Andy Seuss captures NASCAR Southern Mods title in Charlotte - MotorSportsTalk

A fifth-place finish last night on the infield quarter-mile at Charlotte Motor Speedway gave Andy Seuss the 2014 NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour championship.

Seuss, a two-time runner-up in the Southern Mods standings, has finally broken through on the strength of three wins and 12 Top-5s in 14 races this year.

“All I would talk about leading up to this race was ‘We need a solid race, we need a solid race’ – didn’t even talk about the points,” said Seuss, who needed a finish of 12th or better to clinch.

“The team gave me an amazing car capable of much better than a fifth-place finish, but in the end, we were trying to protect ourselves. I can’t thank them enough.

“To say it was a dream is the truth. I didn’t really think it was a goal or attainable, but I’ve got a bunch of crazy people pushing for me, behind me, that help me when I think it’s not possible. It’s pretty amazing.”

Four-time and reigning champion George Brunnhoelzl III was dethroned in the process despite finishing third behind race winner Burt Myers and J.R. Bertuccio.

Considering Brunnhoelzl’s dominance in the Southern Mods, Seuss said it was critical to have a good start to 2014. He did just that by winning the season opener, seizing the championship lead in the third race, and going from there.

“We had a great end of last year and in the off-season, we gained even more and we knew we had to come out winning,” Seuss said. “We did. We had a perfect day at Caraway (N.C.) in the season opener and led every lap. Another great day at South Boston (Va.) early on, and that just kind of set the tone.

“The second half of the season was actually not what we’re used to as far as wins – we usually come on a little stronger. Maybe it was the points situation. But we knew we had to come out of the gates swinging and this team was up for the task and did a great job.”

Seuss will be honored for his accomplishment with the rest of NASCAR’s touring division champions at a Dec. 12 ceremony in Charlotte.

As for the outcome of Thursday’s race, Myers held off Brunnhoelzl in a green-white-checkered finish to earn the win in the Southern Slam 150.

The two had battled for the lead shortly after Lap 80 before Myers took and held control until the G-W-C. Bertuccio peeled second off Brunnhoelzl on the final lap.

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The NTT IndyCar Series will return to the Motor City for the Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix but with start times in a new location for 2023.

After a 30-year run on Belle Isle, the Detroit GP has moved a few miles south to the streets of downtown on a new nine-turn, 1.645-mile circuit that runs along the Detroit River.

It’s the first time single-seater open-cockpit cars have raced on the streets of Detroit since a CART event on a 2.5-mile downtown layout from 1989-91. Formula One also raced in Detroit from 1982-88.

The reimagined Detroit Grand Prix also will play host to nightly concerts and bring in venders from across the region. Roger Penske predicts the new downtown locale will be bigger for Detroit than when the city played host to the 2006 Super Bowl.

Here are the details and IndyCar start times for the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach race weekend (all times are ET):

CHEVROLET DETROIT GRAND PRIX INDYCAR START TIMES

TV: Sunday, 3 p.m. ET on NBC and streaming on Peacock, the NBC Sports App and NBCSports.com. Leigh Diffey is the announcer with analysts Townsend Bell and James Hinchcliffe. Dave Burns, Marty Snider and Kevin Lee are the pit reporters. Click here for the full NBC Sports schedule for IndyCar in 2023.

Peacock also will be the streaming broadcast for both practices and qualifying.

POSTRACE SHOW ON PEACOCK: After the race’s conclusion, an exclusive postrace show will air on Peacock with driver interviews, postrace analysis and the podium presentation. To watch the extended postrace show, click over to the special stream on Peacock after Sunday’s race ends.

COMMAND TO START ENGINES: 3:23 p.m. ET

GREEN FLAG: 3:30 p.m. ET

PRACTICE: Friday, 3 p.m. (Peacock Premium); Saturday, 9:05 a.m. (Peacock Premium); Sunday, 10 a.m. (Peacock Premium)

PRACTICE RESULTS: Session I l Session II l Warmup l Combined

QUALIFYING: Saturday, 1:20 p.m. (Peacock Premium)

STARTING LINEUP: Alex Palou captured the first street course pole of his IndyCar career; click here for where everyone will begin Sunday’s race

RACE DISTANCE: The race is 100 laps (170 miles) on a nine-turn, 1.645-mile temporary street course in downtown Detroit.

TIRE ALLOTMENT: Seven sets primary, four sets alternate. Rookie drivers are allowed one extra primary set for the first practice.

PUSH TO PASS: 150 seconds of total time with a maximum time of 15 seconds per activation (Indy NXT: 150 seconds total, 15 seconds per). The push-to-pass is not available on the initial start or any restart unless it occurs in the final two laps or three minutes of a timed race. The feature increases the power of the engine by approximately 60 horsepower.

FORECAST: According to Wunderground.com, it’s expected to be 80 degrees with a 0% chance of rain.

ENTRY LIST: Click here to view the 27 drivers racing Sunday at Detroit

INDY NXT RACES: Saturday, 12:05 p.m. 45 laps/55 minutes (Peacock Premium); Sunday, 12:50 p.m. 45 laps/55 minutes (Peacock Premium)

INDY NXT ENTRY LIST: Click here to view the 19 drivers racing at Detroit