SMT: Andy Seuss race notes

Andy Seuss Isn't Too "Tired" to Win Down South
New Hampshire Driver Takes Down WSMT Victory at Myrtle Beach

HAMPSTEAD, NH (September 8, 2009) -- It's been a busy few weeks for Andy Seuss. The New Hampshire driver has spent the last two weeks racing at Thompson International Speedway in Connecticut on Thursday nights and then at tracks in the Carolinas on Saturday nights -- all while balancing a full-time job at the family business, Rockingham Boat, and turning wrenches on the #70 Modified that he drives up North.

Yet while Seuss might be feeling a little bit rundown at this point, that is nothing compared to how worn out his tires were feeling during the running of Saturday night's NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour race at Myrtle Beach Speedway (SC). The track's abrasive surface was wearing out fresh rubber in just a matter of laps, so Seuss put his tire management skills to work and came away from the event as its victor with his #47 Advance Auto Parts Modified fielded by Riggs Racing.

"Racing at Myrtle Beach was like walking down a gravel road," said Seuss. "It was a challenging, but fun, race to run. That's because I have never seen tire wear so bad at a track. I always thought that my home track of Lee USA Speedway (NH) was bad on tires, but it isn't even close to Myrtle Beach.

"I ran the first 100 laps as slow as I could while still staying on the lead lap. I ran most of that time about three-quarters of a lap down. Then my team gave me a great pit stop when we went into the pits in the ninth position and came out third. That was huge. Later I got by George Brunnhoelzl III on a restart and kept the lead to the finish."

But even when Seuss was in the lead, he tried to not push his car, or its tires, too hard.

"I knew that even with 10 laps to go, I couldn't use everything I had," said Seuss. "I just didn't want to wear the tires out. It wasn't until five laps to go when I pushed the car to its limit. We knew from practice that the tires didn't just fall off, but they turned to junk -- and I didn't want that to happen."

The victory was Seuss' second of the past two weeks. The other one came in a True Value Modified Racing Series event last week at Thompson and it was in the #70 Modified fielded by Seuss' family and Kevin Stuart.

"This win down South was badly needed," said Seuss. "We've had some tough luck and things happened that have been beyond our control, so it feels very good to give the Advance Auto Parts team a victory. It's been a really cool few weeks, since we also won up North. We haven't had as much consistency up there this year, and that is a car that I work on everyday. My thoughts and ideas go into that, so it is special to win. But it's also special to win down South after seeing how hard the #47 team works. My job there is to win, since I'm with a true championship caliber team."

Seuss also finished 15th in last Thursday's NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour event at Thompson with the #70 Modified.

Seuss now sits second in the NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified point standings with four races remaining in the 2009 season. His next race will take place on Saturday night, September 12th, at Caraway Speedway (NC).

-credit: andyseuss.net