Eastern Iowa Driver Rankings: May 27

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: Jeff Aikey, J.D. Auringer

Dropped out:  Damon Murty, Brody Willett

Just missed the cut:  Norman Chesmore, Jarrett Franzen, Brian Irvine, Tyler Soppe, Richie Gustin, Brody Willett, Damon Murty

RANK

+/-

NAME

CLASS

THOUGHTS

1

--

Justin Kay

Late Model

Every time it looks like someone is ready to challenge or replace Kay atop these rankings, he goes out and wins races and makes it impossible. Kay was 2-for-2, getting a win at Davenport Speedway on Friday night and then held on for the IMCA Deery Brothers Late Model A-main win on Memorial Day at Boone Speedway. Until further notice, he's No. 1.

2

--

Tony Olson

Sport Mod

Friday night was a little strange for the Cedar Rapids driver. He won his heat race handily at Davenport Speedway, but didn't get to run his feature because of the track's curfew. Undeterred, he got his sixth win of the season the next night at Independence Motor Speedway. He's as confident as ever in his IMCA Sport Mod.

3

--

Nathan Ballard

Hobby Stock

Ballard stayed perfect in his Hobby Stock at Hawkeye Downs Speedway, getting his third straight win there on Friday. The rest of his weekend got washed out, though, as rain canceled racing at Benton County Speedway in Vinton. He doesn't seem to be slowing down, either, and has something new coming that should debut this weekend.

4

+3

Troy Cordes

Modified

Getting win No. 100 is certainly worth a bump in the rankings. Cordes' milestone win was poetic, as it came Saturday at Independence Motor Speedway, the site of his first IMCA Modified win. He's only the 42nd Modified racer to reach the mark, among more than 35,000 to have run the class in its history. He also ran third Friday night at Farley Speedway. 

5

+5

Tyler Droste

Late Model/ Modified

Speaking of bumps, here's the biggest of the week. Droste is in some kind of groove lately - in both divisions. He took home $2,000 for his win at Mod Madness at Davenport Speedway on Friday night. He ran second in Late Model at Independence on Saturday, and drove from 11th to fourth at the Deery Brothers race at Boone Speedway.

6

--

Matt Ryan

Late Model

He may not have gotten a win this weekend, but he continued to build his collection of top-five finishes. He finished fourth on Friday night at Davenport Speedway, then ran third at Jackson County Speedway in Maquoketa. He got rained out at East Moline on Sunday, so that was it for his weekend. 

7

-3

Benji Irvine

Hobby Stock

It was a light weekend for Irvine, with just on race at his regular track, Independence Motor Speedway. He led most of the race and appeared to be the car to beat, but a late caution did him in. He finished fourth in the race, and his drop in the rankings has more to do with what other people did as opposed to what he didn't.

8

-3

Jenae Gustin

Sport Mod

Gustin took the week off this weekend in order to "regroup," according to her Facebook page. She and her team will be back to her regular schedule of Marshalltown Speedway, Independence Motor Speedway and Benton County Speedway soon. A recharged, rested Jenae Gustin could be dangerous for the IMCA Sport Mod field.

9

NR

Jeff Aikey

Late Model

There is no slowing down in sight for the Cedar Falls veteran driver, and this weekend certainly reiterated that fact. He won (again) at Iowa State Fairgrounds Speedway in Des Moines, then came up just short of the Deery Brothers Late Model win at Boone Speedway on Monday. Multiple green-white-checker restarts likely cost him the win, and he settled for second.

10

NR

J.D. Auringer

Modified

Auringer makes his debut in the Eastern Iowa Driver Rankings after a few weeks of just missing the cut. The Evansdale driver got a win Friday night at Farley Speedway, then ran third on Saturday night at Independence behind Cordes and Jesup's Ronn Lauritzen. He's a regular at Benton County Speedway, too, and is usually in the hunt.

Previous: April 29; May 6; May 13; May 20

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