Sophia, NC (September 8th, 2007) - I really had no desire to go to Caraway Speedway, Saturday afternoon. I wanted to stay home and just enjoy a day off from my website project and the countless hours I'd spent on the road this past week chasing the modifieds. I just wanted to disconnect for a weekend. Unfortunately, with the Whelen Southern Modified Tour rounding the corner towards the four race stretch to the championship, I just couldn't afford that luxury.

It's as familiar as following your favorite prime time drama series, or a good book. You can't help but turn the page, instead of putting it down. The 2007 edition of the WSMT is no different. The series has seen its third different lead change amongst the top of the point standings, and emotions were still high after a last lap nudge sent Burt Myers out of second place at Ace, just four short days ago. Burt had made his displeasure known in front of the crew members, officials and fans who cheered L.W. as he climbed from his car on the frontstretch after the race. Little did those same Junior Miller fans who cheered L.W. on Monday know, they'd not be nearly so happy with him just four short days later.

So, I loaded up my Chevrolet Blazer for yet another trip up Interstate 85 North out of Charlotte and east on NC route 64 towards Asheboro. It's a trip the WMST knows all too well, and will make twice more after today's event.

The weather was picture perfect with a slight breeze and a clear sky without a threat of weather in the forecast. I had stopped Jason Myers as he walked towards the tire impound area and asked him what had happened between himself and Junior Miller that took both of them out of the top ten during the race at Ace. Jason kind of looked at me funny and told me that Miller and Jay Foley had exchanged some bumps and that he (Myers) had nothing to do with it. So, I apologized to him and the fans who may read these articles who may have thought I was doing a Michael Waltrip imitation Monday by being at the wrong track. It's not just the teams and officials who have had a difficult week on the tour.

Burt Myers would win yet another Bud Pole Award and would sew up the title as winner of the most poles for the 2007 season. Myers' time of 15.871 seconds would top out at just a tick over 103 mph, but it was just still shy of his track record that he broke back in March. Current WSMT point leader L.W. Miller would time in second quick, with Frank Fleming third, Junior Miller fourth and Brian Loftin fifth.

The re-draw was set at ten this week, with Junior Miller drawing the pole with Frank Fleming to his outside. Tim Brown would start third after timing in sixth fastest, with George Brunnhoelzl, III starting fourth. Brian King, L.W. Miller, Jason Myers, Brian Pack, Burt Myers and Brian Loftin would set the rest of the top ten starters.

Junior Miller would lead the field to the green flag and there would be plenty of jockeying for position on the low side as Tim Brown and Brian King exchanged positions while hanging Frank Fleming up on the high lane. George Brunnhoelzl, III would have slight contact with the front stretch wall on lap 4, "white walling" his right front tire, and King would go to second and set off after Junior Miller on lap 5.

But the first caution would come rather quickly as Brian Loftin's blue #23 QMF Solutions Chevrolet would come to a halt at the top of turn two on lap 7. Under this caution, Michael Clifton would pit his Jamie Casper Auto Sales, Clifton Plumbing # 50 Chevrolet with power steering issues and retire on lap 6. Loftin's crew would inform NASCAR officials of some sort of electrical issue and would also retire on lap 6 as well.

As the field completed lap 10 behind the Dodge Intrepid pace car, Junior Miller would show the way over Brian King, Tim Brown, Frank Fleming, L.W. Miller, George Brunnhoelzl, III, Jason Myers, Brian Pack, Burt Myers and Brandon Hire.

The first restart of the night would come on lap 12, with Junior Miller continuing to hold off a determined Brian King for the lead. While this was going on, Burt Myers went up top to his usual move of using high groove to pass everyone in front of him and was making his move on Tim Brown for third on lap 18.

But by the time Burt got to third, Junior Miller and Brian King had opened up a half straightaway lead on Myers, Tim Brown, Frank Fleming, L.W. Miller, Brian Pack, George Brunnhoelzl, III, Jason Myers and Brandon Hire holding on to tenth on lap 20.

Brian Pack and L.W. Miller would race side by side for the sixth and seventh position with L.W. winning that battle as the field clicked off Lap 30. By this time, Junior Miller and Brian King continued to show early speed and opened up a full straightaway lead on the rest of the field. L.W. Miller would make one his first moves towards the front on lap 32 as he drove up to the outside of Tim Brown and his Hayes Jewelers Chevrolet for fourth and set off after Burt Myers who was holding down third.

Now, as much as I complain about lack of early race drama, the next ten laps were worthy of the ticket price alone as L.W. would dive to the inside of Burt Myers for third as the two raced "door handle to door handle" for the next ten laps. Miller was down low, and Myers was up high. The two raced tooth and nail and under the watchful eyes of NASCAR officials who had seen firsthand just four short days earlier the threats and promises made by each driver, as they watched two of the WSMT's best race wheel to wheel without so much as putting a foot wrong.

Burt Myers reflected on the battle after the race by saying, "Well, I didn't think anything about it. I mean, Leslie knows better than to get into the side of me. He's already tried it one time and if he does it again He's.....Let's just say he knew better than to get into the side of me again." By lap 47 L.W. had passed the black #1 and set off after Junior Miller and Brian King who were checking out on the rest of the field. "Yeah, he wasn't going to let me go. I was a little faster than him at the beginning and I was trying to get in the hole and he was changing his line and doing everything he could to keep me back there. He didn't know what I had or if I was holding anything or whatever so, he was leading and that's what he was supposed to do but he adjusted his line so I didn't have a line." King would comment about following the veteran through the early stages of the race.

As this was going on, Myers was struggling with a "snug" race car as both Brian Pack and Frank Fleming would drop Myers back to sixth by lap 50. "Well, it started out snug and that's why I went to the top side and it seemed like when somebody was trying to pass me on the bottom and I could just hold my groove up there, I wasn't really running that hard and in my mind I'm thinking "They're wearing their tires out down there" so I was just sitting there kind of cruising up top and the car got progressively looser and looser as we went." Burt explained.

Lap 50 clicked off the board with Junior Miller still continuing to show the way over Brian King, L.W. Miller, Brian Pack, Frank Fleming, Burt Myers, Tim Brown, Brandon Hire, Jason Myers and Dean Ward. Junior Miller would comment about the torrid early pace he and Brian King were setting, "I run the whole race about as hard as I could run, you know? When you're up front, you've got to go and when you go back, you've got to go back to the front so I figured it'd be better to stay up front to start with."

The next fifteen laps were classic WSMT at Caraway as nobody seemed to make a move for position. But the next caution would fly on lap 65 for Brandon Hire losing rear end grease from the rear of his Clemmons Speed Shop # 44 Chevrolet, sending Earl Baker into a spin in turn four and collecting J. Wesley Swartout. Junior Miller would look like Alan Johnson on the dirt at Syracuse as he caught his sideways car in the grease and "tip toed" his way to the caution flag. That was just Miller's first near miss of the night.

Under this caution, Burt Myers would hit pit road with Gene Pack, J. Wesley Swartout, and Dean Ward in tow. Pack would win the race back onto the track with Ward, Swartout and Myers following suit.

The pace car would lead the next twelve laps as speedy dry was dropped all over the lower groove of the track and Hire would retire his car with rear end issues. The pace car would also lead the field at halfway while still under caution with Junior Miller in tow, Brian King second, L.W. Miller third, Brian Pack fourth, Frank Fleming fifth, Tim Brown sixth, Jason Myers seventh, Burt Myers eighth, Gene Pack ninth and Dean Ward rounding out the top ten.

The green flag would fly again on lap 77 with Tim Brown diving to the inside of Frank Fleming for fifth, while Burt Myers went back to the high side to pass his brother Jason for seventh as the two raced off turn two. Junior Miller would continue to hold the lead with Brian King right on the back bumper of the Riggs Racing Dodge. Tim Brown would comment about a light of hope as dove to the inside of Frank Fleming for fifth, "I really ran harder than I wanted to so I finally let those guys go and thought "We'll save something for the end" and we had one caution and I got back by a couple cars and I thought, "Hey, we're going to be all right" then all of a sudden it's like you turned a switch off. That thing got wicked loose and we were done and we just had to hold on to fifth place there."

The next move didn't come until lap 103 as L.W. Miller who had been working over the Adams Towing and Recovery #17 for the last few laps, finally saw a hole as the two raced to turn one. King tried at the last second to close the door, only to get "nerfed" out of the groove as L.W. Miller pulled a classic "bump and run" move on Brian King as the two raced off turn two.

It was at this point in the race where I felt it started to get ugly. L.W. pulled away from King as Junior Miller continued to lead but it would only take L.W. thirteen laps to catch the race leader and dive into turn three and use the same move he used on Brian King to move the two time champion up and out of his way. But it would only take the veteran driver a single lap to regain his composure and set off after L.W. and as the two raced back to turn one on lap 117, Junior showed his displeasure with L.W.'s driving tactics and returned the favor and "nerfed" the silver number 36 up out of the racing groove and into the marbles to reclaim the lead.

While all this was going on, Frank Fleming snuck his way into third by passing Brian King who was holding on to a loose race car. "I was just content to just ride and then the car started to get a little bit loose so I just rode and I did see L.W. kind of nerf Junior when he passed him and I knew if Junior got back to him he was going to probably get into him and I think he did. He sent L.W. up the track." remarked King. I asked Frank Fleming what he saw. "I don't know what happened up there. I was just trying to catch them and I've been in a lot of controversy myself over the years so I probably ain't one to say a whole lot."

At lap 120 the running order still showed Junior Miller leading over L.W. Miller, Frank Fleming, Brian King, Tim Brown, Brian Pack, Burt Myers, Jason Myers and Dean Ward. There were reports over the NASCAR radio of Brian Pack leaking water and Brandon Hire returned to the race on lap 125.

But on lap 126, the next caution would fly as L.W. Miller would try to dive back to the inside of Junior Miller for the lead as the two raced into turn three. "I got by him one time and I slipped up and he got back by me. I got under him again going down the backstretch and he just turned left to squeeze me down getting in, thinking I could back out of it but at that point I had already committed deep enough along side of him that I couldn't get out of the way and when he turned left, he clipped me in the right front and turned himself around and he spun himself out and damn near wrecked us doing it" commented L.W. after the race. Obviously, Junior's viewpoint was a little different. "He just had a better race car at the end than I did, I reckon. I was using all the race track I could and ran out of track and he kind of turned me around but that's racing, I guess. When I turn him around I want it to be racing but I might not never turn him around but I'm going to make the race track as wide as I can."

As L.W. took the caution flag, I looked over at Whelen Southern Modified Tour Director Mark Suddreth for some sort of response. Suddreth has come under fire this season for not being strict enough and with L.W. having had contact with two different drivers in the last two events as the points leader; I expected the heavy hand of NASCAR to come down on the Dunshore, Pennsylvania driver. "Tell the spotter on the 36 that if he so much as looks at another car the wrong way, there will be repercussions" was the message relayed to Miller's spotter in the spotter's stand.

Personally, I felt it was about time. NASCAR WSMT PR rep Jason Mitchell assured me before the event that both L.W. Miller and Burt Myers were brought to the NASCAR trailer for a discussion before the event, but apparently L.W.'s driving style wasn't toned down any as he physically took the lead from Junior Miller and sent the two time champ spinning in turn three.

Under this caution, Burt Myers would hit pit road again for another chassis adjustment to the right rear of his black #1 while Junior Miller would rejoin the field behind Jason Myers in seventh. At lap 130, the running order was L.W. Miller, Frank Fleming, Brian King, Tim Brown, Brian Pack, Jason Myers, Junior Miller, Dean Ward and Burt Myers as the last car on the lead lap.

The final restart of the night came on lap 132 with Junior Miller wasting no time and passing Jason Myers on the high side coming out of turn two on lap 134. Dean Ward would drop off the pace in Rusty Harpe's black #71 with a rear end problem as the leaders raced to lap 140. Jason Myers would follow Junior Miller past Brian Pack for sixth as Miller set off after Tim Brown. Four laps later and Junior had sent a message to the rear bumper of Tim Brown and snuck past the wiggling Hayes Jewelers #83 on lap 144 for fourth as the two raced down the backstretch.

Time was running out on the two time champion as L.W. seemed to effortlessly pull away from Frank Fleming, but the elder Miller (who is no relation) would get to the rear bumper of Brian King for third on lap 147.

But as the cars took the checkered flag, L.W. Miller would win his fifth straight Caraway Speedway victory over Frank Fleming, Junior Miller, Brian King and Tim Brown. Sixth through tenth were Jason Myers, Brian Pack, Burt Myers, Gene Pack and Earl Baker.

In victory lane, L.W. addressed the fans who shouted "Come to Bowman Gray!"

"It was exciting racing with Junior, you know? We had an exciting race the whole race long. Baker Motorsports puts together a great race car. I got by Junior once, then I overdrove it into the corner and he got back by me and then I got under him again coming down the backstretch and he just tried to squeeze me down in, and I was up in there deep enough I couldn't get out of it you know? And he wrecked himself and almost wrecked us. But, we're happy with that and tickled to death and we'll take another win here at Caraway Speedway and I just got to thank Danny Baker and Rupert Sink and Bimco Supply for all their support."

When asked about the strength of his car and race team and his excellent qualifying run, Miller responded with, "Yep. I'll tell ya what. This car, we went out in practice today and the car was great. We tweaked a few things and tried a few things and qualified, that's our best qualifying run even though we were second we were, that's the closest we've been to the pole all year long in qualifying and I knew we had a great race car. Just took our time, drove to the front and you know, raced hard getting there and just can't thank Danny Baker and Jimmy Baker enough for giving me such a great race car."

NASCAR WSMT PR Rep Jason Mitchell commented to him about his run to the championship and adding some more points to his lead and L.W. responded with, "Yeah, that's for sure. This is one strong race team, one strong race car and we're here to win."

Second Place Frank Fleming addressed the crowd from just outside victory lane and commented on his second place run. "We had a great car. We started on the outside pole and Junior got a good start. He hung me up on the outside. I didn't want to run my car real hard. Two or three of the boys, they kept nudging the same, you know bumper to bumper and they kept me hung on the outside probably for ten or twelve laps and I don't know, I believe it was fifth or sixth when I finally did get in line, you know? I didn't want to wear my tires out that early in the race and I didn't want to race that hard to stay up there so I just, you know I just let them go. I fell back to fifth or sixth. Our car run good, if I could have, it was running good enough to lead the race or ever where I fell in line at. I got on the outside of them there one time and that's when I opened the door and let L.W. by. I made that mistake there as a driver and that was the car that beat me. So that was one of the mistakes I made and I let him by and he just didn't just beat me on the track. He used a move that I made to; I reckon you'd call it a driver error. You know? I was looking to go forward and I thought I could go around him on the outside and I just stuck my nose up there and he filled the hole so, that's part of it."

When I asked Frank about his current string of top five runs (Bowman Gray excluded) he answered, "Oh yeah. If we keep running second, the wins are going to come. I run second a bunch of times before I won my first race and I remember that back 20 some years ago. It's just that I've had a dry spell here for some three or four years and I know its coming. It ain't far away and if we keep running like we run tonight, we're going to win."

Junior Miller thinks his championship hopes are over after the radiator cap failure at Ace. "We're thinking we've got to win some races. We've just got win some races. The championship's gone out the door last week. So, we're going to come back and see if we can win some races. That's about all we can do, now."

Fourth Place finisher Brian King and his team are looking forward to a full week to prepare for Southern National next week at Kenly. "Well, we were all after Martinsville and we'd been working so hard and we've got a limited crew right now and we've had new engines in both cars and we'd been working seven days a week for the past three weeks just to get ready for Martinsville because that's such a big deal and that day was so long. Then we go to Ace, and we're the fastest car all day and the car to beat and to get the toe knocked off on lap ten. You know we were so tired after Monday that we took Tuesday off and just kind of regrouped to come back here but you know, we put so much into Ace that we were really expecting to just go and blow everybody away and I think, had that not happened, you know Tim would probably have had a different outcome. But you know, that's racing and that's the way it goes and like I said, we were all so tired after Monday we were having trouble even standing up. So, we'll get rested up this week and we'll actually have seven days before we have to race again."

Finally, fifth place finisher Tim Brown explained that track position was the key, tonight. "The guys in front of me weren't a lot better than we were. They just had the track position and that seemed to be everything tonight. We just missed it a little bit and here with this deal now if you miss it just a little bit, you run fifth so we'll work on it and be better when we go to Kenly and I know we'll be better when we come back here in a couple weeks. I'm proud of my guys, they've worked real hard and our sponsors and everybody involved with this deal, it's a great deal and a top five, I'm proud of that."

When I asked him about Kenly and his dominating performance there last year and his thoughts on going back, he responded with, "Yeah, it's a pretty cool race track. Its real fast and they paved it so I'm excited about it. So, We'll go down there and so if we ain't got something for them."

Now normally, I'd end my post race reports with facts like the PowerAde "Power Move of the Race" award being won by Sunoco Rookie of the Year point leader Thomas Stinson, and the Featherlite "Most Improved Driver" award being won by Brian Pack for his eleven position finishing improvement from Ace on Monday.

But I wanted to ask a few drivers if L.W. Miller is slowly earning the reputation as the new "bad guy" on the Whelen Southern Modified Tour. After contact with both Burt Myers and Junior Miller in less than one week, L.W. is starting to look like he's going to bulldoze his way to the 2007 championship.

Burt Myers commented that, "Well the fact of it is, and the silly part of it is Leslie's car is good enough that he doesn't have to do that. It's just that he chooses to do it and when you choose to do it that speaks about your character and your driving ability. So, be a man, step up and pass a man without knocking him out of the way. Especially when you've got a car that's as fast as his is."

Veteran Southern Modified driver Frank Fleming voiced a different opinion. "I haven't had no trouble with L.W. I think me and him got together a couple years back but it was a racing accident. But as far as Monday night, I was a half a lap back and all I seen was smoke so I can't comment on that. Tonight, I was back about ten car lengths and I was running them down. The two leaders, they were racing each other and I was easing in on them and L.W. had been trying to get in up under him on the back straightaway two or three times and Junior was trying to hold him off and that's part of the game and both of their lines come together. I don't want to blame it on one person or the other. You know I wasn't....I don't know how far L.W. was up along side of him and I don't know how much Junior cut him off so I can't judge that and as far as L.W. and how he's getting along with other drivers, I heard them fussing Monday night but I hadn't heard anybody fuss tonight. I hadn't heard Junior and them so I don't know what the feelings are there but L.W., he's a hell of a race car driver."

Tim Brown had this to add. "I've not had any run-ins with him as of yet but you've seen that he's spun Burt and they said he spun Junior and I mean that, I just leave that between those guys and let them battle it out and deal with that and I'll race my own race and try not to have a biased opinion or you know, just keep out of it until he messes with me, you know what I mean? So, that's the only thing I know how to do. You don't want to get into a pissing match if nobody's run over you, you know what I'm saying? So, to each his own and I'll let those guys settle that."

Finally, Brian King answered my question as best he could. "Well, so far I haven't had any problems with him but I haven't been leading and he wanted the lead. So, I've seen how L.W. drives and I've seen how he races other people and I can only assume he'd race me the same way. I mean, me and him aren't best buddies or whatever, we're just racers. So, I guess you just "do unto them before they do unto you."

With three races left on the Whelen Southern Modified Tour, will L.W. Miller survive the adversity from the rest of the drivers he's upset this year? Or will the silver and black Baker Motorsports Pontiac find it increasingly difficult to pass drivers like Jason and Burt Myers and defending champion, Junior Miller?

The tour rolls into Kenly, North Carolina's Southern National Raceway Park Saturday at 10:00 AM for WSMT registration and the first practice for the WSMT scheduled to hit the track at 1:30 PM. Grandstand gates open at 4:00 PM and ticket prices are $20..00 with a three dollar discount with a US Military ID. Kids ages 8-17 are only $10.00 and kids 7 and younger are admitted free.

L.W. Miller leads the WSMT point standings heading into Southern National over Burt Myers by 72 points, with Tim Brown third and only 75 points behind Miller. Junior Miller is fourth at 106 behind, with Brian King fifth in points, 165 back.

ModSeriesScene.com will be on hand and hopefully will have Live Updates and a full post race report from Kenly.