Howard Continues To Roll At Grandview

Duane Howard rolled off his fourth win in seven starts in the 358 Modified Division race at Grandview Speedway in Bechtesville, Pa. The 48-year-old from Oley, Pa., also has a pair of runner-up finishes and is 28th overall in the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series national standings.

Howard’s race average of 40.3 points, though, is currently tops among the series.

Defending national champion Keith Rocco maintained his first-place overall position by 14 over three-time champion Philip Morris.

NATIONAL TOP 500 | STATE/PROVINCE TOP 20

Rocco, from Wallingford, Conn., upped his points total to 565 despite a difficult weekend. After finishing second at Thompson (Conn.) International Speedway, he was sixth and 17th at the Waterford (Conn.) Speedbowl.

Rocco has nine wins, 14 top fives and 18 top 10s in 21 starts in the asphalt Modified divisions at Thompson, Waterford and Stafford (Conn.) Motor Speedway.

Morris, of Ruckersville, Va., bounced back from an eighth-place run at South Boston (Va.) Speedway to sweep the twin Late Model features there this past Saturday. He has 11 wins, 13 top fives and 14 top 10s in 15 starts.

A driver’s best 18 results through Sept. 18 are counted toward their state and national points totals, and the champions are decided on overall points total.

Because Rocco has already exceeded 18 starts, his total will go up incrementally as he replaces some of his poorer runs with better finishes. Outside of Rocco, only one other driver in the top 30 has more than 15 starts.

Howard has the fewest, as Grandview has been rained out five times to date. With 11 points races currently remaining on the schedule, his margin of error is slim. However, last year, he finished third in the national standings despite not picking up his first win until May 29. He had a summer run that included eight wins and five runner-up finishes in the last 14 races.

Despite the handicapping system that requires Howard to start near the back in each heat and feature on the .333 banked dirt oval, he has managed to master slicing through the field to get to the front. If he can put together a similar run, he’ll find himself right back in national title contention.

There will be plenty of competition at the top, though.

Lee Pulliam, of Semora, N.C., is currently third after picking up another win at Motor Mile Speedway in Radford, Va. He has eight wins, 12 top fives and 13 top 10s in 15 starts for 494 points.

CE Falk III (South Boston and Langley Speedway in Hampton, Va.) and Frank Deiny Jr. (South Boston, Motor Mile and Caraway Speedway in Asheboro, N.C.) are fourth and fifth, respectively.

Nate Monteith of Motor Mile and New Kingsport (Tenn.) Speedway is sixth, followed by Brandon Davis (Toyota Speedway at Irwindale (Calif.)), Zak Hausler (Thunderhill Raceway in Kyle, Texas, and Houston Motorsports Park), Ryan Preece (Thompson, Stafford and Riverhead (N.Y.) Raceway) and Bill Leighton Jr. (Adams County in Corning, Iowa; I-80 Speedway in Omaha, Neb., and Junction Motor Speedway in McCool Junction, Neb.).

Hausler, 16, of Tomball, Texas, a rookie in Texas’ asphalt Modified divisions, earned his national-leading 12th win of the year at Thunderhill.

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.

Track, state and provincial champions and the top three finishers in the national standings earn invitations to the 2011 NASCAR Whelen All-American Series Awards Banquet.

NASCAR Whelen All-American Series National Top 25