Burt Myers of Walnut Cove will
start at the head of the pack for the biggest race of the year at Bowman
Gray Stadium – but he was a few minutes away from missing his
opportunity.
Qualifying for the season-opening Hayes Jewelers 200 began on Friday
with an extended period of practice and qualifying for the Brad’s Golf
Cars Modified Series. After a full day of practice for all divisions,
the Modifieds have a window of time from 5:00 PM to 7:00 PM in which
they must qualify.
The competitors can choose any time in that window to make a qualifying
attempt, but the cutoff is at 7:00. If a car isn’t on the track at 7:00,
they miss their chance to qualify on Friday. Although competitors have
the option to qualify on Saturday, the top 10 positions are locked in
based on Friday’s session. In short: if you don’t qualify on Friday,
you’ll be starting 11th at best.
Yet drivers don’t want to qualify too early in their window. “The
longer you wait, the cooler the track gets – so the faster it will be,”
said Burt Myers. And waiting is exactly what the Modifieds did. With the
clock ticking, no competitor had taken a qualifying attempt until there
were less than 20 minutes left.
“This was the weirdest I’ve ever seen qualifying over here,” said Myers
about the waiting game. “We were sitting here and there was 18 minutes
to go – 18 cars here and nobody had gone. I just knew it was going to be
a scramble.”
Rather than take his chances and wait some more, Myers just pulled the
trigger. “I said that there was going to be a lot of guys that don’t get
to qualify tonight. I usually try to wait as long as I can, but me and
Jason decided we’d just go together and go now.”
Myers was the fifth car to pull out on the track. He ran a time of
13.124, far ahead of the four qualifiers before him. Tim Brown of
Tobaccoville, however, timed it perfectly – driving off the scales at
the ideal time of exactly 7:00. The #83 came close but couldn’t beat
Myers, qualifying second with a time of 13.168.
Only nine competitors made a qualifying attempt on Friday night, while
nine competitors missed the cutoff. They will have the option of
qualifying on Saturday, but the top nine starting positions are locked
in based on Friday’s results.
Myers will start on the pole with Brown starting beside him. Brandon
Ward of Winston-Salem starts in third, and Bobby Measmer of Concord
starts fourth.
Derek Stoltz of Walkertown was the fastest qualifier for the Texas
Steak & Tap House Sportsman Series with a time of 14.653.
Gates open at 6:00 for practice, the second round of qualifying begins
at 7:10, and the first race begins at 8:00 PM on Saturday night, April
21. Ticket prices, directions, and more information can be found online
at www.bowmangrayracing.com or by calling (336) 723-1819.
Qualifying Results
Brad’s Golf Cars Modified Series
First Qualifying Session for the Hayes Jewelers 200
RANK QUALIFYING CAR DRIVER HOMETOWN
1 13.124 1 Burt Myers Walnut Cove, NC
2 13.168 83 Tim Brown Tobaccoville, NC
3 13.203 04 Brandon Ward Winston-Salem, NC
4 13.411 14 Bobby Measmer Jr. Concord, NC
5 13.419 5 Randy Butner Pfafftown, NC
6 13.429 4 Jason Myers Walnut Cove, NC
7 13.442 75 Lee Jeffreys Wallburg, NC
8 13.550 79 George Brunnhoelzl III Mooresville, NC
9 13.560 92 Brody Jones Statesville, NC
Texas Steak & Tap House Sportsman Series
Qualifying for Opening Night 40-lap race
RANK QUALIFYING CAR DRIVER HOMETOWN
1 14.653 02 Derek Stoltz Walkertown, NC
2 14.679 19 Michael Adams Yadkinville, NC
3 14.704 70 Noah Triplett Lexington, NC
4 14.801 4 John Holleman Winston-Salem, NC
5 14.843 55 Zack Ore Winston-Salem, NC
6 14.893 68 Robbie Brewer Winston-Salem, NC
7 14.928 21 Tommy Neal Walkertown, NC
8 14.938 2 Andrew Durham Winston-Salem, NC
9 14.996 05 Tony Black Lexington, NC
10 15.019 07 Kevin Neal Walkertown, NC
11 15.106 18 Kenny Bost Winston-Salem, NC
12 15.113 86 Taylor Branch Lewisville, NC
13 15.147 38 Mitch Gales Thomasville,NC
14 15.166 92 Kyle Southern Rural Hall, NC
15 15.437 12 Justin Taylor Kernersville, NC
16 15.578 01 Amber Lynn Walkertown, NC
17 15.690 25 Matt Bodenheimer Wallburg, NC
18 15.701 3 Jeff Garrison Arcadia, NC
19 16.004 62 Bubba Tilley Mount Airy, NC
20 16.213 30 Tanner Tilley Mount Airy, NC
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Legendary Bowman Gray Stadium is NASCAR’s longest running weekly race
track. Known as “The Home of the Hot Modifieds,” Bowman Gray continues
its 70-year tradition of providing exciting racing action at family
friendly prices.
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