News & Notes: Morris Cements Place In History With Third Title
Philip Morris is used to battling for the championship on the final race of the season. Each of his first two national championships — in 2006 and 2008 — featured must-win scenarios when he took the track for that last race.
This time, however, it was Morris’ reign at Motor Mile Speedway in Radford, Va., that was on the line as he held a slim two-point lead over rival Frank Deiny Jr. Morris took care of business with a second-place finish to claim his seventh track championship at the .416-mile oval.
Morris had previously used a strong August run (two wins, a second and a third from Aug. 8-29) to wrap up his third NASCAR Whelen All-American Series national championship.
The Ruckersville, Va., Late Model driver is just the second driver to win more than one national championship, joining the late Larry Phillips, who won NASCAR’s top short-track honor five times between 1989-96.
The 44-year-old Morris collected nine wins, 20 top fives and 23 top 10s in 28 starts for 841 points.
Connecticut asphalt Modified driver Keith Rocco finished second with 816 points, followed by California Super Late Model driver Nick Joanides with 813.
The way the season started, it looked like Morris was on cruise-control toward yet another championship. He rolled off four straight wins to open defense of his NASCAR Whelen All-American Series national championship.
He continued his hot streak in the first two weeks of May—running twin features the first weekend at his home track of Motor Mile and twin features the next at his home-away-from-home of South Boston (Va.) Speedway — and earning a two wins and two runner-up finishes in the No. 26 Clarence’s Steakhouse Chevrolet.
Then came the rough stretch. From May 23 to Aug. 1, Morris won just once more and had almost as many finishes outside the top 10 (four) than inside the top five (five).
While Morris was struggling, Rocco surged to the top of the standings. The Wallingford, Conn., driver was running three nights a week — Thursdays at Thompson International Speedway, Fridays at Stafford Motor Speedway, and Saturdays at the Waterford Speedbowl — and was clicking off the wins. By July 17, he had 11 victories. After finishing fourth in the nation in each of the previous two seasons, the 24-year-old was on pace to unseat Morris.
Lurking back was Joanides, who didn’t reach the 18-race threshold until the closing weeks of the season. A driver’s top 18 finishers are counted toward their state/province and national points totals.
Morris, though, showed the great closing ability that netted his the first two championships. In the final six races, he had two wins, two seconds and a third.
It was a win by Morris at Motor Mile on Aug. 8, in which Morris nosed out Deiny by .024 seconds at the finish line, that allowed him to leapfrog Rocco back into first place in the standings.
From there, Morris never relinquished the lead.
Rocco finished with 13 wins, 31 top fives and 35 top 10s in 45 starts, while Joanides ended up with 13 wins and 21 top fives in 21 starts in the Super Late Model division at the Toyota Speedway at Irwindale (Calif.).
Morris (Virginia), Rocco (Connecticut) and Joanides (California) also won their respective state NASCAR Whelen All-American Series state championships.
Bill Leighton Jr. of Omaha, Neb., who won dirt Late Model championships at Junction Motor Speedway in McCool Junction, Neb., and I-80 Speedway in Omaha, finished fourth with 803 points. Plainville, Conn., driver Ted Christopher, who races against Rocco at Thompson and Stafford, rounded out the top five with 779.
The Event NASCAR Night of Champions Touring Awards Gala
The Place Concord Convention Center Hall, Concord, N.C.
The Date Saturday, Nov. 14
The Time 7 p.m. ET
Broadcast Schedule Streamed Live on NASCARHomeTracks.com
NASCAR Contact Jason Cunningham, (704) 201-6658, jcunningham@nascar.com
NWAAS Notebook: Season Wrap-Up
Gomes Wins Inaugural Rookie of the Year: For the first time, NASCAR provided an award for first-year Feature Division license holders. Jacob Gomes, 16, of Manteca, Calif., was the inaugural NASCAR Whelen All-American Series Rookie of the Year presented by Jostens. He won three features at his home track of The New Stockton 99 Speedway, a .250-mile paved oval in Stockton, Calif. He also competed at All American Speedway in Roseville, Calif., and Madera (Calif.) Speedway. Both of those tracks are .333-mile paved ovals.
Three Females Capture Rookie Honors: Three females earned U.S. state/Candian province Rookie of the Year honors – Sloan Henderson of Franklin, Ohio, Natalie Sather of Fargo, N.D., and Maxime Paquine of Montreal, Quebec. Henderson, 17, made 29 starts at Columbus (Ohio) Motor Speedway and Kil-Kare Speedway in Xenia, Ohio, where she posted six top 5s and 19 top 10s. Sather, 24, raced her first season on asphalt at Evergreen Speedway in Monroe, Wash., where she had eight top fives and 17 top 10s in 17 races. Paquine had two tops 5s and eight top 10s in 14 races at Autodrome St. Eustache (Quebec).
Title Defense: Nine drivers were able to repeat their 2008 NASCAR Whelen All-American Series U.S. state or Canadian province championships in 2009. They include Erica Thiering, Alberta, Canada (Edmonton International Raceway); Dave Haworth, British Columbia, Canada (SunValley Speedway); Keith Rocco, Connecticut (Waterford Speedbowl, Thompson International Speedway and Stafford Motor Speedway); Bill Leighton Jr., Nebraska (I-80 Speedway and Junction Motor Speedway); Jeff Strunk, Pennsylvania (Grandview Speedway); Jonathan Bouvrette, Quebec, Canada (Autodrome St. Eustache); Marty Ward, South Carolina (Greenville Pickens Speedway); and Naima Lang, Washington (Evergreen Speedway).
Eckrich Back On Top At Iowa: After winning the 2007 NASCAR Whelen All-American Series Iowa state title, Eckrich watched that honor go to Brian Harris in 2008. Eckrich reclaimed the title, though, in 2009, with seven wins and a national-high 32 top fives and 36 top 10s.
Catalano Makes Spencer History: Amy Catalano, 35, of Ontario, N.Y., edged Chris Finocchario and her brother-in-law, Buck Catalano, by 22 points to win her first track championship at Spencer Speedway in Williamson, N.Y. She became the first female in track history to win the Feature Division championship. Earlier in the year, she scorer her first career win. Catalano also won twice at Holland (N.Y.) Motorsports Complex.
New England Legend Rowe Adds Another Title: Mike Rowe, 59, of Turner, Maine, is one of the most decorated drivers in New England and he added to that resume by winning the Late Model championship at Beech Ridge Motor Speedway in Scarborough, Maine.
Swaim Wins Third Caraway Crown, First NC Title: Travis Swaim, 30, of High Point, N.C., won the tough NASCAR North Carolina state championship and earned his third Late Model championship at Caraway Speedway in Asheboro, N.C. He also topped the track standings there in 2004 and 2005.
Crum Wins Martinsville Late Model Race: Jake Crum drove into the history books on Oct. 4, becoming the youngest winner of the Bailey’s 300 – the prestigious NASCAR Whelen All-American Series Late Model race at Martinsville Speedway. The Statesville, N.C., driver held off fellow 18-year-old drivers Brandon McReynolds and Brennon Poole on a green-white-checkered finish that pushed the main event to 202 laps. Crum eclipsed the record set by Alex Yontz, who was 20 when he won the race in 2007.
Up Next: NASCAR Toyota All-Star Showdown
NASCAR’s premier short-track racing showcase, the 2010 NASCAR Toyota All-Star Showdown, will be run Jan. 29-30 at the Toyota Speedway at Irwindale (Calif.).
The seventh running of the event, which brings together the top racers from across North America for the ”Daytona 500 of short-track racing,” will be highlighted by the 225-lap NASCAR Camping World Series all-star race.
The schedule also includes a 100-lap NASCAR Whelen All-American Series Super Late Model race and a 75-lap NASCAR Whelen All-American Series Late Model race. Both nights of racing will air live on SPEED as part of a full weekend of racing on SPEED that includes the Rolex 24 at Daytona sports-car event.
The NASCAR Toyota All-Star Showdown was held in the fall for its first five years. It was moved to January last year to give competitors more time to prepare and also to increase exposure for drivers and teams.
The result was an event that had everybody talking. Current NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Raybestos Rookie of the Year candidate Joey Logano went for the win on the final turn of the final lap and collected race leader Peyton Sellers. Instead of a second straight showdown victory, Logano was penalized for the move, and the victory went to Matt Kobyluck, giving him his second career win in the event.
It was just another of a long line of exciting finishes to the all-star race.
Each race winner during the 2009 NASCAR Camping World Series season earned a protected starting spot in the main event. Also, 2009 series champions of NASCAR’s regional touring series – the NASCAR Camping World Series East (Ryan Truex), NASCAR Camping World Series West (Jason Bowles), NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour (Donny Lia), NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour (George Brunnhoelzl III), NASCAR Canadian Tire Series (Andrew Ranger), and NASCAR Mexico Series along with the 2009 national champion for the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series (Philip Morris) have protected starting spots.
The remainder of the starting lineup will be determined through time trials, limited provisionals for NASCAR Camping World Series regulars, and the last-chance “Open” race that provides drivers one final chance to make the grid.
New this year, the top five NASCAR Whelen All-American Series state champions – as determined by the final national standings – entered in the Late Model race will be eligible for protected starting spots.
Sources: Jason Christley/NASCAR PR