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12/13/2014 |
ANDERS HONORED
AS 2014 NATIONAL CHAMPION
Top Whelen
All-American Series Performers Recognized |
Anthony Anders’ dream became reality Friday night.
Since he first came to the NASCAR Whelen
All-American Series Awards in 2011, he imagined a
day when his name would hang on one of the banners
of national champions that ring the Crown Ballroom
of the Charlotte Convention Center at the NASCAR
Hall of Fame.
As
the 2014 NASCAR Whelen All-American Series national
champion, Anders not only saw his name on the latest
banner, he collected his championship ring from
NASCAR President Mike Helton and the championship
trophy that’s etched with all the national champions
in the series’ 33-year history.
“This was a dream come true for me and a long time
coming,” Anders said. “I painted my name on the
historic wall alongside NASCAR greats Ralph
Earnhardt, David Pearson and many other local
legends.
“I want to thank NASCAR and the Whelen series for
all of their support and for playing a role in
making the past 18 years the best of my life. I want
to thank all the local tracks and all the racers
involved in the series. It is an honor to be your
2014 National Champion.”
Anders piled up 30 wins, 44 top fives and 48 top 10s
in 51 races at South Carolina’s Greenville Pickens
Speedway, Anderson Motor Speedway and Myrtle Beach
Speedway, as well as North Carolina’s Hickory Motor
Speedway
The national championship wasn’t the only honor
Anders took home.
He also won the South Carolina championship for the
fourth straight year and the Late Model Stock Car
championship at Greenville.
That title earned Anders the right to add again to
the Wall of Champions as the Late Model Stock Car
champion at Greenville. The outside retaining wall
around the flat half-mile lists the names of all the
track’s champions, including the likes of Pearson
and Earnhardt, as well as 1997 NASCAR national
champion Dexter Canipe.
The state championship traces its lineage back to
1953 and also includes Pearson, Cale Yarborough and
Bobby Isaac.
And now Anders’ name is permanently added to that
storied track, state and national short-track
history.
Anders wasn’t the only member of his team taking
home hardware. Crew chief Lee McCall received the
Lunati Crew Chief Award, while McCall and Randy
Hawkins of Hawk-McCall Motorsports were honored with
the Lincoln Electric Car Owner Award.
Anders and his team reached their crowning
achievement by out-distancing a pair of national
champions, who were also honored Friday for their
outstanding seasons.
North Carolina’s Lee Pulliam, who won the national
title in 2012 and 2013, finished second to Anders,
while Connecticut’s Keith Rocco, the 2010 champion,
took home the trophy for his third-place
performance.
It is the fourth straight year Pulliam has been
among the top three, while Rocco stretched his run
to a record eighth consecutive seasons in the top
four.
Pulliam, 26, collected his third Virginia
championship and first North Carolina championship.
He had 25 wins, 41 top fives and 42 top 10s while
competing at North Carolina’s Caraway Speedway in
Sophia and Southern National Motorsports Park in
Lucama, and Virgina’s Motor Mile Speedway in Radford
and South Boston Speedway.
Rocco, 29, had 16 wins, 35 top fives and 40 top 10s
in 46 starts at Connecticut’s Stafford Motor
Speedway, Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park and
Waterford Speedbowl. He won his seventh straight
Connecticut title and the SK Modified Division
championship at Waterford.
Highlighting the evening’s festivities were several
special awards.
Nick Heywood, 26, of Plattsburgh, New York, received
the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series National
Rookie of the Year Award presented by Jostens.
Heywood had five wins, 18 top fives and 21 top 10
finishes in 21 starts at Airborne and finished
second in the New York standings.
Toni Marie McCray, of Highland, California, was
presented the prestigious Wendell Scott Trail Blazer
Award. Dillon Bassett, 17, of Winston-Salem, North
Carolina, was the inaugural recipient of the UNOH
Youth Achievement Award national championship.
Additionally, NASCAR awarded national championships
for Divisions II-V: Jared Umbenhauer of Grandview
Speedway in Bechtelsville, Pennsylvania (Division
II); Jon Plowman of I-80 Speedway in Omaha and Adams
County Speedway in Corning, Iowa (Division III); AJ
Sanders of North Carolina’s Bowman Gray Stadium of
Winston-Salem, Caraway Speedway in Sophia, and
Southern National Raceway Park in Lucama (Division
IV); and Donavan Beacham of Greenville and Anderson
(Division V).
Track Division I champions, U.S. state and Canadian
province champions and rookies of the year were also
recognized the stage.
The Whelen All-American Series Awards Banquet was
streamed live online in English, Spanish and French
on FansChoice.tv and simultaneously on
NASCARHomeTracks.com.
Saturday night's NASCAR Night of Champions Touring
Awards will also be streamed live from the same
location, in English, Spanish and French, starting
with the pre-event Red Carpet Special at 5 p.m. ET
with the awards ceremony getting underway at 6 p.m. |
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Source: Jason Christley / NASCAR
Posted:
December 13, 2014 |
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