Purvis, Thomas, Brown & Kirby Earn Titles

NASCAR Whelen All-American Series Division II-V Champions

From left, Kyle Purvis, Patrick Thomas, Grant Brown and Jack Kirby
were officially announced Friday as the national champions for NASCAR
Whelen All-American Series Division II-V.
Photos courtesy of NWAAS member track photographers

Tim Southers, NASCAR
September 25, 2015 - 5:55pm

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Friday was a special day for NASCAR Whelen All-American Series competitors Kyle Purvis, Patrick Thomas, Grant Brown and Jack Kirby.

Those four drivers were officially notified they are all now NASCAR champions.

After a season worth of racing and a week of waiting, the final results were released for the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series Division II-V championship standings. 

Each champion has a unique story.

Purvis won the Division II title by just two points – one position on the race track. Thomas overcame numerous issues to jump seven positions in the Division III standings in the final week, 14-year-old Brown had to wait until school was out to take his call from Daytona that he had won Division IV, and Kirby claimed his Division V national championship in his first full year of racing.

Each champion paved their own way to the top and punched their ticket to Charlotte, North Carolina.

The champions and the top five in each division will be honored at the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series Awards at the NASCAR Hall of Fame / Charlotte Convention Center on Friday, Dec. 11.

In addition, the UNOH Youth Achievement Award national title was awarded Friday to Cayden Lapcevich. The 15-year-old driver races at Sunset Speedway in Innisfil, Ontario. The award, in its second year of existence, recognizes the top drivers 17-and-under in the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series. 

“NASCAR would like to congratulate Kyle Purvis, Patrick Thomas, Grant Brown, Jack Kirby and Cayden Lapcevich on their outstanding championship seasons,” said George Silbermann, NASCAR vice president of regional and touring series. “We are proud to recognize the achievements of the drivers at every level of our NASCAR Whelen All-American Series – their hard work and dedication and success while racing in our grassroots level in NASCAR is the foundation of our sport.”

 “We had a great season and we finished in the top three in every race this year and it was a great season,” Lapcevich said. “It’s a great honor to win the UNOH Youth Achievement Award.”

For Purvis, the call couldn’t have come quick enough. 

His battle with Rocky Warner from Utica-Rome (New York) Speedway was the closest battle of any championship this season. Purvis, who races Modifieds at Columbus (Ohio) Motor Speedway, won by two points in the final standings for his first NASCAR national championship.

“We knew Rocky had a great year and we knew it was going to be close but it felt really great when I got the call from Daytona,” said Purvis, who races at Ohio’s Columbus Motor Speedway. “Our consistency throughout the season paid off for us in the end and I can’t thank everyone who helped me enough. I can’t wait to get to Charlotte and represent Columbus and everyone here in Ohio. I appreciate everything the track does to give us a great place to race.” 

While Purvis’ battle was the closest in the four divisions, no one had to overcome as much as Thomas did racing at Florida’s New Smyrna Speedway on the final night of the season.

Thomas won both races last Saturday night in the Sportsman Division to give him 11 wins in 15 starts on the season to edge Elko (Minnesota) Speedway’s Brent Kane by 10 points in the final standings (513-503).

“We knew it was going to be close so we tried to take the pressure off of ourselves and just go out and race and have fun and win both races,” Thomas said. “These are two wins we will remember for a long time after the night we had in the race.”

Getting those last two starts was crucial for Thomas.

NASCAR Whelen All-American Series Division II-V drivers are ranked by their best 14 NASCAR points finishes in series-sanctioned events. Drivers receive two points for every car they finish ahead of – up to 18 cars – and three points for a win, with an additional two points available if the driver starts 10th or lower.

Thomas started 16th in the opener and was collected in a Lap 5 accident. His crew was able to get the car repaired and he worked his way through the field and passed for the lead with two laps to go and pick up the win. The second race was a little more uneventful as the Oviedo, Florida, resident picked up the second win that he needed.

“After sitting in eighth-place the week before we knew it would take some wins and luck to be there at the end,” Thomas added. “This is our first year racing under NASCAR as a team and this is a great feeling and we are looking forward to celebrating in Charlotte.”

Brown, driving in the Power Stock Division, gave Elko a national champion edging last year’s division winner, A.J. Sanders Jr. who competes at North Carolina’s Bowman Gray Stadium, by six points (470-464).

“This championship really means something special as we had to overcome a lot of adversity early in the season,” said Brown, a third-generation driver. “I just want to thank my parents and everyone who worked all year to help us be in position to win the title.”

While it won’t be the first time Brown has visited North Carolina, this trip to Charlotte will be special.

“We went to Charlotte Motor Speedway for a race one year and that was fun,” Brown said. “This trip is really going to be special because this time we get to go celebrate winning a NASCAR championship and that is something that’s super cool for everyone.”

Kirby, from Pryor, Oklahoma didn’t grow up racing, in fact, this was just his first full year behind the wheel of a race car, but that didn’t stop him from winning the Division V championship. Kirby finished the year in the Pure Stock Division with seven wins and 19 top-10 finishes in as many starts to outdistance Elko’s Justin Schelitzche by 36 points – the largest final standings margin in any division. 

“Last year I just jumped in a friend’s car to give it a try and liked it and decided to get a car and try it full-time,” Kirby added. “We’re blessed and happy to get this championship. To beat some of the guys in this division to win it really means something special.”

Kirby was especially happy in recording seven wins throughout the season as Oklahoma’s Salina Highbanks Speedway set their starting lineup by points, which meant Kirby often started at the rear of the field – most of time with at least 20-24 cars.

“We also finished with 17 top-fives and that really is gratifying to be able to race through the field each week and contend for wins,” Kirby said.

Canadian Lapcevich won four times in the Super Stock Division at Sunset and finished 12th in the Division II national standings. The 15-year-old also made his debut this season in the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series presented by Mobil 1, where his dad is a long-time driver.

Last year’s UNOH Youth Achievement Award winner Dillon Bassett moved up from Late Models to the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East and recorded his first career K&N Pro win earlier this season at Motordrome Speedway in Pennsylvania.

Established in 1982, the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series is NASCAR’s national championship program for weekly short track auto racing. In all, 57 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.

-Credit to NASCAR Home Tracks for this article.