There is a new name atop the standings in the chase for the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series (NWAAS) National Championship.
41-year-old Thomas Tillison, Jr. from Oklahoma took over the top spot over the weekend, passing Keith Rocco to take possession of the championship lead. Tillison has emerged somewhat as a a surprise in the NASCAR title fight.
11 of the last 13 NWAAS championships have belonged either to Late Model Stock Car drivers in the Carolinas or Virginia or to a Northeastern Modified driver. Most expected the championship chase to be a shootout between Keith Rocco and Lee Pulliam, but Thomas Tillison, Jr. is the newest gunslinger in the fight.
Tillison races a Dirt Modified car at Salina Highbanks Speedway and Flint Creek Speedway — both tracks in Oklahoma.
Keith Rocco and Ryan Preece sit second and third while Lee Pulliam is in fourth. Pulliam’s bid for a third championship has been periled by a steep decline in car counts at South Boston Speedway. In fact, Pulliam has had to travel to Langley Speedway on a semi-regular basis to chase points, but even that track often fails to meet the 18 car threshold needed for a driver to make maximum points.
Over the past two seasons, Pulliam has traveled between South Boston, Motor Mile Speedway and North Carolina’s Southern National Motorsports Park. Motor Mile, like South Boston, has also seen a noticeable decline in car counts. Once known for having 25-30 car fields every race as recently as two months ago, Motor Mile has only had 11 cars on July 24th and 16 cars on August 8th.
Late Model Stock Car drivers Kres VanDyke and Matt Bowling are also inside the top-10 — sitting eighth and 10th respectively. VanDyke’s bid for a national championship has suffered major setbacks over recent weeks after he was stripped of two victories in the last three weeks at Kingsport Speedway in Tennessee. Bowling has been on a bit of a hot streak in recent weeks, scoring wins at Motor Mile and South Boston.
