National Championship Racing Association

Purkey Sets NCRA Career Wins Mark
 
By Randy Fisher 
 
PARK CITY, Kan. (May 31, 2007) – Memorial Day weekend kicked off the 2007 season for the O’Reilly NCRA Late Model Series, presented by ICM/Ethanol. In addition to great racing and a little controversy, there was a record-breaking performance by a former series champion.
 
When Al Purkey took the checker in the Alphabet Soup race at I-80 Speedway May 27, it was his 25th career NCRA late model win. That broke a tie with the late Larry Phillips for the top spot on the list.
 
“I really wasn’t even thinking about it at the time we were racing,” he said.
 
For Purkey, who hails from Coffeyville, Kan., the win was bittersweet, having watched Phillips race as a kid.
 
“It’s kind of neat for me because Larry Phillips was my hero,” he said, “but I have mixed feelings about it because of that.”
 
Purkey won NCRA championships in 2003-04, and came within 18 points of a three-peat the following year. His two victories in 2005 tied him with Phillips.
 
In 2006, Purkey ran eight NCRA shows in an effort to break the tie. He recorded four top five finishes, with a pair of seconds being his best.
 
Also a two-time series champion, Phillips won titles in 1985-86 and was fifth in 1987. Purkey describes Phillips as an old-school racer.
 
“He had some friends and he had some enemies but that was the way racing was then,” Purkey said.
 
The two drivers did race together on occasion, as there was some overlap in their careers.
 
“I always liked Larry and he always talked with me every time I saw him, which meant a lot,” Purkey said.
 
The hero worship remains long after their racing days together.
 
“Just to be mentioned in the same sentence with Larry Phillips is pretty cool,” Purkey said.
 
When you tell someone now who has the most career NCRA late model wins, that sentence will mention only Al Purkey.