Keith Rocco spent the better part of three summers leading the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series race, only to watch the title slip away in the closing weeks.
Determined to change that in 2010, Rocco put together one of the more remarkable championship runs in the history of the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series.
Rocco won six of his first seven points races en route to a 21-win season, and clinched the national championship with more than a month remaining in the season.
Racing the Connecticut asphalt Modified short-track circuit, Rocco won the SK Modified championships at Stafford Motor Speedway and Waterford Speedbowl. He also threw in a handful of starts at Thompson International Speedway.
The 25-year-old from Wallingford, Conn., scored 810 points — the maximum total a driver can accumulate. He became the first national champion to accomplish this feat under the NASCAR championship format since the late Larry Phillips and current NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver Greg Biffle in 1995. Phillips and Biffle achieved the maximum points under the system at the time; Phillips won the crown by virtue of more overall wins (32-27).
So complete was Rocco’s domination that he never lost the points lead and never went more than two straight races finishing outside the top five. His win at Waterford on Aug. 14 was his 18th of the season against a maximum 20-car field and clinched the title despite the fact the points season didn’t close until Sept. 19.
A driver’s top 18 finishes at NASCAR-sanctioned tracks count toward their championship points totals.
Even more impressive, because of the handicapping system at the tracks he races, Rocco routinely starts back in the pack and must sprint to the front. Over the last four seasons, Rocco has 53 wins, 123 top fives and 151 top 10s in 189 starts.
Rocco also became the first driver to win three straight NASCAR Whelen All-American Series Connecticut championships.
