Charlotte, N.C. - The Whelen Southern Modified Tour returns for race number five of the twelve race 2007 schedule this Friday night at Caraway Speedway in Sophia, North Carolina. Many of the modified drivers have either resumed their modified seasons at the famed quarter mile bullring known as Bowman Gray Stadium, while others have competed in the former S.M.A.R.T. Modified Tour now known as the ASA Southern Modified Tour. Bowman Gray's season has been plagued with four Saturday night rainouts, and the ASA Tour has only run three of its scheduled four events with the latest event also falling victim to rain at Friendship Motor Speedway in Elkin, North Carolina.

With the three month summer layoff in the NASCAR tour's schedule, I thought it would be best to get a grade school report card assessment of each of the driver's WSMT season and teams before the July 6th event at Caraway. It's a break in the schedule at Bowman Gray, and the ASA Tour will attempt to get its Independence Day double header in on Sunday, July the 8th with the ASA Modifieds and the ASA Late Models that run weekly at Friendship.

Danbury, North Carolina's "King of the Southern Modifieds" (also known to some as Junior Miller) continues to enjoy the view he's had for the previous two seasons atop the WSMT point standings. Miller's season at Bowman Gray has not been nearly as stellar as his performance in the Advance Auto Parts/Valvoline Riggs Racing Dodge as he's only been able to muster a second place finish aboard Melvin "Puddin'" Swisher's car at Friendship Motor Speedway during a Friday night ASA Southern Modified Tour event earlier this summer. After a dominant performance at the Stadium last year, Miller sits deep in the BGS point standings, currently in 15th.

Junior Miller - "I got an A-1 race car and an A-1 race team. The Riggs bring us a super good race car and this car's good enough to win races so we're going to try and see if we can put it in Victory Lane some more before this year is out." When I asked him about a possible three-peat as the only Whelen Southern Modified Tour Champion, he responded with "It'd be good but it's too early to worry about points. We need to win some more races."

Riggs Racing crew chief Reggie Newman steps up from his car chief duties for 2007 with Jeff Riggs taking over car ownership roles for his still recovering father, David Riggs. "If I had to grade it? B+...We've run good. That's the best way I know to put it. We've still got a long ways to go and we've been in this situation before. Last year is a perfect example. We had a hundred and something point lead heading into Martinsville and got killed in that big wreck early on. Everybody caught up to us and we had to be perfect the rest of the season to beat the 83 in the last race of the year."

Speaking of David Riggs, Reggie also informed me on Saturday that David was planning to make it to Caraway on Friday for his first race of 2007 after having triple-bypass surgery over the winter. Let's hope his health continues to improve and we see him back among friends and familiar places for the remainder of the season.

On the other end of the WSMT garage, Walnut Cove, North Carolina's Burt Myers looks to resume his stranglehold on Budweiser Pole Qualifying and his second place in the WSMT point standings. Burt's 2007 season has led him to victory lane in the season-opening Tucson 200 at Bowman Gray Stadium and a total of three wins at the famed quarter mile. He's also won two of the three events held on the ASA Southern Modified Tour, with his win streak on the ASA Tour being derailed by 2006 WSMT Rookie of the Year, Brian King at Hickory Motor Speedway.

Burt Myers - "I'd have to say a B+, maybe an A -. I think we're right there on top of it. I mean, it's easy to see we're right there on top of it. It's just a matter of getting it and we've gotten it before. I mean, we're not strangers to winning. It's just hard to get one (a WSMT win) right now. I've seen Tony Stewart and Jeff Gordon go weeks, and weeks and weeks without winning so, that's the way you kind of got to look at it. You judge it by that. There's eighteen or nineteen other guys out there that feel the same way as we do tonight. So, we're going to get it. It's just a matter of time."

Myers' new crew chief Scott Widener also has praise for his driver and crew. "So far, I'm going to say a "B." A "B" on race-wise, and an A+ on qualifying. But we're just hunting that little bit more. If we get that little bit more, then I'll say A all the way around."

Sitting third in the standings is L.W. Miller. Miller has passed his time as a crew chief when not at the controls of the Baker Motorsports #36. He's worked with James "Rupert" Sink on the ASA Southern Modified Tour and has also helped BUSCH East Series driver Todd Peck. Miller came out of the box strong and won with a flat left front tire at Caraway in the WSMT's season opener, then backed it up with a strong performance again at Caraway in April. With the tour making it's third of six stops at the fast 4/10ths oval on Friday, "The Lethal Weapon" will surely be in the cross hairs of many of the teams as the car to beat when the tour rolls through the yellow backstretch gate.

L.W. Miller - "My team is an A+, A+, A+. We have overcome, every time we have been to the race track and finally we had a night go our way where nothing went wrong. The nights we had problems, we had a flat tire the first race up here, and we still won. We lost the power steering and had to fall almost a lap down at Nashville, overcame that and finished second. I can't say that there's a better team in this garage area, this is, we're number one. We've got a great team. If I can do my job the rest of the year, and they do their job and we have a little luck on our side, you'll be talking again to us many times." When I asked L.W. earlier in the year if coming out of the box strong was good for him and his team towards their championship goals, he quickly responded with ""Yep, I'll tell you what, I've won, but not you know, since NASCAR's been involved with our Southern Modified Tour, I've won the championship two years in a row, the two years I ran for points I won the championship both years under other banners and I started both of those years with a terrible first race. I never finished better than ninth in my first race in both those seasons. So, I told Jimmy (Baker, crew chief) "If we come out of here with a top 5, we'll be on the road to a championship" and I tell you what to come out of here with a win, I love it."

Fourth in the standings is Cana, Virginia's Tim Brown. "The Rocket" was looking forward to a strong 2007 season aboard his beautiful Hayes Jewelers, Troyer chassis modified. With the addition of Whelen Modified Tour champion crew chief Phil Moran, Brown instantly made my list as a championship contender but has not had the luck to follow through with the success Moran has had in his past with his former driver, Todd Szegedy.

Tim Brown - "Well, a report card grade on my team, I'd have to give them an "A+" and a 110. As far as our season so far, I wouldn't say that we've been so great as far as finishing results. As far as being competitive, I feel like we're as good as anybody at any race track we go to. We just haven't had the finishes yet. We should have won Nashville, and we don't know about the first Caraway or the last Caraway because we got caught up in some wrecks. We were real good at Greenville and finished third there and that's basically our only good run other than Nashville. We really, really need to get back up into the top two or three every week on the tour like we have been doing you know like we're capable of doing I should say and things will be better." When I asked Tim about the addition of Phil Moran to his team and the benefits he's seen, he was quick to respond. "The thing that helps me is, Phil is really smart chassis-wise, and I'm pretty smart chassis-wise so it gives me somebody to bounce my ideas off of and he can also watch me on the race track in practice and say "Well, it looks like it's doing this" and I can say "Well, I kind of feel it doing that. What can we do to fix it?" and then we'll talk about it and we'll make adjustments on it. So, definitely as far as the pressure from having to crew chief it myself and work on it myself at the race track. Once I strap in for practice, I don't get back out until practice is over and him and the guys can handle whatever we need and that makes it a lot easier on me because I can just focus on driving the car. We have not been as successful as we're going to be, I can promise you that."

Moran echoed those statements and had plenty of praise for his new driver. "Oh, A+ definitely, definitely. Their attitude, they're up. They're always up. They're a real good group of guys. I think we've got an awesome team. We just need some luck. Timmy's a hell of a driver; we've got a really good car. You know, everywhere we've been, we've been super, super fast. We really concentrate on race setup, you know a lot of guys concentrate on getting the pole you know, like Myers does there. He does a good job, don't get me wrong but, I really think Timmy can be better by making longer runs and making the car last longer and we've proved that we have been. We just need some luck, that's all. At Nashville, we had the dominant car and the alternator quit, so I can't wait for the second half here to get going because I really think we'll kick some butt."

When I asked Phil what his biggest adjustment was to running the WSMT, compared to the all-out, "take no prisoners" style of racing he's used to up north, he responded with, "The biggest adjustment is the tires. I mean up north, I've run 150 lap races without pitting, and winning. We've won, I think Todd (Szegedy) and I probably won three races at Stafford without pitting for 150 laps and down here, the tire doesn't let you do that. You know, you've got to start the race then drop back and ride for a while and then you save your stuff for 20 to go. And, up at Stafford with the tire we run at home, it's hammer down and you can run it hard for 150. If the setup is right, it will let you do it. Down here, if you've got a perfect race car, you've still got to baby it and save the tires for the end. I think we've been doing that, and I've been coaching Tim along and trying to help him out with that and he's done an awesome job. I mean, we fall back and we pace ourselves and he's doing a great job."

Rounding out the top five is Jason Myers. Jason's best finish of the year is a second to L.W. Miller at the last WSMT visit to Caraway and he's also had some strong runs on the ASA Southern Modified Tour, finishing second to brother Burt in the season opener at Friendship. Jason's not run much at Bowman Gray and told me himself he was "saving his stuff" for the WSMT events later on in the schedule. After taking possession of a new Roush-Yates Ford motor, Jason could come on strong in the second half and surprise a few people.

Jason Myers - "Our race team, I'm just going to say "Great." We got a great race team, we've qualified, except for one race, we've qualified in the top two or three just about every week. We've been racing good, our finishes haven't showed because we've had some bad luck and gotten in a wreck a time or two and had some problems but we've got a real strong race team. Like I said, about my Ford motor, it's supposed to be here pretty soon and I think our team is just going to get stronger as the year goes on. I think we're still learning every week and our cars are getting better and better. I think we're going to be better the more we run. I give them an A+, definitely."

Other drivers who have had notable success at Bowman Gray and hope to carry that momentum into the remainder of the WSMT include Brian Pack. "Sapo's" best WSMT finish of the year came at Greenville-Pickens behind Junior Miller for second. Brian's famous "General Lee" painted Troyer car took a scary ride over the turn one guard rail during a Friday practice session for the season-opening Tucson 200 at Bowman Gray Stadium. Pack reported the throttle had stuck and he had injured his shoulder slightly but miraculously, the same car returned to the Stadium on May 26th at the Whelen 100 and just last week led all 100 laps of the Renegade Tobacco 100 to return to victory lane. Pack is currently sixth in the Whelen Southern Modified Tour point standings.

Brian Pack - "We're coming together, I think. You know, the first two races sucked. But we're coming along. I think we're going to be there before the end. We need a couple cars to have bad luck is what we need and for us to keep running like we are." When I asked him about his report card grade, he smiled and said, "Oh, I give them an "A" for effort. That's for damn sure. We just, we're learning man. We're still learning and these guys have been running forever and we're still learning. We've got a good car, good people we just got to get it all together at one time and we'll be there."

Bobby Hutchens has had a great year at BGS at the wheel of his Chick-Fil-A sponsored modified. He's won two Bud Pole Awards and a feature win on June 2nd. Hutchens hopes to have his new Trim USA, Motorsports Designs Troyer car ready in time for the July 6th event at Caraway. Along with his duties as Competition Director at Richard Childress Racing, Hutchens carries a full plate of responsibilities that would leave most others with very little time for racing on Saturday nights. Hutchens is currently eighth in the Whelen Southern Modified Tour point standings.

Bobby Hutchens - I give us a "C". We haven't performed like we want to, but we've been a lot better than we were last year. We've closed the gap up on the front first couple cars a whole lot compared to how we ran last year so I'm happy about that. I think we've got three straight top tens now and we've finished in the lead lap the last couple races and we've had a good car. But we'll be all right I think. We got a brand new car going together and a new engine we're hoping we're going to bring out here for July 6th and hopefully that will finish out the answer we're looking for."

Currently ninth in the standings is Gibsonville, North Carolina's Brian King. King is fresh off a victory at Hickory Motor Speedway in the last ASA Southern Modified Tour event, holding off a late race charge from Burt Myers. King and his Adams Towing and Recovery team took delivery of a new Troyer car earlier in the year and it looks to be paying benefits to the personable driver. With Ace Speedway being the "stomping grounds" where King cut his teeth and won numerous track championships, he also won his first career Whelen Southern Modified Tour event at the track as well. King and his team are looking forward to returning to Ace, Labor Day Weekend.

Brian King - "I'd like to say that the races I've finished, I'd say about a "B" but I'd say probably more like a "C" is probably where we're at because of the DNF's and the crazy things that shouldn't have been happening but you know with a new car and all that stuff trying to get the bugs worked out of that. So, we're going to do a little bit of research and testing and maybe run that ASA deal a little bit and try to get both cars equal and be ready for them in July."

Gene Pack is currently 11th in the Whelen Southern Modified Tour point standings. Pack has run on the ASA Southern Modified Tour and also fields a sportsman car at Bowman Gray Stadium on Saturday nights. He finished third in the last ASA event at Hickory behind Brian King and Burt Myers, and is fresh off a win in his crate motor Sportsman car at Bowman Gray.

Gene Pack - "My team, I give them a "B" and my season is a "C minus" probably. I've got a great race car, just cannot catch a break. It just seems like every race, we get into the top ten or top eight and something crazy just happens. I mean, bolts coming loose that shouldn't come loose and just stupid problems. It's a great race car and this goes in cycles. Racing's always been in cycles. You know sometimes, you're the bug and sometimes you're the windshield. *laughs* That's the way this stuff works. You know, I've won races with bad cars and I've lost races with good cars. So, that's what happening right now. We've got a really great car and it'll turn around and we're looking forward to the rest of the season."

Finally, in twelfth place is veteran driver, Frank Fleming. Fleming has had a tough couple of seasons behind the wheel of Speedy and Talmadge Thomas' famous number 07 machine, but left for the summer break with a ray of hope that their luck was about to turn around. Fleming left Caraway with a top five finish. His best finish at Bowman Gray has been a fourth in the season opening Tucson 200, but has struggled since. Luckily, the car Fleming has raced at the Stadium is not the same car that the Thomas team runs on the WSMT.

Frank Fleming - "Well, until tonight (the last Caraway race), I'd say we had a "D" because we've been terrible all year, you know? We'd run good for thirty to fifty laps at a time and tonight the car lasted for about 115 laps. So you know, we made a big improvement. We've doubled the laps that the car was competitive and there in the last 15 laps my right rear tire was just wore out but the car still drove. Burt got a run on me on the outside and I had to give him the outside and Junior came with him, so I lost those two spots but I fell back up behind them and nobody else came around us. So, I'd say we've come up to maybe a "C". I'm not a bit happy with the way our year's been you know, but the run we had tonight gives us some momentum for the July the 6th race. We're going to keep working on this thing and we'll go run some races at the Stadium and have a good time and as long as the racing is as fun as it was tonight, I'm going to hang around another ten or twelve years probably, you know? But the way I had been running wasn't fun so maybe I'm back for while. We'll try it and see."

In other news, Sunoco Rookie of the Year contender Brandon Ward and car owner David Pinnix parted ways after Pinnix sold the car Ward drove to Clarence “Clev” Rierson, who is father-in-law to WSMT driver Brian Loftin. Ward will continue on in his racing career driving for Randy Humphrey Racing in the Hooters Pro Cup Northern Division, where he is the current Rookie of the Year leader and currently sits fifth in the Northern Division point standings. Ward's best 2007 WSMT finish was a third at the Music City Motorplex in Nashville. Brandon also assured me there were no hard feelings between himself and Pinnix, and that Pinnix sold the car due in part to his health problems.

Brandon Ward - "You know that deal just came together like I say, to start with, it was supposed to be a deal where I was going to run about four or five races for that team during the summer when we had those couple months off from the modified deal, and then all at once that deal just came together like I say, within about three days before the first northern tour race. So it was an opportunity I couldn't really turn down and those guys have a lot of plans to do some other things. They're probably going to end up maybe running some Busch East races or some truck races hopefully by the end of this year or next year. So that deal was just a pretty good opportunity, but we were going to try and run the modified races, as well."

Many southern modified fans were left in awe and spent after two cut and thrust modified drivers wielded their machines in a torrid battle during the Mason-Dixon Meltdown last November at South Boston Speedway. Well, those same fans will get a repeat performance when Whelen Modified Tour driver James Civali climbs aboard the Hillbilly Racing #79 Friday night at Caraway. Civali and Burt Myers threw up sparks, rubbed nerf bars and traded positions like Paris Hilton traded best friends. Hillbilly crew chief David Hill confirmed Civali will be driving the Coors Light/Vitamin Water Pontiac last week at Bowman Gray, before leaving for New Hampshire.

Pit gates open at Caraway Speedway Friday at 2 PM, with grandstands open to the public at 6 PM. Ticket prices are $20.00. Kids 11 and younger are admitted free. For more information about Friday night's Whelen Southern Modified Tour event at Caraway Speedway, contact the speedway at www.carawayspeedway.com. ModSeriesScene will be on hand bringing you live updates from the event, as well as a full post race report.