Burt Myers hopes to add to his family legacy with a Whelen Modified Tour victory at North Wilkesboro Speedway

The Myers family has long been associated with Modified racing in the Southeast, specifically at historic Bowman Gray Stadium in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.

Members of the Myers family have been racing at Bowman Gray since the early 1950s, when brothers Billy and Bobby Myers claimed four track championships in five seasons from 1951-55.

After the untimely passing of the two brothers during the late 1950s, the racing tradition was carried on by Billy‘s son Gary Myers and later by Gary‘s two sons, Burt and Jason Myers. Burt is a 10-time track champion at Bowman Gray, giving the family 14 track championships in total at the legendary quarter-mile oval.

However, what one might not know is the Myers family also has a long history at another North Carolina race track: North Wilkesboro Speedway.

“I grew up going there,” said Burt, a two-time champion of the now-defunct NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour. “My dad grew up with Richard Childress and with Chocolate [Danny Myers, Burt‘s second cousin] being involved with Childress. David Smith, the old jackman [for Dale Earnhardt] was my dad‘s friend growing up.

“We would go to the races and stand in the pits and stand in Earnhardt‘s pit and watch races there. Then being able to be fortunate enough to go with my dad when he raced there and then the times I‘ve gotten to race there. There is just so much history that goes with that place.”

RELATED: Entry list for Saturday’s Mods race at North Wilkesboro

Burt is among the 39 drivers entered to compete in Saturday‘s Brushy Mountain Powersports 150 at North Wilkesboro Speedway (8 p.m. ET on FloRacing). The event marks the first for the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour at the storied venue, which is rich in Myers family history.

Nearly every member of the Myers family that has raced in the last 70 years has won at North Wilkesboro.

They include a NASCAR Convertible Division victory by Billy, which came on March 16, 1958, against a field of drivers that included stars of the era like Bob Welborn, Tiny Lund, Glen Wood and Gwyn Staley.

Bobby, Gary and Jason Myers also earned wins at the 0.625-mile oval through the years.

But the one member of the family who hasn‘t won at North Wilkesboro is Burt.

“My dad gives me a hard time about it,” Burt said. “My grandpa, my great uncle Bobby, my dad, and my brother have all won at North Wilkesboro, and I have not. So they give me a hard time about it. I‘m hoping to get some redemption this weekend.”

There are several things working in Burt‘s favor this weekend, but perhaps none are bigger than the fact that he will have more experience at North Wilkesboro than likely anyone else in the field.

He made his first start at the track in 1995, one year before the venue closed following the departure of the NASCAR Cup Series. He was just 19 at the time and had just started racing Modifieds.

In all, Burt has competed in seven Modified events at North Wilkesboro spread across more than two decades. That includes the Racetrack Revival held last season that helped bring North Wilkesboro back to life. He scored back-to-back fifth-place finishes.

“We kind of feel like we have an idea of what it‘s going to take to be fast at North Wilkesboro,” he said.

LIVE STREAM: Watch the Modified Tour at North Wilkesboro live on FloRacing

Burt knew as soon as the race date was announced last year that he wanted to be part of the Brushy Mountain Powersports 150, but it wasn‘t until one of his sponsors approached him about running the event that things came together.

“Basically every Modified race that has ever been held in the South, the Myers family tries to be there. The main question that I was asked was, ‘Are you running North Wilkesboro?‘ Myers said. “We kind of put that on our calendar at the beginning of the year whenever the Tour made that announcement.

“To be honest the key ingredient was Tommy Lancaster at Citrusafe. He said, ‘I really would love to have you run North Wilkesboro. We want to be a part of North Wilkesboro with you.‘ That‘s kind of when the ball started rolling.”

Burt‘s goal for Saturday night is fairly straightforward. He‘s not a full-time competitor with the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour, so he‘s not racing for points.

All he cares about is winning the race and adding his name to his family‘s legacy at the track. He also simply wants to be able to call himself a North Wilkesboro Speedway Modified winner.

“Absolutely I want to win. Absolutely I want to be able to say that every Myers that has raced has won at North Wilkesboro,” Burt said. “I don‘t think about the past and what‘s happened; I think about what we can do moving forward to be better. Therefore, I just want to win this race. I‘m not thinking about why I want to win this race. I‘m just thinking about that I know I want to win this race.

“[North Wilkesboro] is where it started. It‘s where Modifieds belong.”