MIDLAND, NC
- The partnership between PSR Racing and driver Brandon Ward, which formed back in May, instantly paid dividends. With PSR’s Phil Stefanelli as the crew chief, Ward went out and won two of their first five races together at Bowman Gray Stadium. Then, Ward got behind the wheel of the PSR house car and won in his first weekly Modified event at Ace Speedway.
The early, and frequent, success of Ward behind the wheel of a PSR-prepared car has made for an easy decision of who would take over the reins of the PSR No. 17 Modified for the remainder of the 2019 Southern Modified Racing Series season.
Ward, of Winston-Salem, North Carolina, will pilot the PSR Racing Modified for the remaining SMRS events, beginning with this Saturday’s 75-lap event at Caraway Speedway.
“I’m looking forward to being back on the SMRS this weekend and running Phil’s car,” said Ward, a two-time SMRS winner at Caraway. “So far this year our record has been pretty good. Phil and I seem to work well together on everything, whether it’s with our Bowman Gray car that Phil has come on to crew chief or at Ace where we won our first race together in the 17 car. I really feel like going into Caraway we’ll carry in a lot of momentum from the good runs we’ve already had.”
Even though Saturday’s Rusty Harpe Memorial Night at the Races 75-lap feature will be Ward’s first run in the PSR team’s designated primary car for touring series events, the familiarity the driver has with victory lane at Caraway already puts momentum on his side.
“I really expect to have a chance to win. I know Phil’s got a really good race car. We’ve won on the Tour before and Phil’s car has won on the Tour before, so I really feel like everybody involved is ready to win.
“I enjoy new challenges and going to new tracks, but any time you go to a race track where you’ve had success in the past, you definitely carry a certain amount of confidence. With all the hard work that Phil and his guys have done, we’ll have a good enough race car to compete for the win.”
In addition to the PSR No. 17 Modified, Ward will also be behind the wheel of the New Day Motorsports Super Late Model in the PRA Tour event at Caraway on July 6.
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