Eastern Iowa Driver Rankings: July 8

Welcome to the Inside Track's Eastern Iowa Driver Rankings. Each week of the racing season, the Gazette's Jeremiah Davis will rank the area's top 10 drivers across all divisions.

Think the list should be different? Tweet him at @jeremiahdavis10, send him an email at jeremiah.davis@thegazette.com or leave a comment at The Inside Track by Jeremiah Davis Facebook page.

New this week: Jeremiah Hurst, Andy Nezworski, Brian Irvine

Dropped out:  Kyle Brown, Mother Nature, Troy Cordes, Matt Ryan

Just missed the cut:  Matt Ryan, Troy Cordes, Jenae Gustin,  Jarrett Franzen, Nick Marolf, Chris Luloff, Jeff Aikey, Richie Gustin, David Brandies, Mark Schulte, Kyle Brown, Tyler Soppe

RANK

+/-

NAME

CLASS

THOUGHTS

1

+2

Tony Olson

Sport Mod

The Cedar Rapids driver was likely a flat tire away from a perfect Fourth of July weekend. He went out and won (again) at Davenport Speedway on Friday night for win No. 13. On Saturday night, he was up to fifth before a flat tire sent him to the tail. He drove all the way back to finish third. Then, Sunday, he got his fifth win in a row at Benton County Speedway in Vinton. That's 14 wins so far this season and good enough for No. 1.

2

--

Justin Kay

Late Model/

Modified

This marks the first time since the rankings came out he was NOT the No. 1 driver two straight weeks. Though, to be fair, last week he was still the top driver. This week he ran sixth at the Deery Bros event in Algona, then won at both Davenport and Dubuque. Then, Tuesday night, he finished second at the West Liberty Deery show by about three feet. 

3

+2

Tyler Droste

Late Model

Typically a weekend in which your best finish was fifth doesn't move you up in these rankings. But here's the rub: Droste finished ninth in the Deery Brothers show at Algona, ran fifth at Independence Motor Speedway on Saturday, then finished fifth at West Liberty on Tuesday night. It's his greatly improved runs against Deery competition that gives him a boost. Case in point: he didn't even make the feature at the first West Liberty Deery show.

4

--

Nathan Ballard

Hobby Stock/

Sportsmen

With no Hawkeye Downs Speedway action this weekend for the holiday, Ballard's only night of racing was Sunday at Benton County Speedway in Vinton. For the first time in several weeks, his luck ran out at his weekly dirt home. He finished 14th in the feature after some issues. He and the next guy are still tops in Hobby Stock in Eastern Iowa.

5

+1

Benji Irvine

Hobby Stock

Believe it or not, it's possible for other drivers to win Hobby Stock at Independence Motor Speedway. Irvine ran fourth on Saturday night at his regular track, keeping his string of top-five finishes intact. He also went up to Decorah and Upper Iowa Speedway and ran second. He and Ballard don't race against each other much anymore, and that's too bad.

6

+1

Damon Murty

Stock Car

The annual Stock Car Shootout was last week at Southern Iowa Speedway in Oskaloosa, and it was a shock to no one this guy was in contention. He started and finished second against the best Stock Car drivers in Iowa. He backed that up with a(nother) win at Benton County Speedway in Vinton on Sunday. 

7

NR

Jeremiah Hurst

Modified

After a week away from the rankings, Hurst worked his way back in primarily by way of two victories. He took home $1,000 at the Fourth of July special at Jackson County Speedway in Maquoketa, then won on Sunday in Dubuque Speedway. He also put on an impressive show Friday night at Aftermarket Nationals in Farley. He drove his way into the main event after starting 20th in his B-main. Though he finished 18th in the main event, still impressive.

8

NR

Andy Nezworski

Late Model

Nezworski getting into the rankings is probably overdue. The Buffalo driver raced five times in six days this week (and will make it six in seven tonight). He got his first Deery win Thursday in Algona, ran third Friday at Davenport, fourth at Independence and another fourth at Quad City Speedway Sunday. Nezworski capped his busy race week with a third at the West Liberty Deery show.

9

NR

Brian Irvine

Modified

Irvine was once one of the dominant Stock Car drivers in the area. The switch to IMCA Modified didn't yield the same results right away, but he finally broke through this weekend. He got his first win at Marshalltown Speedway on Friday, then made it back-to-back on Saturday at Independence Motor Speedway. 

10

-2

J.D. Auringer

Modified

Auringer didn't have the top-five-filled weekend he's had for the last several, but still ran consistently. He finished eighth in the Aftermarket Nationals at Farley Speedway on Friday night after racing his way in through a B-main. He was fifth on Saturday night at Independence, then seventh on Sunday at Dubuque.

Previous: April 29; May 6; May 13; May 20; May 27; June 3; June 10; June 17; June 24; July 1

l Comments: (319) 368-8884; jeremiah.davis@thegazette.com