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With the Alltel DIRTcar Nationals coming to conclusion it’s time for round two of the power rankings. Because a few drivers from my pre-season top ten did not make the trek down to Volusia Speedway Park, the rankings see a little bit of a shakeup.
Once the season starts things will change drastically as I probably won’t do it weekly but rather bi-weekly. The good thing is I have this week off so I have plenty of time to sit and make these rankings.
This week the emphasis in the rankings was split between wins and points with wins gaining more importance than the points. Drivers that earned victories completed the top four spots with high point getters completing the top ten.
1. Brett Hearn (Best: 1, Worst: 1) – With a strong showing at Volusia, Brett Hearn remains atop of this week’s power rankings. Although Hearn was tied with Pauch in the points, he remains atop the list due to his preseason number one ranking. He won Thursday night’s feature with his worst finish being a fifth on Friday night all with his backup car from my understanding.
2. Billy Pauch (Best: 2, Worst: Out) – Pauch shocked many of us New Yorkers by winning Thursday night’s 30-lap feature. On Thursday night he had an incredible battle with Hearn only to finish second. His worst finish came on Saturday night when he finished fifth.
3. Dale Planck (Best: 3, Worst: Out) – Dale Planck finished the overall point standings in fifth spot garnering 184 points. He won Friday night’s feature and scored two third place finishes. His worst finish came opening night after his new team arrived early in the morning because of a trailer probably on the way down. A good debut for new owner Carey Terrance.
4. Jimmy Horton (Best: 4, Worst: Out) – Horton had an abysmal opening night as he lost a motor in his Dieter Schmidt owned ride. The team had ignition trouble on Friday night putting them 26th in the feature. When the car was running properly he had two top five finishes.
5. Alan Johnson (Best 6, Worst: Out) – Johnson made his 2008 debut with the Sherlock Motorsports team. He wasn’t able to reach victory lane during any of the four nights but was one of the most consistent runners with his best finish being a second and his worst being seventh.
6. Pat Ward (Best 5, Worst: 6) – Ward drops one spot in the rankings this week thanks to the fact that Alan Johnson beat him by four points in the overall standings. Ward’s best finish was a pair of thirds which he secured on Wednesday and Friday.
7. Matt Sheppard (Best: 6, Worst: 7) – Sheppard falls one spot in the rankings this week as he was unable to finish any higher than fifth in the four features as Volusia. His worst finish came in Saturday night’s event as brought his Ross Motorsports ride home tenth.
8. Jimmy Phelps (Best: 3, Worst: 8) – Phelps drops five spots in the rankings after struggling to get the right setup at Volusia. In his second appearance at the Barberville, Fl oval with the H&H Motorsports team, Phelps’ best finish came in the 50-lap concluding event as he came home second. This week will be remembered mostly because of the altercation with Danny Johnson on Saturday night.
9. Mario Clair (Best: 9, Worst: Out) – This Quebec driver made a big impression as he was consistently inside the top ten except for the last night of action. He was the 2007 Mr. DIRTcar 358-Modified Series Champion as well as the Autodrome Drummond champion.
10. Rich Laubach (Best: 10, Worst: Out) – The ‘Quaker Shaker’ did not qualify on Friday night but was inside the top ten in the other three features. His best finish was sixth on Wednesday night. He secured 136 points during the week.
Drivers falling out of this week’s rankings: Tim Fuller (Best: 2, Worst: Out), Billy Decker (Best: 4, Worst: Out), Kenny Tremont (Best: 7, Worst: Out), Steve Paine (Best: 8, Worst: Out), Gary Tomkins (Best: 9, Worst: Out), Stewart Friesen (Best: 10, Worst: Out).
Well that’s it for this week’s rankings. They are probably not as controversial as week one but as the season rolls along I’m sure we’ll have some discussion as to who belongs in there.
In the forum I would love for people to come up with a formula to determine how these rankings should be done. How much emphasis should be placed on wins, money won and type of competition? Let me know and we’ll see what kind of formula we can come up with.
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