Mike Looney was leading the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series National point standings just two weeks ago but now finds himself fifth and slipping further behind each week after a dismal performance at Kingsport Speedway two weeks ago and a subpar performance at Southern National Motorsports Park last weekend.

His NWAAS National title rival, Philip Morris is also on the skids after tying Peyton Sellers atop the standings on the heels of two wins at Dominion Raceway two weeks ago. This past weekend he suffered a dismal performance at Southern National Motorsports Park where his wheel fell off in the first race and he collected finishes of 15th, 7th, 11th, and 8th in four feature starts over two days.

Morris and Looney even collided in the third race derailing what was both drivers best run of the weekend as they restarted just past halfway in the 40-lap race in second and fourth. Looney’s day was done after the contact from Morris sent him spinning and the contact subsequently turned into a black flag for Morris.

Both drivers will now head to what would be considered a home track for both at Motor Mile Speedway. Looney has run every race and without catastrophic failure will win the track championship. Morris went chasing car count after the second race of the season produced less than a full-field but has run all but two events, three races total including a twin night back on July 13th.

With current NASCAR Whelen All-American Series National points leader Peyton Sellers opting to stick to his home track to run a single feature at South Boston Speedway, Morris and Looney will have the chance to gain ground with twins at Motor Mile Speedway.

In the three most recent starts at Motor Mile Speedway, Looney has two wins while Morris picked up a lone victory in the 100-lap race on July 27th after the two raced door to door for nearly 60 of the 100-laps.

If Looney was to stumble this weekend it could be the end of his National title bid. He’s already 18 points behind and just four weekends of points racing left before the cutoff on Sunday, September 15, 2019. However, if Looney wins both races starting ninth or worse which he has to according to the tracks handicapping rules for multiple race winners. Looney could pick up 24 points provided there is a full field of at least 16 cars.

Motor Mile’s car counts have hovered close to a full field all season long and with them picking up disgruntled racers from Kingsport Speedway in Kingsport, TN, and Shenandoah Speedway in Shenandoah, VA over the summer it’s likely they’ll have a full field of cars this weekend.

Provided there is a full field Morris could pick up a maximum of 20 points. But, he’d have to start ninth or worse to pick up the maximum bonus points something he hasn’t accomplished all season. He’s started ninth just once this season and finished 13th.

Looney, on the other hand, has collected maximum passing points five times this season but only twice has that came when there was a full field of cars on the track. All five times, however, have come at Motor Mile Speedway. Looney due to his twin victories on August 3rd will have to start 10th in the first race this weekend no matter where he qualifies and if he wins that race he’ll start from shotgun on the field for the second.

Sellers for his part will have his hands full picking up another win at South Boston Speedway this season. After he and Lee Pulliam collided at Langley Speedway during the Hampton Heat 200, Pulliam has been dominant at South Boston while bad blood from the Langley wreck still boils between the two. Sellers has finished second to Pulliam in every outing since then.

Sellers has the possibility of gaining just 10 points with the single feature and he’d have to start ninth or worse and have a full field to do so. He’s only started ninth or worse and won twice this season and never with a full car count of 16 cars.

Car count is another concern for Sellers at South Boston. They’ve struggled mightily to have full car count and with only a single feature on tap, anyone looking for National or Virginia State points would likely go to Motor Mile.

RACE22.com will have RACEDAY LIVE updates from Motor Mile Speedway on Saturday night plus updates from Myrtle Beach Speedway’s NASCAR Whelen All-American Series twin features and we’ll be keeping a close eye on South Boston Speedway as well.

We will also keep an eye on other NASCAR Whelen All-American Series National Championship contenders such as Keith Rocco, Nick Panitzke and Jacob Goede this weekend as they purse the championship from other regions.

Cover photo by Jaden Austin.