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Title Tilt At Motor Mile
With a third national championship in hand, Morris focuses on home track battle with DeinyRADFORD, Va. - By now, Philip Morris is used to racing under pressure.
In both of his previous NASCAR Whelen All-American Series championship seasons - 2006 and 2008 - the Ruckersville, Va., driver has won the season finale to capture the title.
Rain has made that portion anticlimactic. Keith Rocco of Wallingford, Conn., entered the final weekend of the season with an outside shot at catching Morris. However, after a third-place run in the Sunoco Modified division at Thompson (Conn.) International Speedway Thursday, weather washed out racing at Stafford (Conn.) Motor Speedway on Friday and Waterford (Conn.) Speedbowl on Saturday. That leaves Rocco with 816 points.
Morris leads the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series with 835. All points totals are unofficial until released by NASCAR Points & Membership Department, after verification of results and car counts on Wednesday.
That doesn't mean all the pressure is off Morris. He heads into Saturday night's Adam Construction 150 at his home track, Motor Mile Speedway in Radford, Va., nursing a slim two-point lead in the Late Model division over Frank Deiny Jr. Morris is looking for his fifth straight track title and seventh overall.
Thirty-two cars signed in at Motor Mile, with a starting field of 30.
Morris and Deiny will have their work cut out for them, qualifying fifth and ninth, respectively.
Dane Rudolph earned the pole with a lap of 15.958 mph (93.846 mph) around the .416-mile banked oval as the top six qualifiers were within a tenth of a second of each other. Doug Godsey qualified second at 15.982 (93.705). Morris' qualifying time was 16.039, while Deiny's fast lap was 16.083.
In addition, Forrest Reynolds is driving Morris' second car and qualified seventh. He'll start on the inside row between Morris and Deiny. Rusty Skewes and Jordan Pennington, who drive for Deiny's FDJ Motorsports qualified 15th and 27th, respectively. Also in the field is 2006 NASCAR Nationwide Series Rookie of the Year Danny O'Quinn Jr., three-time track champion Chad Harris (1996, 2000 and 2002) and 2003 Motor Mile track champion Jason Merriman.
With a tight points race on the line, the drivers were cautioned during the drivers' meeting to be aware of the championship contenders.
Racing begins at 7 p.m. The late model race will be the final of four events, slated to take the green at approximately 9:15 p.m.
Harris was fastest in Saturday's first practice session with a lap of 16.073 seconds (93.175). Mike Looney was second quick at 16.276 (92.013). Deiny was third fastest at 16.291 (91.928) and Morris was fifth at 16.316 (91.787). In between was Wayne Ramsey, who has made just nine starts this season primarily at South Boston, but has three wins.
In the second practice, Looney (16.201/92.439) and Rusty Skewes (16.202/92.433) posted the top two times. Harris was third fastes. Deiny was sixth and Morris ninth.
Deiny won the Motor Mile Late Model championship in 2004, the last driver other than Morris to claim that honor.
Motor Mile Speedway Late Model champions
 |
|
| Year | Champion |
|---|---|
| 2008 | Philip Morris |
| 2007 | Philip Morris |
| 2006 | Philip Morris |
| 2005 | Philip Morris |
| 2004* | Frank Deiny Jr |
| 2003 | Jason Merriman |
| 2002 | Chad Harris |
| 2001 | Philip Morris |
| 2000 | Chad Harris |
| 1999 | Tink Reedy |
| 1998 | Rick Sigmon |
| 1997 | Philip Morris |
| 1996 | Chad Harris |
| 1995 | Jeff Agnew |
| 1994 | Jeff Agnew |
| 1993 | Paul Radford |
| 1992** | Jeff Agnew |
| 1991 | Jeff Agnew |
| 1990 | Ronnie Thomas |
| 1989 | Danny Willis |
| 1988 | Timothy McGuire |
*Changed name from New River Valley Speedway
**Changed name from Pulaski County Speedway
A driver’s best 18 results are counted toward their state and national points totals. Deadline for races to count toward NASCAR championship points standings is Sunday, Sept. 13.
Bill Leighton of Omaha, Neb., and Nick Joanides of Woodland Hills, Calif., are tied for third with 803.
Leighton wrapped up the dirt Late Model championship at I-80 Speedway in Omaha with a seventh-place run last Sunday in the track’s final points race. He has one race remaining at Junction Motor Speedway in McCool Junction, Neb., and can wrap up the track championship there.
Joanides has twin Super Late Model features Saturday at Toyota Speedway at Irwindale (Calif.).
Neither Leighton nor Joanides can match Morris’ total if they only run their scheduled races. Leighton's worst of his 18 finishes is a 34-point, seventh-place finish and the highest he can go is 820 with a win. Joanides' two worst finishes are a pair of 36-point nights. If he wins twice with the maximum of 23 cars in the field, his points total would be 829.
Track, state and province, and the national champion earn invitations to the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series Awards Banquet in Concord, N.C., Friday, Nov. 13. The NASCAR Whelen All-American Series champion also earns a secure spot in Camping World Series race at the NASCAR Toyota All-Star Showdown, to be held at the Toyota Speedway Jan. 29-30, 2010. As the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series Virginia state champion, Morris has already locked in a spot in the Late Model portion.
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 23 cars. Second place will receive two fewer points, and so-on through the field. For example, if there are 23 cars, the winner receives 46 points, second gets 44 and third 42. If there are 15 cars, the winner receives 30 points, second gets 28 and third 26. Race winners receive an additional five bonus points.
