All-American Race Going Down To Wire
With less than a month to go, the race for seating in Las Vegas is coming down to the wire all across North America.
The coronation of champions will take place at the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series Awards Banquet Friday, Nov. 7 at the Rio All-Suite Hotel in Las Vegas. U.S. state and Canadian provincial champions, track champions and the overall NASCAR Whelen All-American Series champions will be honored in one special night.
Philip Morris and Marty Ward have surged ahead in the overall championship hunt, but the race remains wide open as a number of drivers vie to finish one of the coveted top three positions. In addition to earning an invitation to the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series banquet, the top three drivers receive a number of additional honors. Invitations are also extended to track and state/provincial champions.
A prime example of how much the points can still fluctuate is Jason Gilbert. The Altamont (Calif.) Motorsports Park driver has eight wins and currently sits 14th in points. A driver’s best 18 finishes are used in determining their final standing, and Gilbert has made just 16 starts. A strong finish to the season could vault him all the way into the top five and put him in contention for the top three.
Gilbert is also locked in a tight points battle in California, where he trails Gary Glenn by 12 points and the top five drivers are separated by less than 100 points. Last year, the California state championship was decided in the final race of the season.
While Morris is looking to defend his Virginia state title, he increased his national points lead by finishing third in the Toyota/ATK 150 Saturday night at Motor Mile Speedway in Radford, Va. The finish allowed him to drop a 13th-place finish from his best 18 performances. Morris has nine wins and 18 top-threes in 21 starts for 907 points.
Defending Greenville-Pickens Speedway track champion David Roberts out-dueled Ward for the 40-lap Late Model feature victory at the South Carolina track Saturday night. It was Ward’s second straight runner-up finish and kept him in second to Morris with 896 points. Roberts is seventh in the standings, while Coleman Pressley, who finished third in the race, is fifth.
Iowa’s Brian Harris and Connecticut’s Keith Rocco both picked up wins over the weekend and gained ground on the leaders.
Harris, who is third with 887 points, won the Fountain Transmission Late Models feature on Craftsman Night at West Liberty Raceway Saturday. He was also third at Farley Speedway Friday, but 14th at Dubuque Speedway Sunday. Harris has 14 wins and 26 top fives in 28 starts.
Rocco, fourth with 854 points, started off his week with a win at Thompson International Speedway Thursday. After his race at Stafford Motor Speedway was rained out Friday, Rocco came back to finish fifth at the New Waterford Speedbowl. Rocco has eight wins and 26 top fives in 39 starts.
Jeff Strunk was second at Grandview Speedway in Bechtelsville, Penn., and moved up one spot to sixth. Strunk has four wins and 17 top fives in 18 starts. He also has a 26th-place finish from earlier in the year he can erase with his next finish.
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 point 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.
Sources: Jason Christley/NASCAR WA-AS PR