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Points Race Tightens For Whelen Honors
Just 6 points separate 4 drivers for final spot on Hall stageDAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – With three weekends left, four drivers are looking to take that final spot on the stage at the Charlotte Convention Center's Crown Ballroom in the NASCAR Hall of Fame and join Connecticut’s Keith Rocco and Nebraska’s Craig Preble in the spotlight at the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series Awards Banquet.
Rocco has already clinched the national championship. The 25-year-old Wallingford, Conn., driver has reached the maximum number of points available with 810.
Preble of Yutan, Neb., remains in second place with 777 points.
After that, though, four drivers are separated by just six points heading into the final stretch. A driver’s best 18 results through Sunday, Sept. 19 are counted toward their state and national points totals, and the champions are decided on overall points total.
“It’s getting tight for that last spot,” said CE Falk III. “It would be great to get on stage at the NASCAR Hall of Fame.”
| Pos | Driver | Starts | Wins | Points | Next To Drop* |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | CE Falk III | 28 | 10 | 718 | 34 points & 34 |
| 4 | Duane Howard | 19 | 7 | 717 | 32 & 32 |
| 5 | Justin Johnson | 23 | 12 | 716 | 30 & 32 |
| 6 | Ted Christopher | 32 | 10 | 712 | 32& 36 |
| * Worst finishes of top 18 |
• Falk, 23, from Virginia Beach, Va., jumped two spots to third with 718 points with a third-place and win in the asphalt Late Model division at Motor Mile Speedway in Radford, Va. Falk previously clinched the track championship at Langley Speedway in Hampton, Va., and is scheduling his final three races to chase the Virginia state title in addition to national honors.
• Duane Howard, at 717 points, may be the hottest driver in the nation right now. The 46-year-old from Oley, Penn., earned his fourth straight win and fifth in the last six weeks in the 385 Modified Division on the dirt at Grandview Speedway in Bechtesville, Penn.
• Justin Johnson had good news and bad news this past weekend. The 23-year-old from Durham, N.C., has 716 points and wrapped up his second straight asphalt Late Model championship at South Boston (Va.) Speedway. But he did so with a seventh- and eighth-place finish, which didn’t help his national standings.
• Ted Christopher, with 712 points, has been virtually unbeatable in the asphalt Modified division at Thompson (Conn.) International Speedway. The 52-year-old Plainville, Conn., driver won for the ninth time in 14 starts this past Thursday. He added his first win of the season at Stafford (Conn.) Motor Speedway on Friday to further improve his points total.
“In all honesty, I feel like we have to win races,” said Johnson, who has been in the top three for most of the season and is tied for third in the nation with 12 wins. “It’s just disappointing to fall off toward the end of the year the way we have. We just haven’t had the domination we became accustomed to earlier in the year.”
Falk and Johnson will go head-to-head the next two weekends – Saturday at South Boston and next week at Motor Mile. Lee Pulliam swept the Late Model features this past weekend at South Boston, in a field which also included former national champions Peyton Sellers and Philip Morris.
“It’s always a good time to go heads up with Justin, he's a tough competitor and it’s his track,” Falk said. “I really want to win this Virginia state championship. We've been second the last couple years and I really want to win it.”
If needed, Falk said he’s looking to run at Old Dominion Speedway in Manassas, Va., on the final weekend of the season. Greg Edwards, who is seventh in the nation, is third in Virginia, followed by Morris, who has won the last three state titles. Morris is ninth in the nation.
NASCAR will crown 25 U.S. state and Canadian provincial champions, continuing a tradition that dates back to the sport’s early years.
Track, state and provincial champions and the top three finishers in the national standings earn invitations to the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series Awards Banquet on Friday, Dec. 10.
NATIONAL TOP 500 | STATE/PROVINCE TOP 20
Rocco and Preble maintained their hold on the top two spots.
Racing his asphalt Modified at three tracks in Connecticut, Rocco was third at Thompson, fourth at Stafford and then second at Waterford Speedbowl on Saturday.
He has 21 wins, 34 top fives and 43 top 10s in 46 starts.
By virtue of his national championship, Rocco also secured a spot in the NASCAR Toyota All-Star Showdown, the NASCAR K&N Pro Series postseason race in January that has earned the title as the 'Daytona 500 of short-track racing.'
Preble was second in the crate Late Model division at Junction Motor Speedway in McCool Junction, Neb., on Saturday, where he is third in points and trails Bill Leighton Jr. by 21 points. Preble was fifth at I-80 Speedway in Omaha, Neb., Sunday and leads the track’s points by 86 over Leighton.
Under the points structure for the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series, the race winner received two points for every car in the event up to 20. Second place received two fewer points, and so-on through the field. Race winners received an additional five bonus points. For example, if there are 20 cars, the winner received 45 points, second gets 38 and third 36. If there are 15 cars, the winner received 35 points, second gets 28 and third, 26.
