LOFTIN GRABS FIRST OF THE YEAR IN THE SMART MODS SOBO THRILLER
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
South Boston, VA (April 3, 2023) - In a race honoring one of Modified racing’s all-time greats Ray Hendrick, it was one of Southern Modified’s best active drivers taking the checkers. Brian Loftin used strategy to allow him to go on the attack and win The Flying VA Classic on Saturday (April 1) for the SMART Modified Tour powered by Pace-O-Matic at South Boston Speedway in Virginia.
The 99-lap race saw six drivers lead laps, but it was the 16th-place starter Loftin, who pitted early, and then saved his stuff to pounce on the competition late in the race.
“It was a lot of strategy and the fact that the team gave me a really good car tonight,” said Loftin, who took the lead on lap 68. “I kind of put us in a box by qualifying 16th, so we had to use a little strategy to get up there. This isn’t the easiest place to pass without using your stuff up. Once we got up there, after saving our stuff early, we had a car to contend for the win.”
The Lexington, NC driver did have some pressure late in the race from Pennsylvania’s Matt Hirschman, who had started at the tail end of the field after missing qualifying due to competing in the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour event up the road at Richmond Raceway earlier in the day. Hirschman’s challenge for the lead came to an end due to an issue with the fuel pump in his number-60 Modified with 13 laps to go.
“I felt Matt on me; he gave me a couple of taps to let me know he was there. And everyone wants to beat Matt,” admitted Loftin, who received the Bankers Life SMARTY trophy produced by Jostens in victory lane. “He’s just so good and it’s what everyone dreams about (beating him). I wanted to put him behind me and see if we could battle it out. I hate what happened to him, but I’m so proud of my guys (Shady Grady Racing). This is a family owned team and I’m just happy to get them into victory lane.”
For Loftin, it was his ninth career SMART Modified Tour victory. His previous best at South Boston Speedway was a second-place finish in a NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour race at the Virginia track in 2013. The 45 year-old driver is also the Jostens Lap Leader of the race by pacing the field for 31 circuits and the Pace-O-Matic Hard Charger of the race for advancing 16-positions by race's end.
Tom Buzze, from Statesville, NC, made his first start of the season with the SMART Modified Tour powered by Pace-O-Matic. He qualified tenth and drove a masterful race to finish in the runner-up spot. Buzze is the Carolina Drill “Blast To the Front” award winner for being the highest finishing driver who has not yet won a Tour-Type Modified series event. It was no surprise to Modified fans however, as Buzze finished fifth in this race one year ago.
After the third race of the year, Burt Myers (1), unofficially retakes over the point lead in the SMART Modified Tour powered by Pace-O-Matic. Myers, from Walnut Cove, NC, led three laps in The Flying VA Classic and finished in the third spot. In three races this year, the Citrus Safe Grill Cleaners machine has not finished outside the top six.
Sadler / Stanley Racing driver Jonathan Cash (39), of Oxford, NC, led four laps early in the race and scored his best SMART Modified Tour finish with a fourth place run.
Rounding out the top-5 finishers was Joey Coulter (02) in the SRI Performance Modified. Coulter charged from his 11th place starting spot to challenge for the lead in the first third of the race before being involved in a multi-car incident in turns three and four. The Florida native rebounded to finish fifth, his second-straight top-5 outing.
In qualifying, Caleb Heady won the Pace-O-Matic Pole Award by setting a fast time of 14.142 seconds. After the redraw, the Kentucky driver started in eighth and led 23 laps of the event. In fact, he won the Bankers Life Halfway award by being in the top spot at lap 50. After a late-race pitstop, Heady was charging back to the front when Hirschman’s car slowed in front of him. To avoid making contact, the 7ny dove to pit road and lost many spots in the process. Heady finished 12th.
Jeremy Gerstner led 40 laps in The Flying VA Classic at South Boston and also won the Bell Helmets Stage One of the race after 30 laps were completed. Bobby Measmer Jr, who finished 11th, and Joey Coulter were second and third at the conclusion of the stage.
The Hickory Hundred, the fourth race of the SMART Modified season, is scheduled for this Saturday, April 15, at Hickory Motor Speedway in North Carolina. The Sportsman division from nearby Bowman Gray Stadium (Winston Salem, NC) will also be on the racing card. For more information, please visit hickorymotorspeedway.com.
For the full SMART Modified Tour powered by Pace-O-Matic schedule, plus driver profiles and other information, please visit the series website at www.smartmodtour.com, and be sure to follow the series on social media (Facebook: SMART Modified Tour| Twitter: @SMARTMods_ | IG: @smartmods_).
By Bob Dillner - Twitter: @ShortTrackLife_ Media Group
SMART Modified Tour
The SMART Modified Tour captures the essence of one of the most legendary forms of racing in America, pavement Modifieds. Born in 1988, these ground-pounding, 600-horsepower missiles are a must-see for any racing fan.
In 2020, Chris Williams brought SMART Modifieds back to prominence after a brief hiatus. Due to the overwhelming popularity from its fan base, a four-race schedule in its initial year has given birth to an adventurous 14-race schedule in 2023.
This year will mark the third full-season of SMART Modified Tour racing. Many of Modified racing’s best drivers, from all over the country, will compete with the series, which visits 13 different racetracks in three different states in the Mid-Atlantic - North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia.
SMART Modifieds compete on grueling asphalt oval short tracks, embedded in quaint local communities, each spring, summer and fall.
Pace-O-Matic
Pace-O-Matic develops, produces, and licenses fun and entertainment in the form of skill games in various states, including Virginia, Pennsylvania, Wyoming, Kentucky, Illinois and Texas, among others. Since its founding in 2000, the organization has built a talented leadership team and a culture defined by integrity, innovation, and compliance. Learn more at www.paceomatic.com.
SMART Modified Tour Race #4
Official Race Results for the Flying VA 99 - 04/02/2022
South Boston Speedway - South Boston, VA - 0.400 mile
Race Length: 99L - 39.6 M - 63.756 KM
Finish - Start - Car - Driver
P1 - P16 - 15 - Brian Loftin
P2 - P10 - 5 - Tom Buzze
P3 - P5 - 1 - Burt Myers
P4 - P7 - 39VA - Jonathan Cash
P5 - P11 - 02 - Joey Coulter
P6 - P1 - 2 - Brandon Ward
P7 - P18 - 11 - Michael Ritch
P8 - P3 - 55FL - Jeremy Gerstner
P9 - P13 - 25 - Tim Brown
P10 - P9 - 4 - Jason Myers
P11 - P4 - 14 - Bobby Measmer Jr.
P12 - P8 - 7NY - Caleb Heady
P13 - P22 - 18 - Daniel Yates
P14 - P6 - 23 - Carson Loftin
P15 - P27 - 60 - Matt Hirschman
P16 - P2 - 07VA - Dennis Holdren
P17 - P25 - 01 - Brian Weber
P18 - P23 - 8NY - Wes Gilbert
P19 - P20 - 8 - Chris Finocchario
P20 - P15 - 21 - Jimmy Wallace
P21 - P26 - 18VA - Bobby Labonte
P22 - P12 - 48 - Jonny Kay
P23 - P17 - 45 - Gary Young Jr.
P24 - P21 - 24 - Jonathan Brown
P25 - P14 - 07N - Riley Neal
P26 - P24 - 22 - Jason Tutterow
P27 - P19 - 79 - Zach Brewer
Time of Race:
1h:16:10 Margin of Victory: 1.308 seconds Cautions: 7 for 47 Laps
Lap Leaders: B. Loftin 31, Gerstner 30, Heady 23, Ward 8, Cash 4, B. Myers 3
Pace-O-Matic Pole Award: Caleb Heady - 14.142 seconds (103.672 mph)
South Boston, VA (April 3, 2023) - In a race honoring one of Modified racing’s all-time greats Ray Hendrick, it was one of Southern Modified’s best active drivers taking the checkers. Brian Loftin used strategy to allow him to go on the attack and win The Flying VA Classic on Saturday (April 1) for the SMART Modified Tour powered by Pace-O-Matic at South Boston Speedway in Virginia.
The 99-lap race saw six drivers lead laps, but it was the 16th-place starter Loftin, who pitted early, and then saved his stuff to pounce on the competition late in the race.
“It was a lot of strategy and the fact that the team gave me a really good car tonight,” said Loftin, who took the lead on lap 68. “I kind of put us in a box by qualifying 16th, so we had to use a little strategy to get up there. This isn’t the easiest place to pass without using your stuff up. Once we got up there, after saving our stuff early, we had a car to contend for the win.”
The Lexington, NC driver did have some pressure late in the race from Pennsylvania’s Matt Hirschman, who had started at the tail end of the field after missing qualifying due to competing in the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour event up the road at Richmond Raceway earlier in the day. Hirschman’s challenge for the lead came to an end due to an issue with the fuel pump in his number-60 Modified with 13 laps to go.
“I felt Matt on me; he gave me a couple of taps to let me know he was there. And everyone wants to beat Matt,” admitted Loftin, who received the Bankers Life SMARTY trophy produced by Jostens in victory lane. “He’s just so good and it’s what everyone dreams about (beating him). I wanted to put him behind me and see if we could battle it out. I hate what happened to him, but I’m so proud of my guys (Shady Grady Racing). This is a family owned team and I’m just happy to get them into victory lane.”
For Loftin, it was his ninth career SMART Modified Tour victory. His previous best at South Boston Speedway was a second-place finish in a NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour race at the Virginia track in 2013. The 45 year-old driver is also the Jostens Lap Leader of the race by pacing the field for 31 circuits and the Pace-O-Matic Hard Charger of the race for advancing 16-positions by race's end.
Tom Buzze, from Statesville, NC, made his first start of the season with the SMART Modified Tour powered by Pace-O-Matic. He qualified tenth and drove a masterful race to finish in the runner-up spot. Buzze is the Carolina Drill “Blast To the Front” award winner for being the highest finishing driver who has not yet won a Tour-Type Modified series event. It was no surprise to Modified fans however, as Buzze finished fifth in this race one year ago.
After the third race of the year, Burt Myers (1), unofficially retakes over the point lead in the SMART Modified Tour powered by Pace-O-Matic. Myers, from Walnut Cove, NC, led three laps in The Flying VA Classic and finished in the third spot. In three races this year, the Citrus Safe Grill Cleaners machine has not finished outside the top six.
Sadler / Stanley Racing driver Jonathan Cash (39), of Oxford, NC, led four laps early in the race and scored his best SMART Modified Tour finish with a fourth place run.
Rounding out the top-5 finishers was Joey Coulter (02) in the SRI Performance Modified. Coulter charged from his 11th place starting spot to challenge for the lead in the first third of the race before being involved in a multi-car incident in turns three and four. The Florida native rebounded to finish fifth, his second-straight top-5 outing.
In qualifying, Caleb Heady won the Pace-O-Matic Pole Award by setting a fast time of 14.142 seconds. After the redraw, the Kentucky driver started in eighth and led 23 laps of the event. In fact, he won the Bankers Life Halfway award by being in the top spot at lap 50. After a late-race pitstop, Heady was charging back to the front when Hirschman’s car slowed in front of him. To avoid making contact, the 7ny dove to pit road and lost many spots in the process. Heady finished 12th.
Jeremy Gerstner led 40 laps in The Flying VA Classic at South Boston and also won the Bell Helmets Stage One of the race after 30 laps were completed. Bobby Measmer Jr, who finished 11th, and Joey Coulter were second and third at the conclusion of the stage.
The Hickory Hundred, the fourth race of the SMART Modified season, is scheduled for this Saturday, April 15, at Hickory Motor Speedway in North Carolina. The Sportsman division from nearby Bowman Gray Stadium (Winston Salem, NC) will also be on the racing card. For more information, please visit hickorymotorspeedway.com.
For the full SMART Modified Tour powered by Pace-O-Matic schedule, plus driver profiles and other information, please visit the series website at www.smartmodtour.com, and be sure to follow the series on social media (Facebook: SMART Modified Tour| Twitter: @SMARTMods_ | IG: @smartmods_).
By Bob Dillner - Twitter: @ShortTrackLife_ Media Group
SMART Modified Tour
The SMART Modified Tour captures the essence of one of the most legendary forms of racing in America, pavement Modifieds. Born in 1988, these ground-pounding, 600-horsepower missiles are a must-see for any racing fan.
In 2020, Chris Williams brought SMART Modifieds back to prominence after a brief hiatus. Due to the overwhelming popularity from its fan base, a four-race schedule in its initial year has given birth to an adventurous 14-race schedule in 2023.
This year will mark the third full-season of SMART Modified Tour racing. Many of Modified racing’s best drivers, from all over the country, will compete with the series, which visits 13 different racetracks in three different states in the Mid-Atlantic - North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia.
SMART Modifieds compete on grueling asphalt oval short tracks, embedded in quaint local communities, each spring, summer and fall.
Pace-O-Matic
Pace-O-Matic develops, produces, and licenses fun and entertainment in the form of skill games in various states, including Virginia, Pennsylvania, Wyoming, Kentucky, Illinois and Texas, among others. Since its founding in 2000, the organization has built a talented leadership team and a culture defined by integrity, innovation, and compliance. Learn more at www.paceomatic.com.
SMART Modified Tour Race #4
Official Race Results for the Flying VA 99 - 04/02/2022
South Boston Speedway - South Boston, VA - 0.400 mile
Race Length: 99L - 39.6 M - 63.756 KM
Finish - Start - Car - Driver
P1 - P16 - 15 - Brian Loftin
P2 - P10 - 5 - Tom Buzze
P3 - P5 - 1 - Burt Myers
P4 - P7 - 39VA - Jonathan Cash
P5 - P11 - 02 - Joey Coulter
P6 - P1 - 2 - Brandon Ward
P7 - P18 - 11 - Michael Ritch
P8 - P3 - 55FL - Jeremy Gerstner
P9 - P13 - 25 - Tim Brown
P10 - P9 - 4 - Jason Myers
P11 - P4 - 14 - Bobby Measmer Jr.
P12 - P8 - 7NY - Caleb Heady
P13 - P22 - 18 - Daniel Yates
P14 - P6 - 23 - Carson Loftin
P15 - P27 - 60 - Matt Hirschman
P16 - P2 - 07VA - Dennis Holdren
P17 - P25 - 01 - Brian Weber
P18 - P23 - 8NY - Wes Gilbert
P19 - P20 - 8 - Chris Finocchario
P20 - P15 - 21 - Jimmy Wallace
P21 - P26 - 18VA - Bobby Labonte
P22 - P12 - 48 - Jonny Kay
P23 - P17 - 45 - Gary Young Jr.
P24 - P21 - 24 - Jonathan Brown
P25 - P14 - 07N - Riley Neal
P26 - P24 - 22 - Jason Tutterow
P27 - P19 - 79 - Zach Brewer
Time of Race:
1h:16:10 Margin of Victory: 1.308 seconds Cautions: 7 for 47 Laps
Lap Leaders: B. Loftin 31, Gerstner 30, Heady 23, Ward 8, Cash 4, B. Myers 3
Pace-O-Matic Pole Award: Caleb Heady - 14.142 seconds (103.672 mph)