Photo Credit: Eric Hylton
Tillison Maintains Lead in National Whelen All-American Series
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Tim Brown continues to make history at one of NASCAR’s most iconic tracks.
Brown clinched his 10th NASCAR track championship at historic Bowman Gray Stadium in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, last Saturday night to add to his record-setting collection of title trophies at his home track. Brown edged rival Jason Myers by 24 points in the final standings (808-784) after the 150-lap season finale.
“After all these years and championships I still can’t believe it sometimes,” Brown said. “My grandfather (Eb Clifton) raced there years ago and I would go as a kid to watch him and dreamed of just being able to get out on the track and race, much less win one race or even a championship.”
While Brown only had four wins to Myers’ seven, the Cana, Virginia, driver was quick to point out the strong season Myers had.
“We didn’t have the best car all year but we stuck to our game plan and kept working to find speed all season long,” Brown said. “Jason was fast all year and had a great season. If it wasn’t for some bad luck he had on a double-points night, he might be the one celebrating right now instead of us.”
The third-generation driver, who works for Michael Waltrip Racing full-time in addition to racing all season long at Bowman Gray, said it was a complete team and family effort that got him to this point. He’s now ready to make the trip to Charlotte in December to be recognized at the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series Awards Ceremonies.
“It’s get hard and tougher every year to find the time and energy to work and race full-time,” Brown said. “There’s no way I could have done it this year without the support of my wife (Megan), my brother Ben, crew chief Mark Ruhmann and all the guys on the crew.”
With just under a month remaining in the season, who joins Brown in Charlotte is still far from decided.
STANDINGS: NATIONAL TOP 500 | STATE & PROVINCE
In the national standings, despite being rained out on Friday and Saturday, Thomas Tillison Jr. remains atop the Division I national standings.
Former national champion Keith Rocco also had his Friday night race at Stafford Motor Speedway rained out, but was able to come back and finish second at New London-Waterford Speedbowl in Connecticut on Saturday night to trim the deficit by four points. Tillison leads by 14 points (662-648).
Two-time national champion Lee Pulliam moved up to two spots this week to third after he swept a pair of 75-lap Late Model Stock features at Motor Mile Speedway in Radford, Virginia. Jimmy Zacharias also remains in the hunt in fourth place after he scored back-to-back wins at New York’s Chemung Speedrome and Holland Motorsports Complex.
Ryan Preece, who won the NASCAR Whelen Modified and Whelen Southern Modified Tours combination race last Wednesday at Bristol Motor Speedway, also missed out when Stafford was washed out Friday. The Connecticut driver came back to finish third at New York’s Riverhead Raceway on Saturday to remain in the top five.
Canadian Taylor Holdaway currently sits in sixth place racing at Ontario’s Sunset Speedway with Minnesota’s Jacob Goede (Elko Speedway) seventh. Neither raced over the weekend, as the Late Models were off at Sunset and rain cancelled Elko’s event.
Defending Tennessee state champion Kres VanDyke is eighth racing at South Carolina’s Greenville Pickens and Anderson Speedways, Tennessee’s Kingsport Speedway, Virginia’s Lonesome Pine Raceway in Colburn, as well as Motor Mile and Caraway.
Grandview Speedway regular Craig Von Dohren gives dirt track drivers their second driver in the national top 10 as the Pennsylvania driver ranks ninth, with veteran Ted Christopher (Stafford, New London-Waterford, Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park) completing the top 10. Christopher beat Rocco for the win at New London-Waterford Saturday.
For Brown, he’s not done winning racing – or championships – at Bowman Gray.
“I used to talk to the team about going until we win a dozen championships and 100 races,” Brown said. “That used to just be a dream, but now it’s a goal I think we have a good shot to reach and I’m going to keep racing at least another five years or so.”
The Whelen All-American Series points season will run through Sunday, Sept. 20.
The top three in the national standings, as well as state and province champions, track champions, top finishers in the Div. II-V and special award winners, will be honored at the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series Awards in December.
Established in 1982, the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series is NASCAR’s national championship program for weekly short track auto racing. In all, 58 paved and dirt tracks throughout the United States and Canada participate.
Connecticut-based Whelen Engineering is the series’ title sponsor. Whelen Engineering is a leading manufacturer of automotive, aviation, industrial and emergency vehicle lighting. NASCAR tracks and pace cars across North America are among the many showcases for Whelen products.
