They don't make millions, have high-dollar endorsement deals or charge insulting fees for autograph sessions. They certainly don't wear Hollywood-sized sunglasses during interviews or wax their eyebrows before their hero card photo is taken.

These men still wear mustaches and buy their own Wranglers. They walk to their race cars with their wives, not a publicist with a clipboard. And they drink whatever the hell they want to.

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They are the backbone of NASCAR's grassroots racing series, the veterans who choose a simpler existence over the high-maintenance lifestyle today's NASCAR Cup Series drivers endure.

Often overlooked by today's news media in favor of modern day racing heroes, the short-track veterans and regional racers are still deserving of accolades. Fans of all ages still want to know about the men who whooped up on Kevin Harvick and Kurt Busch back in the day.

The series in which these veterans race, NASCAR's developmental series, is the foundation of NASCAR. Without them, you don't have the training grounds for the sport's three national series: Sprint Cup, Nationwide and Camping World Truck.

It's where the young drivers come to learn and the veterans are there to dole out the tough lessons and send them on their way with great pride. But some misinformed folks like to refer to these men as 'lifers,' older guys passed their prime unable to reach the big leagues -- has-beens if you will.

After hearing their stories, you'll realize it's quite the contrary. These veterans enjoy a greater personal satisfaction, spend more time at home with family and have the freedom of self expression without persecution.

They have a good life but are by no means lifers.

These are their stories...

Philip Morris

Motor Mile Speedway

When you're considered one of the best short-track racers in the country, team owners come to you for advice.

When Philip Morris proposed to his wife Donna on Virginia's scenic Skyline Drive more than 16 years ago, he asked that she stipulate to one fact -- he was a racer for life. He wanted to be an excellent husband and an even stronger father, but could she compromise and understand the demands and sacrifice that came with a trackside lifestyle week in and week out?

Donna understood clearly and was even capable, but it turns out it was her husband who was not all in. Not all in to the corporate-driven sponsor friendly sport NASCAR had become when Morris made his Nationwide Series debut back in 1998.

Philip and Donna Morris

“

I've had people call me crazy for not staying in the top series. I had the opportunity and chose to step back because I didn't need to evolve or move up higher. We short-track veterans are a huge part of NASCAR.

”

-- PHILIP MORRIS

"When you're talking to me, whatever soda I'm drinking, I don't need to worry about getting sued out of my fire suit or losing my house," Morris said of the sponsor constraints he experienced during his 12-race tenure from 1998 to 2001.

"I grew up with David Pearson and those guys. I grew up when racing was really racing but when I jumped into to professional level it took huge corporate dollars and in turn they feel they have ownership over you. I got a different sense of what stock car racing was all about, so I found a good time for me to step back."

Step back into NASCAR's homespun, grassroots racing where the veteran went on to become a two-time champion of NASCAR's Whelen All-American Series and is arguably the best short-track racer in NASCAR-sanctioned racing.

It's a stage this truly simple family man is most comfortable on.

"You know, I've had people call me crazy for not staying in the top series. People have asked me 'are you too religious,' what's the problem?' I've heard it all, but I had the opportunity and chose to step back because I didn't need to evolve or move up higher," Morris said. "We short-track veterans are a huge part of NASCAR. The grassroots level is important to NASCAR and it shows."

Evident by the NASCAR Home Tracks campaign, NASCAR encourages fans to support the racing in their own backyards, because before they were superstars in the Cup Series, drivers such as Denny Hamlin, Jeff Burton and Dale Earnhardt Jr. began their careers as Saturday night racers on the short tracks.

The Home Track campaign was developed to reveal the essence of NASCAR home tracks by sharing stories -- both personal and universal truths -- about the drivers who participate and the fans who love it.

Morris, now 44 and still full of verve, stars with his family in one of this season's spotlights and that is limelight enough for this racing purist who grew up in the South learning never to compromise family values for the sake of fame.

"And when people ask me when am I ever going to move up," Morris said. "I say 'I already have.'"

Matt Kobyluck

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Matt Kobyluck enjoys the freedom in the Camping World Series.

When Matt Kobyluck was crowned 2008 Camping World Series East champion, hundreds of people called to offer the driver well wishes and congratulations.

However no team owners called.

Neither Jack Roush nor Rick Hendrick called to offer the 39-year-old developmental series driver a job racing in NASCAR's big leagues despite his proven talent.

The Connecticut native is approaching his 11th full-time season in NASCAR's top regional series with 16 wins, 55 top-five finishes and a successful tenure racing Late Models.

Not bad for a stick-and-ball guy who graduated from the University of Connecticut playing NCAA Division 1 basketball.

Kobyluck's interest in racing didn't begin until he was out of college and well into his mid-20s. His first ride in an actual stock car was a Late Model at age 23, but he didn't make his Camping World Series debut until he was 28 at the New Hampshire International Speedway.

His late start into the sport is partly the reason why Kobyluck said he never caught a break to drive in one of NASCAR's premier touring divisions.

"I think age played a very significant role in my racing career, because when I got behind the wheel, NASCAR teams were looking for drivers with experience in their 30s. I was too young. Then when I got to that point, the dynamic changed again. They wanted guys in their 20s. Again, I didn't fit the mold, I missed the boat again."

“

Where I am still allows me time with my children and wife and that is very important to me. We primarily race on Friday and Saturday. We don't run 36 races a year, we run about 15.

”

-- MATT KOBYLUCK

Of course, Kobyluck has been given certain opportunities to race in the big leagues, not very attractive ones, but chances nonetheless.

"I have, but I've become comfortable with where I am," Kobyluck said. "I enjoy being the big fish in the small pond."

Along with the camaraderie, Kobyluck said he feels everyone is on an equal playing field. There are no dominant super teams, no superstars with larger-than-life egos.

"Everyone gets along, we all hang out and the crew members all talk to one another," he said. "And it's not about what you've done lately. There's more to it than that."

An even greater perk Kobyluck points out is that short-track veterans, Saturday night racers, etc., don't have an expiration date. Unless you're Mark Martin, the average retirement age of a Cup driver is late 30s early 40s.

Drivers like Kelly Moore, Dave Dion and Mike Stefanik all raced into their 50s.

So for Kobyluck, he won't have to field retirement question as soon as he turns 40 in February.

"For me to retire is going to take one of two things: I'm no longer competitive or my son Kyle becomes old enough to take my place in the car. And right now, lets see, he's 8."

And he's come to learn that racing on NASCAR's star-studded stage isn't always best for drivers wanting to spend quality their time with families.

"Where I am still allows me time with my children and wife and that is very important to me. We primarily race on Friday and Saturday. We don't run 36 races a year, we run about 15," he said.

Sure the big leagues have the salary perks. Drivers below the top 25 and even part-time drivers can make beyond six-figure salaries.

If you're in Kobyluck's shoes, you better win a championship every year or get a second job. The same goes for all drivers in NASCAR's developmental ranks -- so you know they aren't doing it for the money, but strictly for the love of racing.

"I can't make a living driving a race car in NASCAR's Camping World Series, but it allows me to go out and satisfy that innate competitive drive I have," Kobyluck said. "A good percentage of us have other jobs or work for the team they drive for. For me, I have the family construction business."

When it's all said and done, Kobyluck has the privilege to enjoy many aspects of home life, professional life and a racing life.

"If my career ends in the Camping World Series, I'm happy," he said. "That's a big accomplishment and I'm comfortable in my own skin."

That doesn't mean Kobyluck would turn down a viable option to join the big leagues but it is seemingly, at the present time, unrealistic.

"Unless you're Joey Logano's age," Kobyluck laughed. "No, but I remain optimistic. But I enjoy playing in NASCAR's sandbox."

Greg Pursley

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Greg Pursley says the competition is getting tougher in the developmental ranks.

When Greg Pursley left his motorcycle racing career for stock cars, he wanted a chance at the big leagues. He wanted to make it to the Cup level.

Becoming a Cup star wasn't in the cards for a variety of reasons. But being one of the greatest short-track racers to hit Toyota Speedway in Irwindale Calif., was, however, equally as great for the 41-year-old from the West Coast.

Driving an asphalt Super Late Model for owner Dave Hays, Pursley won 13 of the 18 races that season in 2004 making him NASCAR's Whelen All-American Series national champion.

"The first time I raced that track was 1999, I just fell in love, that was a home track for me," Pursley recalled. "And the year we won the championship, man, we could do no wrong. That will probably never happen again."

He thought maybe his championship, a launch pad for success, would garner him a look from some Cup team owners, despite his age, 36. It never happened. A victim of the ageist industry, Pursley let it go.

But what he never let go was his desire to move up. A move up the ladder, no matter where the ladder was, developmental series or not, was a step in the right direction.

“

You can't do without Saturday night at the short track. We all have to start somewhere -- just some of us are OK with never leaving.

”

-- GREG PURSLEY

In 2002 he was rookie of the year in the Camping World Series West division but then returned to Super Late Models at Irwindale after sponsorship became an issue. After a couple years as a crew chief at Irwindale, in addition to being the chief driving instructor, he's back in the West series and doing something men his age rarely get to do -- drive for a team owner and get paid.

"In 2007 I asked [Gene Price Racing] if I could run one of his Super Late Model cars in the [Toyota All-Star] Showdown, we ended up winning," Pursley said. "After that I decided I might have a chance to race in the Camping World Series for a championship.

"Gene got the racing bug and decided to run a full season this year. We have six cars now built in a brand new shop in Arizona. The team is great and we are all very excited."

In his mind, a shot is a shot.

"I have no problem staying right where I am," Pursley said. "A bonus would be to run a Truck race or Nationwide race but I know they aren't looking for a 41-year-old racer. I'm just happy to be racing in the Camping World Series. The competition is great and getting tougher and tougher when the young guys come in and when Cup stars come down. It keeps us on our game."

Pursley said he may stay within the same racing series with little room for advancement but there's always room to learn no matter your age.

"Old guys like us, people think we are set in our ways, in our driving style so Cup teams want young kids they can mold," Pursley said. "You know what? I'm still learning and the most competitive I've ever been."

So both the young rookies and the veterans can benefit from short-track racing, the Saturday night racing. Together, both groups put on one heck of a show.

"You can't do without Saturday night at the short track," Pursley said. "We all have to start somewhere -- just some of us are OK with never leaving."

And the best thing about sticking to the smaller series is that Pursley still returns to two-wheel racing now and again. He and his wife Heidi take their two kids, Tyler and Taylor, out in the country on dirt bikes and race one another for fun.

This is just another example of the little things these men enjoy without worrying about consequences Cup drivers must consider. If they injure a wrist or a thumb, they can't race and if they can't race then the sponsor is not happy. The men racing local and regional series are a throwback of sorts when NASCAR was defined by blue-collar workers all from small-towns in the South.

In a time when fans criticize the sport for moving further from its Southern-fried roots, some can take solace knowing NASCAR's grassroots racing will always be around for Joe and Jane six-pack looking for something a little more homespun, something pure.