Burt Myers

William Burton Myers Bio

William Burton Myers is an American professional stock car racing driver who competes full-time on the SMART Modified Tour. Born December 30, 1975, in Walnut Cove, North Carolina, he has built a career defined by short-track dominance, track championships, and an enduring presence at Bowman Gray Stadium. Myers has previously competed in the NASCAR Cup Series, the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, and the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour, bringing versatility across multiple disciplines of stock car racing.

Myers has nineteen career wins and captured the 2010 and 2016 NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour Championship. He holds the record for the most pole awards in the Tour’s history, underscoring his raw speed and qualifying consistency. He is also a ten-time track champion at Bowman Gray Stadium, the most storied short-track venue in modified racing, and has won championships across multiple series throughout his career.

Early Life and Background

William Burton Myers was born on December 30, 1975, in Walnut Cove, North Carolina, placing him at the center of one of the most prominent racing families in the southeastern United States. His family’s involvement in modified racing runs unusually deep: his great uncle Bobby Myers set a record as the youngest driver to win a Bowman Gray Stadium title at age 25 in 1952, capturing sixteen races and one championship that year. Bobby Myers was killed in a crash at Darlington Raceway in 1957 while driving for Lee Petty, underscoring the risks that have long been part of the Myers family’s racing story.

Burt’s grandfather Billy Myers ranks twentieth on Bowman Gray Stadium’s Modified All-Time Wins List with twenty-two victories and three championships in 1951, 1953, and 1955. Billy died at Bowman Gray Stadium, cementing the venue as the literal and figurative home of the Myers legacy. Burt’s father Gary Myers represents the second generation of the family to compete at Bowman Gray, where he ranks seventh on the stadium’s all-time victory list with thirty-eight wins and won the 1996 championship on the NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour.

Growing up surrounded by Bowman Gray’s weekly racing, Myers was immersed in modified competition from an early age. The stadium’s intense, physically demanding style of racing forged his aggressive yet calculated approach behind the wheel. He broke his great uncle Bobby’s record in 1999 by becoming the youngest Bowman Gray Stadium track champion in history at the age of twenty-three, signaling the arrival of a new generation of Myers excellence at the track.

Path to NASCAR

Myers’ early success at Bowman Gray and across the Modified touring ranks naturally led to opportunities on the NASCAR national stage. His skill in the modified divisions earned him recognition beyond regional circuits, and he began making starts in NASCAR’s national series while continuing to dominate at the regional and touring modified level. His debut in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series came in 2009 at Martinsville Speedway, driving the No. 07 JRC Investments / Wyatt Winstead Foundation Chevrolet owned by Ken Smith. He started seventeenth and finished nineteenth, one lap down, gaining valuable experience in NASCAR’s truck series.

Throughout his career, Myers has also competed in the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour and made appearances in the NASCAR Cup Series. He was featured in MadHouse, a History Channel documentary series that followed drivers throughout a racing season at Bowman Gray Stadium, as well as the Discovery Channel series Race Night at Bowman Gray. His racing persona and on-track success at the legendary Winston-Salem venue made him a natural focal point for television coverage of the weekly modified racing program.

William Burton Myers Career

Early Career (1999–2008)

Myers broke through with his first Bowman Gray Stadium track championship in 1999 at the age of twenty-three, surpassing the record set by his great uncle Bobby Myers decades earlier. He went on to claim additional Bowman Gray championships in 2001, 2007, 2010, and 2011, establishing himself as one of the most consistent and successful drivers in the stadium’s long history. Beyond Bowman Gray, Myers found success on the SMART Modified Tour, capturing championships in 2002, 2021, and 2023, as well as the ASA Modified Tour championship in 2006 and the Friendship Motor Speedway Modified championship in 2004.

His regional résumé expanded significantly with the Koma Unwind Modified Madness Series championships in 2014 and 2015, the Southern Modified Racing Series championship in 2016, and the NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour championships in 2010 and 2016. These accomplishments across multiple sanctioning bodies demonstrated his adaptability and competitiveness on different tracks and under varying rule packages. He established himself as a versatile modified driver capable of winning anywhere modifieds raced in the Southeast.

NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour Breakthrough (2009–2016)

Myers made his NASCAR Camping World Truck Series debut in 2009 at Martinsville Speedway, driving the No. 07 Chevrolet for Ken Smith. He started seventeenth and finished nineteenth, one lap down in the Kroger 200, marking his first start in a NASCAR national series event. In the same season, he ran into disciplinary trouble and was placed on probation by NASCAR for the 2009 racing season at Bowman Gray Stadium, along with fellow competitor Junior Miller, as a result of on-track incidents in the 2008 season-finale. The probationary status reflected the fierce competitive atmosphere at Bowman Gray and the fine line between hard racing and over-aggressive conduct that the venue is known for.

The 2010 season proved to be a landmark year, as Myers captured the NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour championship. He backed up that success with a second Southern Modified Tour title in 2016, solidifying his status as one of the premier drivers in NASCAR’s modified ranks. During this period, he also won more pole awards than any other driver in the NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour’s history, a testament to his qualifying speed and race preparation. His success across multiple modified series made him one of the most decorated short-track drivers in the country during the 2010s.

SMART Modified Tour Era (2021–Present)

Myers continued to compete at a high level on the SMART Modified Tour, capturing the championship in 2021 and again in 2023. His SMART Modified Tour title in 2023 added to an already extraordinary résumé and demonstrated that his competitive edge remained sharp well into his late forties. He holds ten Bowman Gray Stadium track championships, with victories spanning from 1999 through 2024, making him the winningest active driver in the stadium’s modern era. He has also accumulated nineteen career wins across various series and tours throughout his career.

Driving Style and Strengths

Myers is known for his aggressive yet controlled driving style, particularly suited to the tight-quarters, physical racing common at Bowman Gray Stadium and similar bullring-type tracks. His record number of pole awards in the NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour reflects exceptional qualifying speed and a methodical approach to track preparation. His long-running success at Bowman Gray and across multiple modified series suggests strong race craft, an instinct for conserving equipment under pressure, and the ability to perform consistently over a full season.

Notable Races and Milestones

Myers broke his great uncle Bobby Myers’ longstanding record in 1999 by becoming the youngest Bowman Gray Stadium track champion in history at age twenty-three, a milestone that linked him directly to his family’s racing legacy. His tenth Bowman Gray championship, earned in 2024, highlighted remarkable longevity across a quarter-century at the highest level of the stadium’s competition. In 2025, Myers competed in the Cook Out Clash at Bowman Gray Stadium, driving the No. 50 Chevrolet for Team AmeriVet. He crashed out of the last-chance qualifier after contact with Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and did not advance to the main event, but the appearance underscored his continued relevance in national NASCAR exhibition events.

William Burton Myers Career Wins

Myers has nineteen career wins across multiple NASCAR and regional modified series, with championships spanning the NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour, the SMART Modified Tour, the Koma Unwind Modified Madness Series, the Southern Modified Racing Series, and the ASA Modified Tour. His pole award record in the NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour stands as the highest in the series’ history, reflecting both his speed and his consistency over many seasons of competition.

NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour Highlights

Myers won the NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour championship in 2010 and 2016, the pinnacle of his career at the national modified level. He holds the series record for most pole awards, highlighting his qualifying dominance. His 2010 title came eleven years after his father Gary won the same championship in 1996, continuing the Myers family tradition of excellence in NASCAR-sanctioned modified competition. He also accumulated nineteen career wins across his various series, with consistent performance at the highest level of the modified ranks throughout the 2000s and 2010s.

SMART Modified Tour and Other Wins

Myers has won the SMART Modified Tour championship three times, in 2002, 2021, and 2023, demonstrating sustained excellence across more than two decades of competition. He added the Koma Unwind Modified Madness Series titles in 2014 and 2015, the Southern Modified Racing Series championship in 2016, and the ASA Modified Tour championship in 2006, rounding out a championship résumé that spans numerous regional and national sanctioning bodies. He also captured the Friendship Motor Speedway Modified championship in 2004, extending his success across a variety of short-track venues.

William Burton Myers Family

Family Background and Racing Lineage

The Myers family represents one of the most storied lineages in modified stock car racing, with four generations of competitive drivers connected to Bowman Gray Stadium. William Burton Myers’ great uncle Bobby Myers set the record for the youngest Bowman Gray Stadium track champion in 1952 at age twenty-five, winning sixteen races and one championship before being killed in a crash at Darlington Raceway in 1957 while driving for Lee Petty. Bobby’s death marked a tragic chapter in the family’s history but did not diminish the racing tradition he helped establish.

Burt’s grandfather Billy Myers ranks twentieth on Bowman Gray Stadium’s Modified All-Time Wins List with twenty-two victories and three championships in 1951, 1953, and 1955. Billy died at Bowman Gray Stadium, reinforcing the venue’s central place in the family’s identity. Burt’s father Gary Myers is the second generation of the family to compete at Bowman Gray, where he ranks seventh on the stadium’s all-time victory list with thirty-eight wins and captured the 1996 NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour championship, making him one of the most successful modified drivers of his generation.

William Burton Myers 2025 Season Performance

In 2025, William Burton Myers competed in the Cook Out Clash exhibition race at Bowman Gray Stadium, driving the No. 50 Chevrolet for Team AmeriVet. The Cook Out Clash is an annual NASCAR Cup Series exhibition event that brings together top drivers from across the sport, and Myers’ participation represented a high-profile opportunity to showcase his modified-racing pedigree on a national stage. He crashed out of the last-chance qualifier after making contact with Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and did not advance to the main event, ending his 2025 Cup weekend before the feature race.

Following the exhibition event, it was announced on March 8 that Myers would drive for Team AmeriVet at the Martinsville spring race, continuing his involvement with the organization in 2025. His 2025 season on the SMART Modified Tour also remains active, where he has been a dominant force and captured the track championship at Bowman Gray Stadium as recently as 2024. The Team AmeriVet arrangement in the NASCAR Cup Series reflects the organization’s interest in fielding entries with drivers who possess deep roots in short-track and modified racing, a profile that Myers embodies uniquely.