HomeDirt Late Model NewsCrate Late Model Series NewsBreuer Overcomes Late-Season Adversity To Win NeSmith Chevrolet DLMS Championship

Breuer Overcomes Late-Season Adversity To Win NeSmith Chevrolet DLMS Championship

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Dan Breuer #B7 – Best Photography
Dan Breuer #B7 – Best Photography

CARTERSVILLE, GA – Dan Breuer of Troutman, NC and his AES Racing Team overcame late-season adversity to win the 2011 $20,000 NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series Touring Championship. The 42-year-old driver reached the pinnacle of his career with a young crew and positive attitude. That is a situation Breuer deals with everyday off the track.

The record will show that in 2011, Breuer accumulated 1.510 points with two wins, 11 top five finishes, and 15 top ten finishes in 17 starts on the NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series Tour. He also completed more laps on the tour than any other driver with 874 laps out of a possible 890 laps of competition.

Breuer will pocket $39,075 in season earnings from prize money, point fund money and post season awards. Included in his season earnings is $1,000 from Hedman Husler Hedders for winning the Hedman Husler of the Year Award with 84 points. At each series touring event, a driver earns one point for each position they improve from the start of the race to the end of the race.

What the record doesn’t show is how Breuer decided to compete for the title, built up a big point lead over two-time NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series champion David Earl Gentry of Murfreesboro, TN, lost that big lead, and then rallied his young crew to hang on and win the championship.

Breuer has been racing since he was four years-old, starting in go-karts, and then at the age of 16, began driving dirt late models around his hometown of Wapello, IA. It’s one thing to have your dad give you the keys to the family car at the age of 16, but it’s another thing to slide into the seat of the family dirt late model.

“When I was growing up in Southeastern Iowa, I raced the go-karts and my dad, Bill Breuer, raced the family dirt late model,” Breuer said. “When I turned 16, my dad went to drive for someone else, and he turned the family race car over to me. I learned a lot racing against guys like Dave Birkhofer, Johnny Johnson, and Jay Johnson.”

Breuer began a career as an automotive technician after high school, and moved to Virginia in 1992 before settling in North Carolina in 1993. Breuer continued racing dirt late models and developed a long standing relationship with car owner Larry Bryant running super late models.

By 2009, Breuer was helping Shawn Parker at his dirt late model driving school when he met a student named Steve Cooke. Cooke owned a business called Advance Electronic Services, also known as AES, which services photo equipment for retailers and commercial companies. When Breuer wasn’t running the super late model for Bryant, he would drive Cooke’s backup crate late model.

Bryant passed away at the beginning of the 2011 season, and Breuer was out of a ride. Cooke asked Breuer if he would like to go to East Bay Raceway Park in Tampa, FL for the first three events of the NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series season on February 24, 25, and 26. Breuer finished eighth, fourth, and second in the three races, and was third in the point standings leaving Florida.

“We weren’t planning to run the whole NeSmith Tour, but being third in the points when we left East Bay, we saw that the next race on April 2 was close to home at Smoky Mountain Speedway in Maryville, TN,” Breuer said. “We decided to go; I finished ninth and was leading the point standings.”

The next race was a long tow for the AES Racing Team, which included Cooke in his own race car, but the team hauled to Greenville Speedway in Greenville, MS for a two-day $5,000-to-win event on April 8-9. Breuer had never been to Greenville Speedway, but he was familiar with the black gumbo clay surface of the ¼-mile high-banked track.

Going into race, Breuer held a 14-point lead over Gentry. Breuer won the second heat race on Friday night to earn the outside front row starting spot for the Saturday night main event alongside two-time Greenville Speedway series winner Mike Boland of Cuba, AL.

With ten laps to in the main event, Breuer was running fifth with Boland and Gentry running one-two respectively. Breuer went to the high side cushion on a lap 69 restart, and went from fifth to second. On lap 72, he passed Boland for the lead and won the race.

“I grew up in Eastern Iowa and began my racing career there, so I’m used to racing on this Mississippi River gumbo clay,” Breuer said. “When we were working lapped traffic, I found out that my car worked well on the high side. I went to the outside after that last restart because there was nothing left on the bottom, and I had nothing to lose.”

Breuer left the Mississippi Delta with a 24-point lead over Gentry, and Cooke moved up to fifth in the points chase. It was at that point that the AES Racing Team became regulars on the 2011 NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series Tour.

That led to what Breuer calls one of the highlights of the 2011 season, two races later on May 21 at New Senoia Raceway in Senoia, GA. Cooke was the fast qualifier, and Breuer timed in third quick. Cooke led the first two laps of the race before Breuer passed his boss and went on to take his second win of the season with Cooke making it a one-two AES Racing Team finish.

“Steve’s car was just a little bit tighter than my car, and he pushed up just enough in turn four to give me an opening on the bottom of the track to take the lead,” Breuer said. “This one-two finish really says a lot about the AES Racing Team. We had a great race on a great track in front of some great fans.”

Breuer held on to the point lead over Gentry throughout the summer, but fast forward to October 7 when the NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series made its second appearance of the season Greenville Speedway. Breuer pulled into the site of his first victory if the season with his largest lead of the season, 36 points, over Gentry.

It looked like Breuer had everything going his way as he took to his beloved black gumbo clay, but looks can be deceiving. As Charles Dickens once wrote, “It was the best of times and the worst of times.”

“We brought a new car to Greenville in October that I had had never driven before,” Breuer said. “We could not get the car to work, we really struggled just to even get into the race and that led to disastrous results.”

Breuer failed to qualify for the main event through heat race and B-Main competition, had had to take a provisional to start the race. Breuer spun on lap two of the 40-lap race, and then brought out a second caution on lap 27 with a cut tire. The series’ two-caution rule came into play, and the point leader was done for the night with a 19th-place finish, his worst of the season.

Gentry finished sixth and closed to within ten points of Breuer in the championship battle. To make matters worse, the next race was 24-hours later with a 50-lap main event at Greenville Speedway. Although they were down and out, Breuer and his young AES Racing Team had to go to work and try to turn things around.

Motivating young men in the racing business is something Dan Breuer is a custom to in his day job. In 2002, Breuer went to work as an instructor at the NASCAR Technical Institute in Mooresville, NC, and is now the Education Manager. One of his young students, Chip Brindle of Chatsworth, GA, went on to become the 2008 NeSmith Chevrolet DLMS Champion.

“A have a young crew with Crew Chief Nicky “Slim” Cochran, Eric, Chris and Brandon,” Breuer said. “They were down, but I’m used to working with young guys everyday, so we went to work on the car, and did what we could do to try and do better the next night.”

Breuer knew this effort would make or break his championship hopes because he was facing a tough competitor in David Earl Gentry.

“David Earl Gentry is one of the toughest drivers I’ve ever competed against, and with him already a two-time champion, I knew he would really try to capitalize on our bad night,” Breuer said. “He did just that, but we rallied and made enough improvement to stay in the fight. That second night at Greenville Speedway, I think, ended up winning the championship for us.”

Gentry was on his “A Game” at Greenville Speedway on October 8. After starting third, Gentry took the lead on lap 24 and then checked out to take his first win of the season. Breuer started 13th and rallied to finish fifth. When it was all said and done, Breuer and Gentry were tied for the point lead with four races left in the season.

“Even though we came back with a top five finish, I knew that luck was going to play a big factor in deciding the championship,” Breuer said. “That worried me a little bit because having luck on my side wasn’t something I was too confident about.”

The next race was right back at Greenville Speedway on November 5 where Breuer finished second and Gentry finished fifth. At Whynot Motorsports Park in Meridian, MS on November 19, Lady Luck smiled on the AES Racing Team. Breuer finished third, while Gentry crashed early in the race and finished 26th.

Just as suddenly as his 36-point lead vanished, Breuer went to the penultimate race of the season with a 46-point lead. The next night at Magnolia Motor Speedway in Columbus, MS, Breuer all but wrapped up the title as he finished sixth while Gentry finished tenth. All he had to do was take the green flag at the final race of the season at East Bay Raceway Park on December 3.

The AES Racing Team put an exclamation point on a championship season at the $10,000-to-win 100-lap 7th Annual GM Performance Parts World Championship Race on December 3 at East Bay Raceway Park. Cooke entered a four-car team for the race adding super late model stars Jonathan Davenport of Blairsville, GA and Dennis Franklin of Gaffney, SC to his stable.

Davenport won the $10,000 top prize, Franklin took the $5,000 second-place cash, and although he had to take his second provisional of the season, Breuer took the green flag in the main event to claim the $20,000 2011 NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series Championship and the NeSmith Cup to make for a $35,000 night for the AES Racing Team. Car owner Cooke also finished seventh in the NeSmith Chevrolet DLMS point standings.

Even with the title in his pocket, Breuer didn’t rest on his laurels, as he still had another title to race Gentry for, the Hedman Husler of the Year Award. Gentry also had to take a provisional to make the race and Breuer and Gentry started 23rd and 24th respectively. Breuer finished 14th and Gentry finished 19th. Breuer won the championship over Gentry by 54 points, and he also beat Gentry for the Hedman Husler of the Year Award by three points.

Aside from the cash and the NeSmith Cup, Breuer said he enjoyed the 2011 season with the NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series because of the comrodary of the competition, the new friends he made, and old friends he was reunited with along the road that made up the tour.

“This was an enjoyable season for us because of the tough competition in the NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series,” Breuer said. “It was fun racing against the veterans like David Earl Gentry and Johnny Stokes, and I see a lot of young talented drivers on this tour like Matthew Turner, Chase Edge and Tootie Arnold. The series officials are the best at what they do, they are very professional and it was enjoyable working with them. The series has great sponsors, and I have taken the time to write them and thank them for what they do. I also want to thank my long time sponsor Carolina Racing Supply of Mooresville, NC. It was also enjoyable to see a lot of my former students at a lot of the races and to know that they were following us this season.”

NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series Founder and Director Mike Vaughn is looking forward to having Dan Breuer as the reigning champion of the seven-year-old series.

“The AES Racing Team of Dan Breuer, Steve Cooke, Slim, Eric, Chris, and Brandon are a class act, and it was a pleasure having them as a part of the NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series Tour in 2011,” Vaughn said. “Just the fact that Dan has already taken the time and effort to write to all of our sponsors and thank them for what they do, already shows that he is going to be a great champion, not just for this series, but also for dirt late model racing.”

Breuer said he and Steve Cooke have not yet made any long tern plans for the 2012 season; except for they are going to start next season like they did this season. The AES Racing Team will start out the 2012 season at the first three NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series races at East Bay Raceway Park on February 2, 3, and 4.

For more information about the NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series visit the series web site at www.nesmithracing.com, or visit the series on Facebook at NeSmith Racing. Becoming a fan of the NeSmith Racing Facebook page will make you eligible for special prizes that will be given away each month.

NeSmith Chevrolet, Buick, GMC of Claxton, GA is the Title Sponsor of the NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series. NeSmith Chevrolet, Buick, GMC is the nation’s number one GM Powertrain Dealer four years running, with free delivery anywhere in the Southeast. GM Performance Parts is an Official Sponsor of the NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series. Hoosier Racing Tire is the Official Tire Sponsor of the NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series. VP Racing Fuel is the Official Racing Fuel of the NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series. Hedman Hedders is the Official Hedder of the NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series and the Hedman Husler Award sponsor. Old Man’s Garage (OMG) is the sponsor of the NeSmith Chevrolet Weekly Racing Series East Region. NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series Contingency Sponsors for 2011 are Dominator Race Products, Race Car Engineering, KRC, QA 1 Precision Products, Modern Images, Mike Custom Tanks, Shorty’s Shock Service, Schoenfeld Headers, Integra Racing Shocks, J.T. Kerr Racing Equipment, Cofields Racing Starters, Kinser Air Filters, Trak-Star Race Cars, Warrior Race Cars, Rocket Chassis, GRT Race Cars, TNT Race Cars, and Stinger Race Cars.

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