Posted by Motor Mile Speedway on September 18, 2007, 1:04 am
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Morris caps season with Rally By Jared Turner/Roanoke.com RADFORD -- Philip Morris has made his mark on Motor Mile Speedway in 2007. In Saturday night's season finale, he added an exclamation mark. A week after clinching his fifth Late Model Stock title at the track, Morris polished off a dominant campaign with a thrilling pass of leader Davin Scites in turns 1 and 2 on the final lap. Scites tenderized Morris' bumper in turns 3 and 4 coming to the checkered flag but failed to get the Ruckersville driver loose enough to pull alongside. Morris called the win -- his 10th at Motor Mile and 11th this season -- one of his most meaningful. In two of the three races Scites won in 2007, Morris placed second. "I haven't really beat Davin this year until right there, so it definitely seals the deal for me," Morris said. Scites, who had led since passing Morris on the 109th circuit of the 150-lap race, appeared to have the victory sealed until a three-car wreck on lap 145 triggered the fifth and final caution, erasing Scites' lead and bunching up the field for a green-white-checkered finish. Scites held off Morris' advances until turn 1 on the white-flag lap, when Morris made his move -- a move that Scites criticized but Morris defended. "He knew what to do," Scites said. "He hit me and it caught me a little bit sideways -- not bad but enough to do it." Morris claimed he never bumped Scites, saying the air made his challenger's car wiggle briefly. "I never touched him," Morris said. For the opening 108 laps, there was no touching Morris. Starting from the pole, he led easily before a series of yellow flags tightened the field and allowed Scites to get in contention. Three other contenders -- Jason Mitcham, Tommy Lemons Jr. and Jerame Donley -- saw their hopes of victory dashed five laps from the finish when they tangled while racing for third off turn 4. "Me and Jason were just racing hard and me and him went in a little bit over our head ... trying to earn the spot," said Lemons Jr., who nursed his car home third despite sustaining heavy front-end damage in the wreck. Mitcham, likewise, didn't cast blame. "No hard feelings anywhere," the Blacksburg driver said. "I wish we hadn't gotten tore up like that. We were racing hard. That's just part of it." Newport's Jason Merriman and Bluefield's Rusty Skewes completed the top five. Those not so fortunate at the finish included Kelly Kingery and Forrest Reynolds. Kingery, who started sixth and had been among the leaders for most of the night, surrendered fourth on lap 81 and came to pit road when his Chevrolet began to leak fluid on the track under the third caution. The culprit, an oil leak in the car's rear end, forced Kingery to retire early from the race. Reynolds came to the pits on lap 98 after slowing with an apparent cut tire. He was running third at the time. Scites, for his part, wasn't content running second to Morris after the perceived bump-and-run. "We'll remember it, you know?" he said. "It always comes back around."