George Brunnhoelzl III NASCAR Champ for Second Time
GBIII Captures Fifth Win & NWSMT Title
When George Brunnhoelzl III won his first NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour championship in 2009, he did it on a strong foundation of five wins on the season. It Was deja-vu Saturday night as Brunnhoelzl captured his fifth victory of the season in the 150-lap race at Caraway Speedway and the 2011 NWSMT title.
Brunnhoelzl battled the best in Modified racing all season long and was followed by his Ideal Racing teammate Andy Seuss in the standings. The duo’s 1-2 finish in the final points standings speaks volumes for the team and teamwork that propelled Brunnhoelzl to his second Southern Tour title.
“We had such a strong car, such a strong crew, owner, crew chief, and everybody behind me,” said Brunnhoelzl. “This definitely isn’t a one-man sport. I know drivers get a lot of recognition, but it’s more about the guys behind the scenes. You’ve got all the crew guys keeping the cars together – you can’t
finish first if you don’t finish. These guys do a great job. Dad puts the setup I like under the car and without Howard and Betsy we wouldn’t be here, period. And you’ve got to have a great spotter to keep you calm when you’re out there. So it’s a total team effort and it took all of them and a great family behind me to get this done.”
After clinching the 2009 title at the Asheboro, North Carolina venue, Brunnhoelzl was sure to have a certain amount of confidence going into another season finale at the .455 mile facility.
“We have had a lot of success here and it’s a great track with great fans," said Brunnhoelzl, who won his first title with his family-owned team. "We’ve also had a really phenomenal year. We’ve had different cars and different packages and still run up front everywhere we went. It’s a real accomplishment and shows you what all of Ideal Racing can do with two teams.”
Brunnhoelzl will accept his championship honors alongside NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour, K&N Pro Series East and West, Canadian Tire Series and Mexico Series at the NASCAR Touring Series Night of Champions Awards Gala at the NASCAR Hall of Fame’s Crown Ballroom on Saturday night, December 10th in Charlotte, NC.
Next up for Brunnhoelzl will be another trip back to Caraway Speedway for the non-NASCAR sanctioned North-South Shootout on Saturday, November 5th.
