CHAMPION CREW CHIEF: Phil Moran
Third Tour Title For Modified Veteran
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Three decades into his career as a NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour crew member, Phil Moran is far from stuck in his ways.
A chassis is considered one of, if not the, most important ingredient in the recipe of a modified car. Coming off of a championship season no less, Moran led the charge for Mike Smeriglio III Racing to change their chassis.
“It was a calculated risk,” Moran said. “I have known Rob Fuller from LFR Chassis for a long, long time. In 2014, we worked together when I would work on his car.”
The direct exposure to Fuller’s unique construction immediately ingratiated Moran to the product.
“An LFR chassis – if I was to build my own race car right now – that is what I would build,” Moran said.
Paired with a spec engine, also a change from 2014’s Whelen Modified Tour title, the No. 2 Dunleavy’s Truck & Trailer Repair Chevrolet screamed like never before. The team rolled up six poles and seven wins in 15 events.
With a championship defense on the line, Doug Coby piloted Moran’s cars to wins from the pole in each of the final three events of the campaign.
“I can remember back in the day with Mike Stefanik getting on a roll, but ending the season the way we ended it this year was phenomenal,” Moran said. “After Bristol the whole team buckled down. Right after the wreck happened we thought the points championship might have gone out the window, but the whole team buckled down.”
Moran, who won his first Whelen Modified Tour crown with driver Todd Szegedy in 2003, was especially proud of how the MSIII team immediately bounced back after Bristol.
“The most important part about bouncing back was going to Riverhead next week,” Moran said. “We practiced well, Doug qualified better than he ever had there, and we finished second. That got us on a roll.”
Two months removed from the finale at Thompson, the native of Preston, Connecticut, is still trying to gain perspective on what the team accomplished.
“The group of guys that we’ve got, from our crew guys to our owner and sponsors, is tremendous,” Moran said. “The whole season is unexplainable. It’s just a dream to me. I watch the tapes of the TV races quite often only because I can’t believe the year we had. It was pretty cool to do.”
Sources: Jason Cunningham/NASCAR WMT PR