WARD WRESTLES WIN FROM NEWMAN AT THE BEACH
Brandon Ward Closes Championship Chase After Carteret Clash
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Swansboro, NC (September 5, 2023) - On opening weekend for college football, it was a match between two of the toughest competitors on the SMART Modified Tour powered by Pace-O-Matic capturing the spotlight in the Carteret Clash.
Brandon Ward scored the win late in the game by out-dueling NASCAR Cup star and SRX Racing champion, Ryan Newman (with 10 laps to go) to win Saturday (September 2) at Carteret Speedway, located on North Carolina’s Crystal Coast.
“Man, Newman’s tough,” said Ward in the Pace-O-Matic Victory Lane at Carteret. “That’s a good team (Sadler/Stanley Racing) and I knew when I got to him it was going to be really, really hard to pass him. I tried the outside and I tried every angle I could. He was getting a little bit free-er, but man, he did a good job hanging on to that thing. I was fortunate to get a good enough run to get by him. It’s a lot of fun to race with guys like him in this series.”
“It was a hard-fought battle, but I think he fought harder than I did because he got by me,” said Newman, from South Bend, IN, who finished second in the Pace-O-Matic / Aggressive Hydraulics number-39 car. “He raced me clean; he raced me hard. He used his bumper; I can’t complain, he was way faster than me in the end. I just go too loose. This is a pretty cool race track. It’s tight, don’t get me wrong, but a lot of these guys are used to that stuff.”
Newman won Bell Helmets Stage One after the first 30-lap segment of the 99-lap race.
Ward, who is second in the championship chase with six races left on the schedule, won his second race of the season and his fifth with the SMART Modifieds.
“Our sights are set on winning races,” admitted Ward, from Winston-Salem, NC, who drives the KevinSaysYes.com / Coulter Motorsports number-2 car. “We won one at Caraway earlier this year and I came here wanting to win this one because I love this racetrack. I got to race here when I was a kid, when it was a go-kart track and now we got the win in the SMART Mods.”
Burt Myers, from Walnut Cove, NC, continues to lead the championship standings after Saturday’s event. His Citrusafe Grill Cleaners / Backyard Leisure Pool & Spas number-1 started in 13th and finished fifth.
Defending series champion Caleb Heady, in the Tommy Baldwin Racing 7ny, was a force throughout the entire race. The Shelbyville, Kentucky driver rebounded from a heartbreaker at Ace Speedway the week before to finish third at Carteret.
Tim Brown, from Tobaccoville, NC won the Pace-O-Matic Pole Award in qualifying, but redrew eighth and finished in that position.
Second-place qualifier Danny Bohn, from Freehold, NJ, dominated a good portion of the event. He picked up the Jostens Lap Leader award for being out front for 64 laps. He also was the Bankers Life Halfway Leader. Bohn, in the Buddy Ellis number-24 car, finished sixth on older tires than other competitors at the conclusion of the race.
Daniel Yates, from Lexington, NC, was the Pace-O-Matic Hard Charger of the Race. He advanced nine spots from his 21st place starting position to finish 12th.
Fellow Lexington, NC resident Carson Loftin picked up the Carolina Drilling “Blast To the Front” Award for being the highest finishing driver who has not yet won a Tour-Type Modified Series event. The rookie finished seventh.
Bobby Labonte from Corpus Christi, TX, set the MJ Printing & Graphics Fastest Lap of the Race on lap four, enroute to his fourth place finish. The NASCAR Hall of Famer won the inaugural SMART event at Carteret in 2021.
The SMART Modified Tour powered by Pace-O-Matic is halfway through four-straight weeks of racing. Next up is the “Old Dominion Classic” on Saturday, September 9 at Dominion Speedway in Spotsylvania, VA. Please visit the Dominion Raceway website for more information on the event.
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 - Short Track Life Media Group - Twitter: @shorttracklife_
SMART Modified Tour Race #8
Official Race Results for the Carteret Clash - 09/02/2023
Carteret County Speedway - Swansboro, NC - 0.4 mile
Race Length: 99L - 37.125 M - 59.796 KM
Fin-Str-Car-Driver-Laps-Points
1-5-2-Brandon Ward-99-40
2-1-39va-Ryan Newman-99-39
3-4-7ny-Caleb Heady-99-38
4-9-18va-Bobby Labonte-99-37
5-13-1-Burt Myers-99-36
6-2-24-Danny Bohn-99-35
7-6-23-Carson Loftin-99-34
8-8-25-Tim Brown-99-33
9-17-07va-Dennis Holdren-99-32
10-14-27-Justin Gumley-99-31
11-15-55-Jeremy Gerstner-99-30
12-21-18-Daniel Yates-99-29
13-18-12-Cody Norman-99-28
14-7-48-Jonny Kay-99-27
15-22-45-Gary Young Jr.-99-26
16-25-01-Brian Weber-94-25
17-3-02-Joey Coulter-91-24
18-20-07N-Riley Neal-70-23
19-16-79-Zach Brewer-59-22
20-11-15-Brian Loftin-33-21
21-12-14-Bobby Measmer Jr.-32-20
22-23-22-Jason Tutterow-32-19
23-24-21nc-Dwight Sauls-31-18
24-19-21-Jimmy Wallace-26-17
25-26-8ny-Wes Gilbert-1-16
26-10-4-Jason Myers-1-15
Time of Race: 1h:45:55 | Cautions: 6 for 39 Laps
Lap Leaders: Bohn 64, Newman 25, B. Ward 10
Pace-O-Matic Pole Award: Tim Brown (15.610 seconds @ 92.248mph)
Bell Helmets Stage Winner: Ryan Newman
Jostens Lap Leader: Danny Bohn
Bankers Life Halfway Leader: Danny Bohn
Pace-O-Matic Hard Charger Award: (Daniel Yates +9 Positions)
Carolina Drilling Blast to the Front: Carson Loftin
MJ Printing & Graphics Fastest Lap: Bobby Labonte - 15.959 seconds (Lap 4)
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.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Swansboro, NC (September 5, 2023) - On opening weekend for college football, it was a match between two of the toughest competitors on the SMART Modified Tour powered by Pace-O-Matic capturing the spotlight in the Carteret Clash.
Brandon Ward scored the win late in the game by out-dueling NASCAR Cup star and SRX Racing champion, Ryan Newman (with 10 laps to go) to win Saturday (September 2) at Carteret Speedway, located on North Carolina’s Crystal Coast.
“Man, Newman’s tough,” said Ward in the Pace-O-Matic Victory Lane at Carteret. “That’s a good team (Sadler/Stanley Racing) and I knew when I got to him it was going to be really, really hard to pass him. I tried the outside and I tried every angle I could. He was getting a little bit free-er, but man, he did a good job hanging on to that thing. I was fortunate to get a good enough run to get by him. It’s a lot of fun to race with guys like him in this series.”
“It was a hard-fought battle, but I think he fought harder than I did because he got by me,” said Newman, from South Bend, IN, who finished second in the Pace-O-Matic / Aggressive Hydraulics number-39 car. “He raced me clean; he raced me hard. He used his bumper; I can’t complain, he was way faster than me in the end. I just go too loose. This is a pretty cool race track. It’s tight, don’t get me wrong, but a lot of these guys are used to that stuff.”
Newman won Bell Helmets Stage One after the first 30-lap segment of the 99-lap race.
Ward, who is second in the championship chase with six races left on the schedule, won his second race of the season and his fifth with the SMART Modifieds.
“Our sights are set on winning races,” admitted Ward, from Winston-Salem, NC, who drives the KevinSaysYes.com / Coulter Motorsports number-2 car. “We won one at Caraway earlier this year and I came here wanting to win this one because I love this racetrack. I got to race here when I was a kid, when it was a go-kart track and now we got the win in the SMART Mods.”
Burt Myers, from Walnut Cove, NC, continues to lead the championship standings after Saturday’s event. His Citrusafe Grill Cleaners / Backyard Leisure Pool & Spas number-1 started in 13th and finished fifth.
Defending series champion Caleb Heady, in the Tommy Baldwin Racing 7ny, was a force throughout the entire race. The Shelbyville, Kentucky driver rebounded from a heartbreaker at Ace Speedway the week before to finish third at Carteret.
Tim Brown, from Tobaccoville, NC won the Pace-O-Matic Pole Award in qualifying, but redrew eighth and finished in that position.
Second-place qualifier Danny Bohn, from Freehold, NJ, dominated a good portion of the event. He picked up the Jostens Lap Leader award for being out front for 64 laps. He also was the Bankers Life Halfway Leader. Bohn, in the Buddy Ellis number-24 car, finished sixth on older tires than other competitors at the conclusion of the race.
Daniel Yates, from Lexington, NC, was the Pace-O-Matic Hard Charger of the Race. He advanced nine spots from his 21st place starting position to finish 12th.
Fellow Lexington, NC resident Carson Loftin picked up the Carolina Drilling “Blast To the Front” Award for being the highest finishing driver who has not yet won a Tour-Type Modified Series event. The rookie finished seventh.
Bobby Labonte from Corpus Christi, TX, set the MJ Printing & Graphics Fastest Lap of the Race on lap four, enroute to his fourth place finish. The NASCAR Hall of Famer won the inaugural SMART event at Carteret in 2021.
The SMART Modified Tour powered by Pace-O-Matic is halfway through four-straight weeks of racing. Next up is the “Old Dominion Classic” on Saturday, September 9 at Dominion Speedway in Spotsylvania, VA. Please visit the Dominion Raceway website for more information on the event.
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 - Short Track Life Media Group - Twitter: @shorttracklife_
SMART Modified Tour Race #8
Official Race Results for the Carteret Clash - 09/02/2023
Carteret County Speedway - Swansboro, NC - 0.4 mile
Race Length: 99L - 37.125 M - 59.796 KM
Fin-Str-Car-Driver-Laps-Points
1-5-2-Brandon Ward-99-40
2-1-39va-Ryan Newman-99-39
3-4-7ny-Caleb Heady-99-38
4-9-18va-Bobby Labonte-99-37
5-13-1-Burt Myers-99-36
6-2-24-Danny Bohn-99-35
7-6-23-Carson Loftin-99-34
8-8-25-Tim Brown-99-33
9-17-07va-Dennis Holdren-99-32
10-14-27-Justin Gumley-99-31
11-15-55-Jeremy Gerstner-99-30
12-21-18-Daniel Yates-99-29
13-18-12-Cody Norman-99-28
14-7-48-Jonny Kay-99-27
15-22-45-Gary Young Jr.-99-26
16-25-01-Brian Weber-94-25
17-3-02-Joey Coulter-91-24
18-20-07N-Riley Neal-70-23
19-16-79-Zach Brewer-59-22
20-11-15-Brian Loftin-33-21
21-12-14-Bobby Measmer Jr.-32-20
22-23-22-Jason Tutterow-32-19
23-24-21nc-Dwight Sauls-31-18
24-19-21-Jimmy Wallace-26-17
25-26-8ny-Wes Gilbert-1-16
26-10-4-Jason Myers-1-15
Time of Race: 1h:45:55 | Cautions: 6 for 39 Laps
Lap Leaders: Bohn 64, Newman 25, B. Ward 10
Pace-O-Matic Pole Award: Tim Brown (15.610 seconds @ 92.248mph)
Bell Helmets Stage Winner: Ryan Newman
Jostens Lap Leader: Danny Bohn
Bankers Life Halfway Leader: Danny Bohn
Pace-O-Matic Hard Charger Award: (Daniel Yates +9 Positions)
Carolina Drilling Blast to the Front: Carson Loftin
MJ Printing & Graphics Fastest Lap: Bobby Labonte - 15.959 seconds (Lap 4)
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.