Myers stripped of Whelen victory at Martinsville

Published: September 23, 2008

Burt Myers was stripped of his victory in the Made in America Whelen 300, which took place at Martinsville Speedway on Saturday, because of an illegal part found on his team’s No. 1 Modified car during a post-race inspection, according to Martinsville Speedway director of public relations Mike Smith.

Myers’ car was found to possess an illegal third gear, Smith said Tuesday.

The infraction was found after the car was stripped down following the race at 9:30 p.m., and Robin Pemberton, vice president of competition for NASCAR, handed down the penalty.

Ryan Preece, who led 265 laps of the 300-lap race and finished second to Myers, is awarded the victory.

The penalty wipes out Myers’ second win of the season after he won on Sept. 13 at Southern National Raceway Park in Lucama, N.C. With the win being taken away from the Walnut-Cove, N.C., native, it also means that Southern Modified drivers remain winless at Martinsville since the southern and northern drivers began competing together in 2005.

Myers had become the first southern driver to win a NASCAR-sanctioned Modified race since 1985. Myers had climbed into second place following the race in the NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified points standings, 40 points behind leader Brian Loftin, but the impact of the disqualification on his position in the points standings were not available.

The Made in America Whelen 300 was the 500th race in Whelen Modified history. Martinsville Speedway hosted a Whelen Modified race as its first race.