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Brandon Ward and the Kevin Powell Speed Motorsports team proved once again they are one
of the powerhouse teams to beat on the SMART Modified Tour powered by Pace-O-Matic. This
past weekend, Ward and the team brought a very competitive car to Franklin County
Speedway in Callaway, Virginia for the Kenny Minter classic. This race being a sentimental race
on the schedule as Kenny’s son, Kenny Minter, Jr. is an integral part of the KPSM team.
Ward practiced in the top five all day with a very fast #04, Polaris Off Road,
kevinsaysyyes.com, Q104.1 car. Ward qualified second quick and through the luck of the re-
draw, pulled the outside pole for the start of the 110 lap race. “We qualified second, just
missed the pole but the car’s been fast all weekend,” said Ward, which is a testament to Will
Spaugh and this entire KP Motorsports team. The car has had good speed and we’re really
excited to be back at Franklin County. We love this racetrack and see what we’ve got here in a
little bit.”
At the drop of the green, Ward showed no hesitation about how strong his number 04 Polaris
Off-Road modified would be, taking the lead from Carter McMurray on the opening lap and
putting a gap between himself and the rest of the field. A caution on lap 57 brought Ward and
the rest of the field down pit road for tires and adjustments. With another great restart on the
outside Ward was able to assume the lead again with 53 laps to go.
Ward navigated through a few more cautions to keep the lead but tire stagger started to
unbalance the car, making it loose. Jake Crum moved into second and began to give chase.
Ward would lead 74 laps but Crum made a move on the bottom with a thrilling, two lap side-
by-side battle for the top spot with Ward sliding into second. The Kevin Powell Speed
Motorsports team finished the evening with a solid points night and a runner-up finish on the
podium.
“We really wanted to win the Kenny Minter Memorial Race for our longtime teammate and
friend, Kenny Minter Jr. Our entire team thinks the world of Kenny, and we really wanted to pull
this one off for him but thanks to Kevin Powell, Will Spaugh and KP Speed Motorsports for
once again providing the speed they bring to the racetrack,” said an excited Ward. “This
weekend we just came up a little bit short but congratulations to Jake Crum and that team,
they had a really good car tonight. The tire started to get away from us a little bit there, and we
just lost the balance that we had early on but thanks to Polaris Off-Road, Kevinsaysyes.com,
Foothill Ford, Simpson, Stilo, Molecule, Don and Dee Stone, Bilstein Shocks, Hank Thomas,
BST, Racing Electronics, and everybody that works so hard. Thank them for all they’ve done
trying to get back into victory lane.”
The next race for the SMART Modified Tour powered by Pace-O-Matic will be the
Revolutionary 99 at Caraway Speedway on Saturday, July the 4th. For more information about
the SMART Modified Tour look them up on the web at www.smartmodifiedtour.com.
About Kevin Powell Speed Motorsports
Kevin Powell Speed Motorsports, a division of Kevin Powell Enterprises, fields race teams
across multiple premier series, including the SMART Modified Tour, NASCAR Whelen Modified
Tour, and zMAX CARS Tour, along with weekly competition at Bowman Gray Stadium (NC) and
South Boston Speedway.
