Bowman Gray's youngest track champion Burt Myers makes his "heartwarming" feelings clear about the venue despite a big disappointment

Bowman Gray’s hometown hero, Burt Myers, took part in NASCAR’s exhibition race, the Cook Out Clash, on Sunday. After the race, Myers shared his thoughts on the experience of competing in the event and NASCAR bringing the action to the historic quarter-mile flat oval.

Myers is an 11-time champion at Bowman Gray Stadium in the Modified series. The 49-year-old piloted Amerivet Racing's #50 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 in the Last Chance Qualifier (LCQ) race, where the top-two position holder would move to the 200-lap feature event on Sunday. However, Myer's race met with an untimely end, throwing away his hopes to race amongst NASCAR stars.

Despite the disappointing finish, Myers, who is used to racing in the Winston-Salem-based facility, made his feelings known about his experience in the top NASCAR event. He said:

"The lights, the walls, the whole facility, the infield, everything the way it looks, it brought it to a Cup level[...] To see them do that to my little home track here in Winston-Salem was heartwarming on my end."

Cup Series driver Ricky Stenhouse Jr. began the LCQ race from P11 but became the focus of controversy with 13 laps remaining. He made contact with two-time NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour champion, Burt Myers, on the front stretch, causing Myers to spin through the grass and across the track before crashing into the Turn 1 wall. Despite ending Myers' race, Stenhouse JR. upset several local fans who were there to support their Winston-Salem hero.

Meanwhile, the Cup Series will return with the Daytona 500 on February 16 at 2:30 PM Eastern time.

"I'm going to have to get with Ricky Stenhouse Jr.": Burt Myers reflects on race-ending incident following LCQ

Burt Myers reflected on his on-track incident with Ricky Stenhouse Jr., which cost him and his #50 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 a chance to compete in the Cook Out Clash feature race on Sunday. As mentioned above, the 11-time champion was sent spinning after contact with Stenhouse Jr., ultimately ending his night.

In a post-race interview, Myers expressed his thoughts on the incident and emphasized that he wanted to have a conversation with Stenhouse Jr. to understand what happened.

"I ended up in the infield. You pick up speed when you end up in the infield. I'm going to have to get with Ricky Stenhouse and see exactly what happened from his perspective,' Myers told TSJ Sports' Peter Stratta.

"I shoved him out, but I was getting shoved from behind just like everybody else was and ended up getting turned around, so like I said, I don't want to put any blame on too much until I see exactly what happened."

Hendrick Motorsports driver, Chase Elliott, triumphed in the pre-season Clash after a dominating display at Bowman Gray Stadium. Elliott started from pole and led 171 of 200 laps before crossing the start-finish line on Sunday night.