Whelen national title on the line at SoBo

from staff reports

Published: September 12, 2008

SOUTH BOSTON — Philip Morris will climb into his car at South Boston Speedway on Saturday night with one thing in mind — winning the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series national championship.

Morris and other competitors from Motor Mile Speedway are expected to race in the Embarq presents Sunoco 150 — a 150-lap shootout for drivers in the NASCAR Barkhouser Late Model Stock Car Division — at South Boston on Saturday night. The first of four races gets under way at 7 p.m. Grandstand gates open at 5.

The race marks the final night of competition for NASCAR points at South Boston Speedway. Motor Mile Speedway has already held its final NASCAR point races of the season.

Morris, who won the national championship in 2006, is tied with Brian Harris at 946 points in the national title standings heading into the final weekend. However, Harris currently owns the tiebreaker with more wins than Morris.

Morris has notched 12 victories in 25 starts this season, but based on the scoring for the national title chase, he could possibly move ahead of Harris with a win or a second-place finish Saturday.

Morris has already locked up the NASCAR crown at Motor Mile Speedway and the state title in Virginia. He knows winning at South Boston Speedway on Saturday won’t be an easy task.

“It’s difficult when you go to another track,” Morris said. “You want to go to the track and be respective of the drivers that race there every week and be competitive.”

While Morris is seeking to win to secure a possible national championship, Wayne Ramsey, a five-time winner on the four-tenths mile oval this season, is looking to claim his first ever NASCAR Whelen All-American Series track championship.

Ramsey heads into the weekend with a 31-point lead over Justin Johnson, who has motored to four wins at SoBo this season.

There’s also a points battle in the Limited Sportsman Division, where two-time defending champion Lee Pulliam and Bruce Anderson are deadlocked atop the standings heading into their 50-lap final points event of the season.

A champion will also be crowned in the Budweiser Pure Stock Division Saturday night. Joe Allred leads the title chase by 21 points over Courtney Crosby. Rounding out racing action on Saturday will be an event for the Yellow Book USA Southern Vintage Modifieds.