MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. – A canceled flight for the team, forced drive through the night, and even a dying battery couldn’t keep Jimmy Blewett from a podium finish in Saturday’s NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour Performance Plus 150 at Myrtle Beach Speedway.
After qualifying mid-pack, Blewett had a mirrored strategy to race winner Doug Coby, taking his fresher tires late in the race. He followed Coby up through the field, making several bold, three-wide moves against the inside wall in turn one.
However, a dying battery stripped the Howell, N.J., native of a shot at victory lane, and Blewett faded from second to third in the final five laps.
Blewett was still pleased with the final result, given everything the team went through.
“Last night, the crew didn’t miss their flight, but it got cancelled. They drove all the way through the night to get here to work on this car and get it out here,” Blewett told SPEED SPORT. “They were as fresh as can be all day long. None of them slept, they went right through the night to get here for the race today. I just want to thank them for all of their hard work and dedication.”
The opportunity for Blewett to take tires came after contact on lap 99 spun Blake Barney in turns three and four. Both cars were undamaged.
With three fresh tires, Blewett surged forward in the No. 21 Gershow Recycling/Blewett Recycling machine. He had taken one fresh tire, which was slightly larger than the others, earlier in the race.
From there to the end, Blewett had the second-fastest car, beaten only by Coby down the stretch.
It was a sign of the dedication and perseverance of Blewett’s team, after a 10-hour drive to the South Carolina track left the team with no sleep ahead of race day.
However, the team never missed a beat en route to their third-place run, and Blewett credited their dedication for the top-five finish.
“We started off strong,” Blewett explained. “Around lap 50 I started to get a little loose. We came in and took the one tire. The tire we had to put on was just a little bit bigger than the rest of our pit tires. That was the only thing we could do, taking that when we did. You can’t shrink it at that point; it’s set at what it is. We put it on and lost a lot of track position and were on the verge of going a lap down. I got really loose down there and got into the 14 (Barney).
“Luckily, it was a caution of all of us,” Blewett continued. “We were able to come in pit, put some tires on and make a small adjustment. Went back out there, gained a little bit of track position, caution came back out, came back in, made another adjustment, put the right front tire on.
“We had a bad fast hot rod. We were fortunate with the battery going bad there at the end.”
Saturday’s performance earned Blewett his 30th-career NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour top-five finish. It was also his first top-five since the season opener one year ago.
“I think I had a solid shot at him (Coby),” Blewett admitted. “I was gaining on him in the center, my car was stable. I couldn’t close that, he would start to open up from right before the flagstand, going into the turn. I felt we were equal through the turns; both of our cars were on the tight side. But no excuses, and my hat’s off to Doug and his guys. It shows why he’s a champion, because he’s sitting there in victory lane.
“Don’t count us out the rest of this season. We’re going to be sitting in victory lane shortly I feel.”
For Blewett, this was the first NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour race with the Joseph Bertuccio-owned No. 21 operation. The last time the 38-year-old competed full-time on the Tour was 2016, which was also the last time he visited victory lane with the series.
While he doesn’t have set plans right now, Blewett is accepting of either a full season or a partial Tour schedule.
“I’m hoping to (run full-time),” Blewett explained. “It’s a question of questions right now. Everyone wants to know what we’re doing. But if you see us at the track, you see us at the track. Right now, we’re taking it one race at a time.
“If we did well in the first few races, then we’ll continue the rest of the season. That was Joe’s decision, and my own,” he added. “If it didn’t work, it didn’t work, because we’re friends. We’re not going to lose a friendship over it.”
While Myrtle Beach was the first NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour race for Blewett in Bertuccio’s equipment, the duo worked together earlier this year. At the World Series of Asphalt Stock Car Racing, the duo earned three top-five and four top-10 races in five starts.
“So far, Speedweeks … we had two third-place runs and a second-place finish there,” Blewett noted. “To run third-place here today, against the best of the best of the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour, I’m pumped.
“I can’t wait to get to the next race.”