Philip Morris (racing driver)

Philip Morris
Born (1965-05-11) May 11, 1965 (age 60)
Ruckersville, Virginia, U.S.
Height6 ft 0 in (183 cm)
Achievements2006, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2018 Whelen All-American Series National Champion
2000, 2010, 2012 ValleyStar Credit Union 300 winner
2017 Thunder Road 200 winner
2018 Hampton Heat 200 winner
NASCAR O'Reilly Auto Parts Series career
12 races run over 4 years
Best finish74th (2000)
First race1998 AC-Delco 200 (Rockingham)
Last race2001 GNC Live Well 300 (Homestead)
Wins Top tens Poles
0 2 0
NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series career
1 race run over 1 year
Best finish127th (1997)
First race1997 Hanes 250 (Martinsville)
Wins Top tens Poles
0 0 0
Statistics up to date as of April 2, 2013.

Philip Morris (born May 11, 1965), nicknamed King Philip[1] is an American former professional stock car racing driver from Ruckersville, Virginia. He is a five-time NASCAR Local Racing Series champion, tied with Larry Phillips for the most all-time.[2]

Morris also previously competed in twelve races in what is now the NASCAR O'Reilly Auto Parts Series, finishing fifth in his debut in 1998, and one NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race in 1997. He ran one CARS Tour race in 2017 and won the pole. He has also won the ValleyStar Credit Union 300 three times, the most of any driver.

Racing career

Whelen All-American Series

Craftsman Truck Series

Morris made one career start in the Craftsman Truck Series, his major league NASCAR debut, which came in 1997. Starting 24th in the field at Martinsville, Morris had an engine let go early and would finish last in the 36-truck field.

Busch Series

Morris made his NASCAR Busch Series debut at the North Carolina Speedway in Rockingham, North Carolina in November 1998, driving the No. 84 Chevy. He started twelfth and finished in fifth.

In 1999, Morris made three races driving the No. 01 Blue Ridge Motorsports Chevrolet. At the Las Vegas Motor Speedway in March, he started in eighth and finished 35th, three laps down. At South Boston Speedway in June, Morris started 26th and finished seventh. In August, he made his third and final start of 1999 at Bristol, starting 28th and finishing 29th.

In 2000, Morris drove six races for Innovative Motorsports in the No. 30 Little Trees Chevrolet. In his six starts, he had a best starting position of 8th at South Boston and a best finish of 28th at South Boston, as well.

Morris did not have much success after that, and in 2001 raced his three last NASCAR races. He was 30th and 34th in two races for Jay Robinson Racing, with the better coming at Charlotte and then 40th in a race for Hensley Racing at Rockingham. He is often referred to as one of the greatest late model drivers to have existed, with the general consensus being that his name was what stopped him from breaking into the top levels of stock car racing. At the time, NASCAR's top series was sponsored by Winston, owned by R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company, a competitor of Philip Morris International, which owns brands such as Marlboro. There was never evidence of any connection between the driver and the company.

Motorsports results

NASCAR

(key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)

Busch Series

NASCAR Busch Series results
Year Team No. Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 NBSC Pts Ref
1998 Blue Ridge Motorsports 84 Chevy DAY CAR LVS NSV DAR BRI TEX HCY TAL NHA NZH CLT DOV RCH PPR GLN MLW MYB CAL SBO IRP MCH BRI DAR RCH DOV CLT GTY CAR
5
ATL HOM
DNQ
82nd 160 [3]
1999 01 DAY CAR
DNQ
LVS
35
ATL DAR TEX
DNQ
NSV BRI TAL CAL NHA RCH
DNQ
NZH CLT
DNQ
DOV SBO
7
GLN MLW MYB
DNQ
PPR GTY IRP MCH BRI
28
DAR RCH
DNQ
DOV CLT CAR
DNQ
MEM PHO HOM 79th 183 [4]
2000 Innovative Motorsports 30 Chevy DAY CAR LVS ATL DAR BRI TEX NSV
DNQ
TAL CAL RCH NHA CLT DOV SBO
28
MYB
36
GLN MLW NZH PPR GTY IRP MCH BRI
40
DAR RCH
42
DOV CLT
32
CAR MEM PHO HOM 74th 286 [5]
2001 Jay Robinson Racing 49 Ford DAY CAR LVS ATL DAR BRI TEX NSH TAL CAL RCH NHA NZH CLT DOV KEN MLW GLN CHI GTY PPR IRP MCH BRI DAR RCH DOV KAN CLT
30
MEM PHO 85th 177 [6]
Hensley Motorsports 80 Ford CAR
40
Jay Robinson Racing 49 Chevy HOM
34

Craftsman Truck Series

NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series results
Year Team No. Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 NCTSC Pts Ref
1997 Sam Beatty 81 Chevy WDW TUS HOM PHO POR EVG I70 NHA TEX BRI NZH MLW LVL CNS HPT IRP FLM NSV GLN RCH
DNQ
MAR
36
SON MMR CAL PHO LVS 127th 65 [7]

CARS Late Model Stock Car Tour

(key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led. ** – All laps led.)

CARS Late Model Stock Car Tour results
Year Team No. Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 CLMSCTC Pts Ref
2017 Adam Murray 01 Ford CON DOM DOM HCY HCY BRI AND ROU TCM ROU HCY CON SBO
16
53rd 19 [8]

References

  1. ^ Bogert, Logan (January 6, 2019). "A triumphant return: 'King Philip' of racing fame". The Daily Progress. Retrieved January 3, 2023.
  2. ^ Christley, Jason (19 September 2018). "Virginia's Philip Morris wins record-tying fifth NASCAR All-American National Championship". Autoweek. Retrieved January 3, 2023.
  3. ^ "Philip Morris – 1998 NASCAR Busch Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved October 9, 2025.
  4. ^ "Philip Morris – 1999 NASCAR Busch Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved October 9, 2025.
  5. ^ "Philip Morris – 2000 NASCAR Busch Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved October 9, 2025.
  6. ^ "Philip Morris – 2001 NASCAR Busch Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved October 9, 2025.
  7. ^ "Philip Morris – 1997 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved October 9, 2025.
  8. ^ "Philip Morris – 2017 CARS Late Model Stock Tour Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved October 9, 2025.