Burt Myers steals season-opening Hayes Jewelers 200 at Bowman Gray Stadium

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. — For most of Saturday‘s season-opening Hayes Jewelers 200 at Bowman Gray Stadium, it appeared Tim Brown would finally end a prolonged winless drought.

The defending track champion earned his 12^th title without visiting Victory Lane once during the 2022 season, yet the veteran resembled his efficient form by leading every lap from the pole up until the closing stages.

Contact with Danny Bohn ended a perfect evening for Brown on an abrupt and sour note, while also allowing 10-time Bowman Gray Stadium champion Burt Myers to collect his 89^th career victory at the track in front of the always-exuberant crowd.

Myers was a spectator to the on-track feud between Brown and Bohn. Once the two knocked each other out of the groove in Turn 3, nothing impeded Myers from driving away with the win.

“This might be one of the sweetest ones I‘ve gotten,” Myers said. “I‘ve lost races that way, so to finally win one that way feels really good. We had the best car tonight, but Tim was in the catbird‘s seat to win the race. I saw it coming, and I was hoping we‘d come out on the best end of it and we did.”

A long-time fan favorite at Bowman Gray, Myers admitted his triumph in the Hayes Jewelers 200 was cathartic in many aspects.

Despite finding Victory Lane four times in 2022, Myers struggled to build consistency and had to settle for a disappointing fifth-place finish in the Modified point standings. Not satisfied with his overall performance, Myers worked diligently over the offseason to ensure he could better capitalize on his wins moving forward.

The prestigious Hayes Jewelers 200 was exactly what Myers needed to showcase the speed of his cars. Myers has always favored the longer, more grueling features at Bowman Gray, and he knew he was in a great position to open 2023 on a convincing note.

Myers constantly stayed in Brown‘s rearview mirror during the Hayes Jewelers 200 and was unsure if the right opportunity would come about to take the victory for himself.

Brown attempting to retaliate on Bohn for contact on a restart gave Myers the opening for which he was looking.

“Danny moved [Tim] out wide and drove under him,” Myers said. “When we got back [to Turn 3], Tim moved him out of the way and when he did, he got in hot enough and I was able to drive by both of them.”

Following the contact, Bohn recovered to come home with a second-place finish behind Myers while Brown ended up getting stuck on the high lane during the final sprint, forcing him to settle for 10^th.

Bohn said there was no other way for him to take advatange of Brown‘s sluggish short run speed and was left frustrated over Brown‘s decision to respond against a move he has seen unfold numerous times in his career at Bowman Gray.

“[Tim] was tight during those first three or four laps on the restart,” Bohn said. “With no outside [line], the only way you can get by [someone] is to shoot the hole or put the bumper to him. I didn‘t wreck him, I moved him up a groove and then he drove me down in the grass and then tried to wreck me in Turn 3.”

While Bohn reflected over the final laps of the Hayes Jewelers 200, Myers was ecstatic about earning another accomplishment at the track that defined his career.

Earning an 11^th championship is the furthest thing from Myers‘ mind now. Two 25-lap features are up next for the Modifieds on Apr. 29, but Myers is confident he can excel in those sprints while also carrying over the momentum from the Hayes Jewelers into the rest of Bowman Gray‘s big events.

“We hang our hat on [these big races],” Myers said. “It makes us proud as a team to know that we are not out there just running a 25-lap sprint. We‘ve won the big one and this is our Daytona 500. [It was great to] win this tonight in the exciting fashion we did. I think you could see I had them on their feet.”

Brandon Ward ended up placing third at the end of a wild 200-lap feature. Rounding out the Top 5 were Chris Fleming and James Civali.

OTHER NOTES:

• In the 40-lap Sportsman feature, polesitter Chase Robertson had to come from the 10^th starting position following a full field redraw. It did not take long for Robertson to make his way up through the field before passing Zack Ore to open the 2023 season with a victory at Bowman Gray. He then quickly departed the track to attend his high school prom.

• There were two races for the Stadium Stock division. Isaac Harris took home the checkered flag in the first feature while Blaine Curry claimed the second event.

• A chaotic Street Stock feature wrapped up an eventful season opener at Bowman Gray Stadium. Brad Lewis took home the checkered flag.