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NASCAR Whelen All-American Series Championship Down To A Two Driver Race DAVENPORT, IA (Sept 9) - Nearly seven months of racing and almost 900 feature events across North American, and the spot at the head table for the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series Awards Banquet is down to two driver’s weekend plans. Brian Harris of Davenport, Iowa, and Philip Morris of Ruckersville, Va., are tied atop the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series standings with 946 points apiece. Both drivers have already wrapped up an invitation to the banquet – Friday, Nov. 7 at the Rio All-Suite Hotel in Las Vegas – by virtue of their respective winning track and state titles. Now all that’s left to determine is the final seating arrangements. Harris currently holds the advantage because he would win the tiebreaker based on more overall wins, 19-12. “We did what we could do, and that’s it,” said Harris, who collected 19 wins and 34 top fives in 36 starts racing at a trio of dirt tracks in Iowa. “We’ve never really been in this type of points battle before. “It’s been a lot of fun. Whatever happens, we still had a great year and I’m really proud of everybody that’s been behind our program.” Harris has one schedule race remaining: Wednesday at Farley Speedway on the first night of the 31st Yankee Dirt Track Classic on the .500-mile high banked clay oval. If he wants to travel, he also has the option of running in the Legendary 100 at Cedar Lake Speedway in New Richmond, Wisc., Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. Harris said he has raced there in the past on regional dirt track Late Model tours. However, he added that the NASCAR Whelen All-American rules at the track are different than what he runs in Iowa and he would need to find a ride. Harris said he may look at the possibility of running there. Harris already won the track titles at Farley and West Liberty, and finished second in points at Dubuque. He capped the season at Dubuque by winning the finale this past Sunday. Points total is based on a driver's top 18 finishes for the year at any NASCAR-sanctioned track. A driver receives two points for every car they beat – up to 25 cars – and there is a five-point bonus for wins. Harris’ worst points finish is a 48. “The only way to gain any points is for us to win,” Harris said. “That’s the approach we’re going to go out with. My plan is to keep doing what we’ve been doing.” Morris has already wrapped up his sixth Late Model championship at Motor Mile Speedway, a .416-mile asphalt oval in Radford, Va. He added to his resume there this past weekend by winning the track’s final two features – twin 75-lap races Saturday. With Motor Mile’s season over, Morris is looking at competing this Saturday at South Boston (Va.) Speedway. He’s run at the historic .400-mile oval five times this year and recorded two seconds, a third, an eighth and a 13th. Because the worst of his 18 finishes is a 46, Morris could finish first or second and still improve his points total. “It’s tough,” said Morris, who has 12 wins and 21 top fives in 25 starts. “It’s going to be hard. If we win it, that’s awesome. If we don’t, we still had a pretty amazing year.” Morris won the 2006 NASCAR Whelen All-American Series title on the final day of the season at an unfamiliar track. Morris won his 13th race of the season at Caraway Speedway in Asheboro, N.C., a track he hadn’t been to prior to the finale. That allowed him to edge Nebraska’s Joe Kosiski by two points for the championship. “It’s difficult when you go to another track,” Morris said. “You want to go to the track and be respectively of the drivers that race there every week and be competitive.” Wayne Ramsey will be looking to wrap up the points title at South Boston Saturday. Ramsey has five wins at the track and a 31-point lead over Justin Johnson. South Boston, in its 51st year, is no stranger to NASCAR champions. In addition to being the home track of Jeff Burton and Denny Hamlin, the track was the site of Peyton Sellers’ 2005 NASCAR Whelen All-American Series championship season. Marty Ward of Greenville-Pickens Speedway in Greenville, S.C., is third behind Harris and Ward with 907 points. Keith Rocco, who races at three Connecticut tracks (Waterford Speedbowl, Stafford Motor Speedway, and Thompson International Speedway), is fourth with 880 points. Jeff Strunk of Grandview Speedway in Bechtelsville, Pa., is fifth at 868. U.S. state and Canadian provincial championships will also be decided this weekend. The final day for points to count toward NASCAR championships is Sunday, Sept. 14. The NASCAR Whelen All-American Series national champion also earns a secure spot in the NASCAR Toyota All-Star Showdown, to be held at the Toyota Speedway at Irwindale (Calif.) Jan. 23-24, 2009. Under the points structure for the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series, the race winner will receive two points for every car in the event up to 25 cars. Second place will receive two fewer points, and so-on through the field. For example, if there are 25 cars, the winner receives 50 points, second gets 48 and third 46. If there are 15 cars, the winner receives 30 points, second gets 28 and third 26. New this year, drivers receive five bonus points for a win. FEATURE DIVISION National Top 25 NASCAR Leaders PosDriver Name Home Track Starts Wins T-5 T-10 Pts 1 Brian Harris West Liberty Raceway 36 19 34 34 946 2 Philip Morris Motor Mile Speedway 25 12 21 23 946 3 Marty Ward Greenville-Pickens Speedway 22 11 20 20 907 4 Keith Rocco Waterford Speedbowl 46 10 31 36 880 5 Jeff Strunk Grandview Speedway 20 4 19 19 868 6 Andy Eckrich Dubuque Fairgrounds Speedway 37 6 30 34 856 7 Jason Gilbert Altamont Motorsports Park 21 10 17 20 844 8 Coleman Pressley Greenville-Pickens Speedway 27 7 24 26 828 9 David Roberts Greenville-Pickens Speedway 26 3 19 23 809 10 Nick Joanides Toyota Speedway At Irwindale 19 10 17 17 804 11 Jimmy Blewett Thompson Intl Speedway 30 5 13 20 783 12 Woody Pitkat Stafford Motor Speedway 28 6 13 16 772 13 Gary Glenn All American Speedway 30 5 22 24 761 14 Jeremiah Hurst West Liberty Raceway 35 2 16 27 760 15 Kenneth Headen Greenville-Pickens Speedway 20 0 17 20 752 16 Guy Jubinville Autodrome St. Eustache 22 7 15 18 739 17 Davin Scites Motor Mile Speedway 19 3 13 15 735 18 Jonathan Bouvrette Autodrome St. Eustache 24 7 14 22 717 19 Doug Coby, III Waterford Speedbowl 32 3 14 20 717 20 Kelly Kingery Motor Mile Speedway 19 0 10 16 712 21 Doug Manmiller Grandview Speedway 20 0 9 14 708 22 Steve Carlson Lacrosse Fairgrounds Speedway 18 5 16 17 705 23 Travis Thirkettle Toyota Speedway At Irwindale 19 5 12 17 703 24 Anthony Anders Greenville-Pickens Speedway 21 3 11 18 695 25 Ralph Carnes Greenville-Pickens Speedway 23 0 7 23 694 |