THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, September 8, 1995 TAG: 9509080626
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C5 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY FRANK VEHORN, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 90 lines
Clinching NASCAR's Mid-Atlantic championship in the Winston Racing Series may require nothing more than a joy ride for Norfolk stock-car driver Phil Warren this weekend.
Warren heads into the final weekend of regional competition with a 40-point lead, and his closest competitor, Elliott Sadler of Emporia, Va., would have to win four races to overtake him.
Warren virtually wrapped up the title last Saturday with his 17th Late Model Stock victory at Langley Speedway in Hampton, where he has dominated all year. He also has one other victory, at Southside Speedway in Richmond.
With Langley closed Saturday because of the Winston Cup race in Richmond, Warren could afford to stay home and celebrate becoming the first Langley driver to win the Mid-Atlantic title since Bubba Adams in 1986. The only other Langley driver to win it was Elton Sawyer in 1984.
But instead of staying home, Warren, 37, will race in a doubleheader at Ace Speedway in North Carolina tonight and at Old Dominion Speedway near Manassas, Va., on Saturday in hopes of becoming the first Langley driver ever to win the national championship.
``I need three more starts for the required number to be eligible for the national title,'' Warren said.
Warren has been told he has ``as good a chance as anyone'' at the national title, but there are no official standings. The championship is determined by a complicated formula based on the number of victories, level of competition and - NASCAR being NASCAR - politics.
Langley promoter Wayne Wyatt has endorsed Warren for the national title, based on the strong fields of competition he has faced at Langley, where Warren already has wrapped up an unprecedented fourth track title.
``I can't imagine anyone having a better season than Phil against such strong competition,'' Wyatt said. ``His victories at our track have all come in races of 100 laps or more and there were more than 20 cars in most of them. Some track champions win their races in 10-car fields and much shorter events.''
Warren said he doesn't have any way to gauge his national championship standing.
``I talked to a lady at NASCAR and she told me it depends on how everyone does in the final week,'' he said.
A NASCAR spokesperson said it could take a week before a decision is announced.
``If I don't win the national title, I'll be happy with the regional championship,'' Warren said. ``It is something I have never won before.''
Warren has never had a season to compare with this one, either.
He drove to victories in each of the first eight weeks at Langley while building a lead in the points standings no one could touch.
While track records are not available, promoters say Warren's season has to be one of the best ever by a Late Model driver.
Through most of the season, Warren's success was cheered by fans and competitors alike because of his reputation as a hard worker and clean driver. But frustration and resentment eventually surfaced as Warren continued to roll up victories.
A few fans accused Langley officials of favoring Warren so the track could boast of having a regional or national champion, and rival Bugs Hairfield, once a Mid-Atlantic contender himself, angrily stormed out of Langley after accusing Warren of cheating.
``I didn't think it was possible for anyone to dominate one race track like we have done,'' Warren said. ``Maybe we hit on something that no one else has figured out yet. Bugs thought he had it figured out, that we were cheating, but he was wrong.''
Warren said the biggest pressure he felt was needing to win every week to strengthen his position in the Mid-Atlantic standings.
``But, really, the pressure was more on the others than me,'' Warren said. ``They had to win races to catch me, and I think some of them got in trouble a couple of times trying to do it.''
Warren said he is relieved he is not in a win-or-else situation this weekend, especially with Langley being closed. He had made preliminary plans to race four or five times this week, and even to challenge his closest competitor on his home track, if necessary.
``I am glad that didn't happen because it is so hard to go to someone else's home track and have to win,'' Warren said.
While the regional championship season ends this weekend, Langley still has two major events remaining, on Sept. 15-16 and Sept. 23. A special Late Model Stock race also is planned for the weekend of Oct. 21-22.
Warren said he plans to finish out the season at Langley and to enter the big Late Model Stock race at Martinsville in October. ILLUSTRATION: Phil Warren, who has 17 Late Model victories at Langley
Speedway, has NASCAR's Mid-Atlantic crown all but wrapped up.
by CNB