DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (Sept. 19, 2008) – In the more than 25 years NASCAR has been crowning a national championship for its short tracks across the country, the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series has been decided by the narrowest of margins three times. Two of those have gone Philip Morris’ way.<br> The Ruckersville, Va. won his second NASCAR Whelen All-American Series championship by just two points – equal to one position on the track during the season

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NASCAR Whelen All-American Series Matches Closest Finish In History

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (Sept. 19, 2008) – In the more than 25 years NASCAR has been crowning a national championship for its short tracks across the country, the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series has been decided by the narrowest of margins three times. Two of those have gone Philip Morris’ way.
The Ruckersville, Va. won his second NASCAR Whelen All-American Series championship by just two points – equal to one position on the track during the season – over Brian Harris of Iowa.

Morris earned the spot at the head table for the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series Awards Banquet in Las Vegas Friday, Nov. 7 by virtue of winning his final race of the season. Morris’ victory at Motor Mile Speedway in Radford, Va., Saturday, Sept. 13 – the day before the deadline for races to count towards the championship – provided him with the winning margin. A runner-up finish by Morris in that race would have handed the national title to Harris.

Morris finished the season with 14 wins, 23 top fives and 26 starts. He also won his sixth Late Model division championship at Motor Mile, a .416-mile asphalt oval.
The margin of victory matched Morris’ 2006 title, when he beat out veteran dirt Late Model driver Joe Kosiski, of Omaha, Neb., by two points (1,114-1,112). Morris won his final race that season at Caraway Speedway in Asheboro, N.C., a track he hadn’t visited prior to the finale.

Under a different points system, Barry Beggerly edged Dennis Setzer in 1993 by the similar margin of one position on the track.

Under the current points system, a driver’s 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 – with a five-point bonus for wins.

As evidence of the close competition throughout North America, a variety of tracks and divisions are represented in the final top 20: Modifieds on the asphalt ovals of the Waterford Speedbowl, Stafford Motor Speedway and Thompson International Speedway in Connecticut; dirt modifieds of Grandview Speedway in Bechtelsville, Pa.; Pro Trucks from Autodrome St. Eustache in Quebec, Canada; dirt Late Models from West Liberty Raceway and Dubuque Fairgrounds Speedway in Iowa; asphalt Late Models from Motor Mile Speedway and South Carolina’s Greenville-Pickens Speedway; and asphalt Late Models from Altamont Raceway Park and All American Speedway, and Super Late Models from Toyota Speedway at Irwindale in California.

Marty Ward of Greenville-Pickens, finished third with 927 points. Keith Rocco, who races at the three Connecticut tracks, finished fourth with 880 points. Jeff Strunk of Grandview rounded out the top five with 868. Andy Eckrich, who raced on a weekly basis against Harris in Iowa, finished sixth. Jason Gilbert of Altamont, Coleman Pressley of Greenville-Pickens, Nick Joanides of Toyota Speedway, and David Roberts of Greenville-Pickens round out the top 10.

In winning the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series national championship, Morris also earned a secure spot in the NASCAR Toyota All-Star Showdown, to be held at Toyota Speedway at Irwindale (Calif.) Jan. 23-24, 2009.

FEATURE DIVISION
Final National Top 25 NASCAR Leaders
PosDriver Name Home Track Starts Wins T-5 T-10 Pts
1 Philip Morris Motor Mile Speedway 28 14 23 26 955
2 Brian Harris West Liberty Raceway 38 20 35 36 953
3 Marty Ward Greenville-Pickens Speedway 24 13 22 22 927
4 Keith Rocco Waterford Speedbowl 49 11 32 38 880
5 Jeff Strunk Grandview Speedway 20 4 19 19 868
6 Andy Eckrich Dubuque Fairgrounds Speedway 38 6 31 35 862
7 Jason Gilbert Altamont Motorsports Park 21 10 17 20 844
8 Coleman Pressley Greenville-Pickens Speedway 29 7 25 28 838
9 Nick Joanides Toyota Speedway At Irwindale 21 10 17 19 826
10 David Roberts Greenville-Pickens Speedway 28 3 20 24 815
11 Jimmy Blewett Thompson Intl Speedway 31 5 13 21 783
12 Woody Pitkat Stafford Motor Speedway 29 6 13 17 772
13 Davin Scites Motor Mile Speedway 20 3 14 16 765
14 Gary Glenn All American Speedway 32 5 24 26 763
15 Kenneth Headen Greenville-Pickens Speedway 22 0 18 21 760
16 Jeremiah Hurst West Liberty Raceway 35 2 17 28 758
17 Doug Coby, III Waterford Speedbowl 34 3 16 22 741
18 Anthony Anders Greenville-Pickens Speedway 23 3 12 19 727
19 Travis Thirkettle Toyota Speedway At Irwindale 21 5 12 19 725
20 Jonathan Bouvrette Autodrome St. Eustache 24 7 14 22 719
21 Kelly Kingery Motor Mile Speedway 20 0 10 16 712
22 Brent Larson Cedar Lake Speedway 16 6 14 16 708
23 Doug Manmiller Grandview Speedway 20 0 9 14 708
24 John Hightower Greenville-Pickens Speedway 20 0 10 18 708
25 Steve Carlson Lacrosse Fairgrounds Speedway 18 5 16 17 707