Danny Bohn is looking ahead to this weekend’s SMART Modified Tour doubleheader with confidence after winning in the series’ most recent race at Caraway Speedway in July. That victory, however, is not the only reason he is optimistic about Friday and Saturday night’s races on North Carolina’s Crystal Coast.
Bohn finished in the runner-up position at Coastal Plains Raceway and then went on to score the victory at Carteret County Speedway just hours later after weather forced both races to be held on the same day. While both tracks are very different in characteristics, Bohn’s success has given him plenty of reasons to be confident.
“I’m actually really looking forward to it,” Bohn told Short Track Scene. “I feel like both those tracks are really good tracks for me. The year before I won at Carteret, we led a lot of laps and almost won. Even at Coastal Plains, I led a majority of that race last year and lost it with a handful of laps to go. We had two really good runs with the 25 car so far this year. We finished fourth at Franklin County and then had a dominant car at Caraway, so really looking forward to this weekend.”
The weekend doubleheader, dubbed the Beach Trip due to both tracks’ close proximity to the beaches of Carteret and Onslow County, kicks off the run to the championship for the SMART Modified Tour. It has become a popular weekend with the competitors because of the relaxed climate along the coast.
“I like going down to the beach,” Bohn said. “It’s kind of like a mini vacation. You’re far enough away from home that, all you really worry about is the task at hand and it’s racing. It’s nice to get away. It’s a nice atmosphere, nice area, and it’s really cool to be able to race two races in two days.”
After coming up just shy of a sweep a year ago, Bohn’s goal is to win at both tracks this weekend, which is a challenge in itself with the two unique surfaces.
Coastal Plains is a banked, 4/10-mile D-shaped oval with a smooth but gritty surface which maximizes tire degredation. In contrast, Carteret County is a flat, 4/10-mile track with a bumpy surface. Both tracks place an emphasis on handling and are described by competitors as “drivers’ tracks.”
“Carteret has a lot of the Bowman Gray tendencies, like being a flatter race track, not a ton of grip, gotta hit your mark which is also important at Bowman Gray,” Bohn explained. “Then Coastal Plains, I seemed to grasp it pretty quickly. We were fast in practice which ultimately ended up getting us the pole award after qualifying got rained out. Throughout my career, I’ve been able to race at a lot of different racetracks, on both pavement and dirt, and running back in the Truck Series, you had no time to figure these tracks out so I’ve been pretty decent at being able to figure out new places pretty quick.”
Bohn’s victory at Carteret County was his first career SMART Modified tour win. His win in July at Caraway was his second. He hopes Coastal Plains will be his third.
“Now that I’ve had a race under my belt, and a lot of those guys do now, I feel like there will be some more competition come Friday. You know, it was a track that we were really fast at and fit my driving style. I’m hoping we can come back with two Smarties after this weekend.”
For many drivers, this weekend marks a transition away from the chaos of the Madhouse back to the grind of tour racing. For Bohn, however, the goal has remained the same since he opted not to race for points this season and instead just for wins – which has also yielded a victory at Bowman Gray.
“Basically, I’m racing for wins and we were able to win Caraway and race at Bowman Gray this year,” Bohn remarked. “That’s the goal going forward is, I don’t have any points to worry about, just go out there and try to win. It kind of takes a little bit but it was way less stressful. I don’t have to worry about stages or any of the other crap aside from being the first car across the line on the last lap.”
Along with racing for wins instead of chasing points, Bohn has also been able to focus more on driving.
“We’ve had a really good car and it’s been really fun driving for Andretti and Terry Hall,” Bohn stated. “In the past, I work on them, we set them up, my dad and myself and my crew. This deal here with them is a little bit different. They’ve had the same team for the last 10-15 years and everybody on the team has a job and does their job well. Honestly, I am not really a part of getting the car to the racetrack end of stuff, which allows me to focus more on just driving, which, you know, that’s a task itself. But, from years past, I would do my own tires, my own shocked, and I’d be part of a lot of setup stuff.
“Now, I strictly show up and drive, feel the car out, tell them where I think the car needs to be better, and they’re a very knowledgeable group. They have a really good group of guys and it showed at Caraway.”
Friday’s Cardinal 99 at Caraway Speedway will go green at 7:15pm, and the Carteret Clash on Saturday night will go green at 6:00pm with Legends and the Carolina Crate Modified Series preceding the SMART Modified Tour feature. Both races will be televised on FloRacing.
