Eric Hylton Photography
“I knew we had a really good car, but we were running a lot harder than I wanted to run,” said Myers. “Lee is notorious for really pushing his car, but he had a really good car. When Lee got in front of me, I figured that was actually a good thing for me.”
As Myers tried once again to take the lead back, he gave a tap to the rear bumper of Lee Jeffreys on lap 161. Jeffreys spun out and was relegated to the rear.
“It was just one of those racing deals,” said Myers, who feels that Jeffreys simply lost control. “Lee’s a good friend of mine. I’ve let him drive my racecar before – and there’s not many people I would let do that. When you spin a man out, he spins all the way around. I bumped Lee and he went sideways, corrected it, and then came back.”
Jeffreys, however, feels that Myers was driving dirty.
“If I was him, that’s what I’d say too,” said Jeffreys. “But I promise you next time he’s in front of me, he’ll probably ‘wiggle’ or he’ll probably ‘have a flat’ or something.”
The front row then became a Myers sibling rivalry as Jason Myers of Walnut Cove moved to the outside to challenge his older brother. The #4 car of Jason took the lead with 30 laps to go.
“We finally caught a break, got on the front row, and beat Burt off the start – and the car was great,” said Jason Myers. Unfortunately, the conditions of the inside groove crippled him on the next restart. “It was like it had a flat tire on it. We would go in the corner and turn the wheel as hard as it would go left – and it would just keep going straight,” said Jason Myers.
Burt grabbed the lead back, while Jason slipped back through the field after being passed by Danny Bohn of Huntersville. “Danny gave me one little shot getting into turn three. That made the car drift up off the bottom – and he got by me,” said Jason Myers. “I had a shot to win it, and I feel like I gave one away.”
Once he moved into second, Bohn had his sights set on passing Burt Myers. And although there were only 20 laps left in the race, Bohn did have one critical advantage: he had pitted earlier to put on fresh tires.
“We knew it would be a survival game. We just kept our nose clean and picked cars off on restarts when we needed to,” said Bohn. “I was hoping for a caution, and I honestly thought I’d be able to wind Burt in. But he was able to ride up front and save his tires a little more than we were coming from the back.”
But Bohn never received a chance to challenge Myers with a double-file restart. Myers held on to take the checkered flag, giving him a strong start to his bid for his third straight championship in a row.
“When you can start out the year with a win in this race – and knowing that our car was as good as it was for 200 laps – that’s a real motivator for us for the rest of the year,” said Myers.
In the Webb Heating & A/C Co. Sportsman Series, Gary Ledbetter of Lexington fought from 15th forward to take the checkered in a wild first race of the season. Derek Stoltz of Walkertown finished in second, with Bryant Robertson of Lexington taking third.
Doug Wall of Pfafftown brought home the victory in the 20-lapper for the Q104.1 New Country Street Stock Series. John Holleman of Winston-Salem and David Sumner of Trinity finished second and third.
In the Summer Shootout Stadium Stock Series, Wesley Thompson of Mocksville took the checkered in the first race. The second race was postponed due to curfew.
Bowman Gray Stadium is back in action on Satuday, May 5. Visit www.bowmangrayracing.com for more info.
Bowman Gray Stadium – Winston-Salem, NC
Hayes Jewelers 200 – April 28, 2012
1 1 Burt Myers
2 65 Danny Bohn
3 83 Tim Brown
4 4 Jason Myers
5 22 Jonathan Brown
6 69 Junior Miller
7 5 Randy Butner
8 77 Lee Jeffreys
9 50 Michael Clifton
10 05 Tony Black
11 66 Ronnie Clifton
12 12 Mike Norman
13 40 Chris Fleming
14 81 Austin Pack
15 72 Brent Elliott
16 48 Brad Robbins
17 28 Mike Adams
18 37 Thomas Ferrando
19 21 Tommy Neal
20 53 Brian Loftin
21 75 Robert Jeffreys
22 04 Kevin Powell
23 09 George Brunnhoezl III
24 70 Noah Triplett
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26 20 Jeremy Stoltz
27 25 John Smith
Sportsman
1 70 Gary Ledbetter
2 02 Derek Stoltz
3 72 Bryant Robertson
4 86 Taylor Branch
5 3 Jeff Garrison
6 8 Bobby Reed
7 9 David Adams
8 07 Danny Cornwell
9 81 Zack Clifton
10 20 Jacob Creed
11 50 Barry Edwards
12 14 Rudy Ruddock
13 18 Kenny Bost
14 55 Zack Ore
15 52 David Sell
16 22 Stacey Miller
17 03 Jordan Fleming
18 0 Rick Hunter
19 19 Michael Adams
20 92 Kyle Southern
21 26 Michael Tilley
22 7 Ronnie Barron
23 5 Billy Lester
24 13 Luke Fleming
25 79 John Lain
26 31 Ryan Nelson
Street Stock
1 12 Doug Wall
2 4 John Holleman
3 1 David Sumner
4 98 Billy Gregg
5 66 Whitney Clifton
6 00 Donnie Martin
7 9 Darren Cotner
8 44 Daniel Fishel
9 05 Spencer Martin
10 22 Brian Wall
11 55 Stephen Baker
12 02 Bobby Whiteman
13 88 Nick Brill
14 16 Allen Henkel
15 39 Craig West
16 21 Justin Taylor
17 96 Terry Sink
18 8 K.J. Stimpson
19 15 Jerry Helms
20 94 Jeffery Wood
21 33 David Thomas
22 23 Kris Hoots
23 25 Johnny Arnder
Stadium Stock
1 02 Wesley Thompson
2 26 Derek Taylor
3 07 Buddy East
4 81 Chuck Wall
5 24 A.J. Sanders
6 17 Andy Southern
7 13 Chase Hunt
8 54 Jeremy Smith
9 14 Ken Bridges
10 89 Joseph Swanson
11 16 Stephen Sanders
12 76 Billy Cameron Jr
13 64 Ricky Wall
14 04 Blaine Willard
15 72 Roger Vogler
16 44 Perry Hanes
17 92 Zack Bralley
18 60 Ted Mickalowski
19 96 Casey Kirkman
20 55 Tyler Burke
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