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RACING ROUNDUP: Miller grabs win, tempers flare up afterward
WINSTON-SALEM - As the summer sun cranked up the temperature around the Carolinas, the tempers flared up just as hot at Bowman Gray Stadium late Saturday night.
Junior Miller has earned a reputation as an aggressive driver - and on Saturday, Miller showed why that reputation is well deserved. In the Farm Bureau Insurance Modified Series, it was the perfect recipe for racing action: the Farm Bureau Insurance 100 (with a random draw for starting position and the infamous double-file restart rule) plus a Double Points Night.
Burt Myers of Walnut Cove drew the pole as his starting position with Robert Jeffreys of Winston-Salem next to him on the outside front row. After encountering mechanical problems, Robert Jeffreys thought it best to elect to start in the rear - which sent Junior Miller of Danbury to the second place spot beside Myers.
Myers was second in the points rankings entering Saturday; Miller's 17th place ranking effectively meant that his 2008 championship hopes are over. So Miller had nothing to lose, and everyone knew it.
Not surprisingly, Miller fought hard with Myers for the lead as the green flag waved. Miller wasn't afraid to rub fenders with Myers, knowing that Myers' sensibility towards the points race would make him think twice about a confrontation.
But Myers was not one to shy away. Although he was bumped out of the way by Miller at first, Myers filed in behind Miller and quickly returned the favor by knocking aside the #69 of Miller. Miller spun and fell back to the rear.
“On the very first lap, Junior bonzais me and knocks me out of shape,” said Myers. “I get in behind him, come back there, and knock him wide - and he spins out.”
Miller, on the other hand, claims that Myers was “racing dirty” by spinning him out. But Miller still had a race to win. He had his hands full climbing to the front, but he was aided by the double-file choice restart rule which allowed him to repeatedly pull to the outside to take his chances at gaining position.
Burt Myers continued to lead the pack. Tim Brown of Cana, Va. worked his way up from 13th to fourth, and Brown took advantage of a caution restart to jump to the outside front row on lap 39. As the green fell for the restart, Brown pushed hard to get past Myers but was unable to take away the lead. Myers stayed in front with Brown falling back to second.
Brown begin delivering some hard taps to the bumper of Myers - and Brown looked like he would have another chance to try the outside row when a caution came out about 30 laps later.
Instead, Brown stayed to the inside and Junior Miller jumped up to the outside beside Myers. When the green waved, Miller tried again to bang his way into the lead against Myers - and he was again unsuccessful. But on lap 82, Miller got the deed done with a strong tap the rear of Myers that sent Myers spinning.
Miller took the lead and went on to claim the win: his 69th victory at the Stadium.
Myers claims that the tap from Miller was not simply a racing move, but was meant to intentionally spin him out.
“It was dirty. He never lifted off the gas until he hit me,” said Myers.
“It was payback,” said Miller. “On the first lap, I got in line over there and bumped Burt a little and didn't spin him out. Then he came back and spun me out,” said Miller, referring to the exchange the two had had earlier in the race.
Myers was livid.
“The thing with Junior is that you expect that kind of stuff from him all the time. It's like the old saying goes - you can't mess with manure without getting it all over you,” said Myers.
Tim Brown ended up finishing second, Lee Jeffreys of High Point took third, and Jeremy Stoltz of Walkertown finished in fourth. Myers finished in seventh.
The Modified finish was not without some controversy over a call made by NASCAR officials.
During a caution when Junior Miller was leading, some miscommunication between track personnel led to Miller being sent to the pits.
NASCAR officials immediately realized the mistake and corrected it by having Junior return to the lead.
“Inadvertently, he was sent to the pits - which was our mistake. We gave him his position back where he rightfully belonged,” said NASCAR Race Director John Horton.
At the request of Horton, the call is being reviewed by NASCAR. Until that review is formally made, the results of the race are being declared unofficial.
In the Webb Heating & A/C Co. Sportsman Series, Scott Hall of Walkertown won the first 20-lapper. Tommy Neal of Walkertown took second, with Mitch Gales of Lexington finishing in third.
After a wild race in the second Sportsman 20-lapper, Jim Shoaf of Lexington took the checkered. Gene Pack of Walkertown and Taylor Branch of Lewisville finished in second and third respectively.
The 20-lap race for the 104.1 WTQR Street Stock Series was just as wild as every other race on Saturday. During the final laps, Joseph “Bobo” Brown of Winston-Salem, Ethan Stoltz of Walkertown, and Doug Wall of Pfafftown all wrecked as the three fought for the lead.
John McNeal of Winston-Salem flew from fifth the to the lead to claim the victory. David Sumner of Trinity was second and Johnny Arnder of Mount Airy finished in third.
In the Time Warner Cable Stadium Stock Series, A.J. Sanders of Mocksville won the first 15-lap race, with Chuck Wall of Clemmons taking checkered in the second 15-lapper.
At the conclusion of the Street Stock race, Adam Snow and Kevin Gilbert exited their cars and tussled with each other on the track.
As part of the Stadium's efforts to dissuade violence, the two men were taken off the track and, according to Lieutenant Bill Riggs of the Winston-Salem Police Department, were charged with affray.
Also, NASCAR Race Director John Horton said that disciplinary action, such as suspensions, will follow.
Bowman Gray Stadium
Winston-Salem
Saturday
Modified: 100 laps
Results Unofficial Pending NASCAR Review
1 Junior Miller
2 Tim Brown
3 Lee Jeffreys
4 Jeremy Stoltz
5 Brian Pack
6 Andrew Durham
7 Burt Myers
8 Michael Clifton
9 Bobby Hutchens
10 John Lain
11 Luke Fleming
Sportsman Series - Race One: 20 laps
1 Scott Hall
2 Tommy Neal
3 Mitch Gales
4 Robbie Brewer
5 Ronnie Barron
6 Ronnie Clifton
7 Kyle Edwards
8 Mike Evans
9 David Adams
10 Taylor Branch
Sportsman Series - Race Two: 20 laps
1 Jim Shoaf
2 Gene Pack
3 Taylor Branch
4 Mike Evans
5 Ronnie Clifton
6 Ronnie Barron
7 Tommy Neal
8 Scott Hall
9 Mitch Gales
10 Gary Ledbetter
Street Stock Series: 20 laps
1 John McNeal
2 David Sumner
3 Johnny Arnder
4 Leon Hutchens
5 Matt Fletcher
6 Reggie Doub
7 Willie Wall
8 Matt Cotner
9 Ryan Nelson
10 Daniel Fishel
Stadium Stock Series - Race One: 15 laps
1 A.J. Sanders
2 Gerald Robertson
3 Matt Hill
4 Andrew Sanders
5 Johnny Burke
6 Dale Barneycastle
7 Charlie Curry
8 Steven Truell
9 Kevin L. Neal
10 Wayne Hill
Stadium Stock Series - Race Two: 14 laps (race ended early
due to curfew)
1 Chuck Wall
2 V.L. Richardson
3 Jason Asbury
4 Wesley Thompson
5 Chris Allison
6 Billy Cameron Jr
7 Gene Adams
8 Phillip Wright
9 Ted Mickalowski
10 Mike Staley
Friendship Motor Speedway
Elkin
Saturday
Carolina Clash Series
Super Late Models
1 Ricky Weeks
2 Benji Cole
3 Randle Chupp
4 Luke Roffers
5 Ed Gibbons
6 Damon Eller
7 Booper Bare
8 Brian Moody
9 Jeff Smith
10 Brent Robinson
Crate Late Model
1 Noel Tucker
2 Mitchell Coble
3 Keith Holder
4 Tony Hicks
5 Jonathan Davenport
6 Chase McCormick
7 Kent Peckham
8 Jason Walls
9 John Eller
10 Timmie Harrelson
Super Street
1 Andy Mathis
2 Jeff Parsons
3 Daniel Moss
4 Jimmy Watson
5 George Anen
6 Tony Lowe
7 Jason Gibson
8 Steve Capps
9 Joseph Hopkins
10 Lee Bates
Four Cylinder
1 Robbie Brown
2 Billy Robbins
3 Sandy Martin
4 Jerry Cook
5 Luke Golding
6 Kent Suddreth
7 Steve Minton
8 Matt Prouty
9 Justin Hudspeth
10 Andy Summerlin
Wythe Raceway
Rural Retreat, Va.
Saturday
1 Matt Parks
2 Justin White
3 Randy Kinder
4 Randy Taylor
5 Phil Gann
6 David Wikle
7 Clinton Cook
8 Justin Williams
9 Joey Steele
10 Gary Ball
Super Street - Feature
1 Mike Keith
2 Jimmy Tate
3 Eddie Bentley
4 R K Dix
5 Brian Moore
6 Michael Deskins
7 Larry Dowell
8 Tim Wright
9 Keith Griffitts
10 Brandon Broyles
Dirt Modified - Feature
1 Ron Lawson
2 Willie Gibson
3 Troy Loomis
4 Fred Riley
5 Mike Johnson
6 Lance Reynolds
7 Taylor Hayes
8 R K Dix
9 Duke Bare
10 Justin Blevins
Pro Mini - Feature
1 J.r. Davis
2 R K Dix
3 Brandon Farris
4 Andy Jolliffe
5 Cody Hottinger
6 Duke Bare
7 Brad Carpenter
8 Chris Martin
9 Randy Kincer
10 Jody Taylor
UCar - Feature
1 Pie Short
2 Josh Forest
3 Chris Martin
4 Jake Eaton
5 Duke Bare
6 Chuck Kinzer
7 Tim Widener
8 Noel Easter
9 Josh Dunford
10 Dakota Wilson
Hornet - Feature
1 Jay Cox
2 Zack Dunford
3 Zack Sprouse
4 Michelle Mcmahan
5 Clark Cooper
6 Jon Keyes
7 Cole Dutton
8 Shawn Kirk
9 Morgan Widener
10 Cody Umberger
Rolling Thunder Raceway
Ararat, Va.
Friday
Super Street
1 John Stamper
2 Steve Brody
3 Brad Burkhart
4 Chris Taylor
5 Sammy Cook
Mini Sprint
1 Critter Foley
2 Steve Cook
3 Travis Flippen
4 Scott Isom
5 Mikey Witt
Crate Late Model
1 Robbie Stevens
2 Neil Welch
3 Keith Holder
4 Bobby Jones
5 Mitchell Coble
Mini Stock
1 Ronnie Covey
2 Jessica Mendenhall
3 Bobby Bailey
4 Chuck Warnick
5 Jennifer Mendenhall
Late Model
1 Neil Welch
2 Bubba McGee
3 Gary East
4 Bobby Sands
5 Ricky Neal
U Car
1 Rob Favre
2 Greg Vaughn
3 Michael Bradley
4 Megan Watson
5 Jessica Mendenhall
Junior Miller has earned a reputation as an aggressive driver - and on Saturday, Miller showed why that reputation is well deserved. In the Farm Bureau Insurance Modified Series, it was the perfect recipe for racing action: the Farm Bureau Insurance 100 (with a random draw for starting position and the infamous double-file restart rule) plus a Double Points Night.
Burt Myers of Walnut Cove drew the pole as his starting position with Robert Jeffreys of Winston-Salem next to him on the outside front row. After encountering mechanical problems, Robert Jeffreys thought it best to elect to start in the rear - which sent Junior Miller of Danbury to the second place spot beside Myers.
Myers was second in the points rankings entering Saturday; Miller's 17th place ranking effectively meant that his 2008 championship hopes are over. So Miller had nothing to lose, and everyone knew it.
Not surprisingly, Miller fought hard with Myers for the lead as the green flag waved. Miller wasn't afraid to rub fenders with Myers, knowing that Myers' sensibility towards the points race would make him think twice about a confrontation.
But Myers was not one to shy away. Although he was bumped out of the way by Miller at first, Myers filed in behind Miller and quickly returned the favor by knocking aside the #69 of Miller. Miller spun and fell back to the rear.
“On the very first lap, Junior bonzais me and knocks me out of shape,” said Myers. “I get in behind him, come back there, and knock him wide - and he spins out.”
Miller, on the other hand, claims that Myers was “racing dirty” by spinning him out. But Miller still had a race to win. He had his hands full climbing to the front, but he was aided by the double-file choice restart rule which allowed him to repeatedly pull to the outside to take his chances at gaining position.
Burt Myers continued to lead the pack. Tim Brown of Cana, Va. worked his way up from 13th to fourth, and Brown took advantage of a caution restart to jump to the outside front row on lap 39. As the green fell for the restart, Brown pushed hard to get past Myers but was unable to take away the lead. Myers stayed in front with Brown falling back to second.
Brown begin delivering some hard taps to the bumper of Myers - and Brown looked like he would have another chance to try the outside row when a caution came out about 30 laps later.
Instead, Brown stayed to the inside and Junior Miller jumped up to the outside beside Myers. When the green waved, Miller tried again to bang his way into the lead against Myers - and he was again unsuccessful. But on lap 82, Miller got the deed done with a strong tap the rear of Myers that sent Myers spinning.
Miller took the lead and went on to claim the win: his 69th victory at the Stadium.
Myers claims that the tap from Miller was not simply a racing move, but was meant to intentionally spin him out.
“It was dirty. He never lifted off the gas until he hit me,” said Myers.
“It was payback,” said Miller. “On the first lap, I got in line over there and bumped Burt a little and didn't spin him out. Then he came back and spun me out,” said Miller, referring to the exchange the two had had earlier in the race.
Myers was livid.
“The thing with Junior is that you expect that kind of stuff from him all the time. It's like the old saying goes - you can't mess with manure without getting it all over you,” said Myers.
Tim Brown ended up finishing second, Lee Jeffreys of High Point took third, and Jeremy Stoltz of Walkertown finished in fourth. Myers finished in seventh.
The Modified finish was not without some controversy over a call made by NASCAR officials.
During a caution when Junior Miller was leading, some miscommunication between track personnel led to Miller being sent to the pits.
NASCAR officials immediately realized the mistake and corrected it by having Junior return to the lead.
“Inadvertently, he was sent to the pits - which was our mistake. We gave him his position back where he rightfully belonged,” said NASCAR Race Director John Horton.
At the request of Horton, the call is being reviewed by NASCAR. Until that review is formally made, the results of the race are being declared unofficial.
In the Webb Heating & A/C Co. Sportsman Series, Scott Hall of Walkertown won the first 20-lapper. Tommy Neal of Walkertown took second, with Mitch Gales of Lexington finishing in third.
After a wild race in the second Sportsman 20-lapper, Jim Shoaf of Lexington took the checkered. Gene Pack of Walkertown and Taylor Branch of Lewisville finished in second and third respectively.
The 20-lap race for the 104.1 WTQR Street Stock Series was just as wild as every other race on Saturday. During the final laps, Joseph “Bobo” Brown of Winston-Salem, Ethan Stoltz of Walkertown, and Doug Wall of Pfafftown all wrecked as the three fought for the lead.
John McNeal of Winston-Salem flew from fifth the to the lead to claim the victory. David Sumner of Trinity was second and Johnny Arnder of Mount Airy finished in third.
In the Time Warner Cable Stadium Stock Series, A.J. Sanders of Mocksville won the first 15-lap race, with Chuck Wall of Clemmons taking checkered in the second 15-lapper.
At the conclusion of the Street Stock race, Adam Snow and Kevin Gilbert exited their cars and tussled with each other on the track.
As part of the Stadium's efforts to dissuade violence, the two men were taken off the track and, according to Lieutenant Bill Riggs of the Winston-Salem Police Department, were charged with affray.
Also, NASCAR Race Director John Horton said that disciplinary action, such as suspensions, will follow.
Bowman Gray Stadium
Winston-Salem
Saturday
Modified: 100 laps
Results Unofficial Pending NASCAR Review
1 Junior Miller
2 Tim Brown
3 Lee Jeffreys
4 Jeremy Stoltz
5 Brian Pack
6 Andrew Durham
7 Burt Myers
8 Michael Clifton
9 Bobby Hutchens
10 John Lain
11 Luke Fleming
Sportsman Series - Race One: 20 laps
1 Scott Hall
2 Tommy Neal
3 Mitch Gales
4 Robbie Brewer
5 Ronnie Barron
6 Ronnie Clifton
7 Kyle Edwards
8 Mike Evans
9 David Adams
10 Taylor Branch
Sportsman Series - Race Two: 20 laps
1 Jim Shoaf
2 Gene Pack
3 Taylor Branch
4 Mike Evans
5 Ronnie Clifton
6 Ronnie Barron
7 Tommy Neal
8 Scott Hall
9 Mitch Gales
10 Gary Ledbetter
Street Stock Series: 20 laps
1 John McNeal
2 David Sumner
3 Johnny Arnder
4 Leon Hutchens
5 Matt Fletcher
6 Reggie Doub
7 Willie Wall
8 Matt Cotner
9 Ryan Nelson
10 Daniel Fishel
Stadium Stock Series - Race One: 15 laps
1 A.J. Sanders
2 Gerald Robertson
3 Matt Hill
4 Andrew Sanders
5 Johnny Burke
6 Dale Barneycastle
7 Charlie Curry
8 Steven Truell
9 Kevin L. Neal
10 Wayne Hill
Stadium Stock Series - Race Two: 14 laps (race ended early
due to curfew)
1 Chuck Wall
2 V.L. Richardson
3 Jason Asbury
4 Wesley Thompson
5 Chris Allison
6 Billy Cameron Jr
7 Gene Adams
8 Phillip Wright
9 Ted Mickalowski
10 Mike Staley
Friendship Motor Speedway
Elkin
Saturday
Carolina Clash Series
Super Late Models
1 Ricky Weeks
2 Benji Cole
3 Randle Chupp
4 Luke Roffers
5 Ed Gibbons
6 Damon Eller
7 Booper Bare
8 Brian Moody
9 Jeff Smith
10 Brent Robinson
Crate Late Model
1 Noel Tucker
2 Mitchell Coble
3 Keith Holder
4 Tony Hicks
5 Jonathan Davenport
6 Chase McCormick
7 Kent Peckham
8 Jason Walls
9 John Eller
10 Timmie Harrelson
Super Street
1 Andy Mathis
2 Jeff Parsons
3 Daniel Moss
4 Jimmy Watson
5 George Anen
6 Tony Lowe
7 Jason Gibson
8 Steve Capps
9 Joseph Hopkins
10 Lee Bates
Four Cylinder
1 Robbie Brown
2 Billy Robbins
3 Sandy Martin
4 Jerry Cook
5 Luke Golding
6 Kent Suddreth
7 Steve Minton
8 Matt Prouty
9 Justin Hudspeth
10 Andy Summerlin
Wythe Raceway
Rural Retreat, Va.
Saturday
1 Matt Parks
2 Justin White
3 Randy Kinder
4 Randy Taylor
5 Phil Gann
6 David Wikle
7 Clinton Cook
8 Justin Williams
9 Joey Steele
10 Gary Ball
Super Street - Feature
1 Mike Keith
2 Jimmy Tate
3 Eddie Bentley
4 R K Dix
5 Brian Moore
6 Michael Deskins
7 Larry Dowell
8 Tim Wright
9 Keith Griffitts
10 Brandon Broyles
Dirt Modified - Feature
1 Ron Lawson
2 Willie Gibson
3 Troy Loomis
4 Fred Riley
5 Mike Johnson
6 Lance Reynolds
7 Taylor Hayes
8 R K Dix
9 Duke Bare
10 Justin Blevins
Pro Mini - Feature
1 J.r. Davis
2 R K Dix
3 Brandon Farris
4 Andy Jolliffe
5 Cody Hottinger
6 Duke Bare
7 Brad Carpenter
8 Chris Martin
9 Randy Kincer
10 Jody Taylor
UCar - Feature
1 Pie Short
2 Josh Forest
3 Chris Martin
4 Jake Eaton
5 Duke Bare
6 Chuck Kinzer
7 Tim Widener
8 Noel Easter
9 Josh Dunford
10 Dakota Wilson
Hornet - Feature
1 Jay Cox
2 Zack Dunford
3 Zack Sprouse
4 Michelle Mcmahan
5 Clark Cooper
6 Jon Keyes
7 Cole Dutton
8 Shawn Kirk
9 Morgan Widener
10 Cody Umberger
Rolling Thunder Raceway
Ararat, Va.
Friday
Super Street
1 John Stamper
2 Steve Brody
3 Brad Burkhart
4 Chris Taylor
5 Sammy Cook
Mini Sprint
1 Critter Foley
2 Steve Cook
3 Travis Flippen
4 Scott Isom
5 Mikey Witt
Crate Late Model
1 Robbie Stevens
2 Neil Welch
3 Keith Holder
4 Bobby Jones
5 Mitchell Coble
Mini Stock
1 Ronnie Covey
2 Jessica Mendenhall
3 Bobby Bailey
4 Chuck Warnick
5 Jennifer Mendenhall
Late Model
1 Neil Welch
2 Bubba McGee
3 Gary East
4 Bobby Sands
5 Ricky Neal
U Car
1 Rob Favre
2 Greg Vaughn
3 Michael Bradley
4 Megan Watson
5 Jessica Mendenhall
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| Runner up: Wilson advances to Match Play Championship, falls to Ben Kohles in 94th Carolinas Amateur | Professional angler hauls in $200K grand prize |
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