Eastern Iowa Driver Rankings: June 10

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, J.D. Auringer, Jerry Miles

Dropped out:  Jeff Aikey, Matt Ryan, David Brandies

Just missed the cut:  Nathan Wood, Jenae Gustin, Damon Murty,  Jason Rauen, Brayton Carter, Cayden Carter, Brody Willett, Jarrett Franzen, Nick Marolf, Chris Luloff, Jeff Aikey, Matt Ryan, David Brandies

RANK

+/-

NAME

CLASS

THOUGHTS

1

+1

Justin Kay

Late Model/

Modified

For many racers - most, in fact - four wins is a good season. Well, this guy had four wins in five days this weekend. He won Davenport, Dubuque (again) and the IMCA Deery Brothers Summer Series race at Maquoketa in his Late Model, and got his first win in an IMCA Modified at West Liberty on Saturday. His worst finish? Second at Davenport in the Modified. When he's running like this, there's really no doubt where he belongs on this list.

2

-1

Tony Olson

Sport Mod

His time at the top may have been brief, but it's doubtful this is the last we've heard from the Cedar Rapids racer. He ran eighth at Davenport Speedway on Friday, sixth at Independence on Saturday (having gone to the back late) and got his ninth win this season at Benton County Speedway on Sunday. It's getting cutthroat at the top, and only winning keeps these guys up here.

3

--

Nathan Ballard

Hobby Stock

Speaking of winning, that's all this guy has done in a Hobby Stock since early May. He stayed perfect at Hawkeye Downs Speedway in the class with another dominant win, and got another win in Vinton as well. He also brought out his uncle's old Sportsmen car for the Downs, and was involved in two incidents while driving to the front. The speed is there in that class, too.

4

--

Troy Cordes

Modified

Here's what he did NOT do this weekend: make it three in a row at Independence Motor Speedway. He DID finish second there, though. Oh, and he won Friday night at Farley Speedway, then shared Victory Lane with his son, Tristan, at Benton County Speedway in Vinton. It's getting crowded at the top of the rankings, and he's making a push forward.

5

--

Tyler Droste

Late Model/ Modified

Droste got three podium finishes this weekend, highlighted by a win at Quad City Speedway that was shrouded in a fair bit of controversy. IMCA had to declare a winner of the Gary Reinhart Memorial race after an appeal by another racer, and Droste got the win. Elsewhere, he ran second in Late Model at Independence and third at the Deery Brothers race in Maquoketa. 

6

--

Benji Irvine

Hobby Stock

Ctrl + C the first sentence from last week's entry for Irvine and place it here. It would be great to see him branch out again like he has in the past and run in Vinton on Sundays or somewhere on Friday nights as well. He's as fast as anyone, and has the liberty of choosing exactly what he wants to do. But like Ballard, as long as he keeps winning, he won't go anywhere.

7

NR

Jeremiah Hurst

Modified

Hurst has been among the "Just missed the cut" group for a few weeks now, with top fives galore. But he breaks through by virtue of three wins in four days this weekend - the last of which came by about a foot in the Hawkeye Dirt Tour A-main in Maquoketa. He also got a win there on Saturday, and won on Sunday at Dubuque. He's got it rolling.

8

-1

Tyler Soppe

Sport Mod

Soppe didn't get a win this weekend, but he was knocking on the door of one everywhere he raced. He finished second at Farley Speedway on Friday night, ran fifth at Maquoketa on Saturday and got another second place finish at Dubuque Speedway on Sunday. He also looked fast Tuesday at Maquoketa, but curfew didn't allow Sport Mods to run.

9

NR

J.D. Auringer

Modified

Only one week away for Auringer, whose only crime last week was he didn't win. Well, he got himself one at Independence on Saturday night, beating Cordes. He ran second at Farley (to Cordes) and third in Dubuque. He's had consistent speed everywhere so far this season, and is certainly a car to beat wherever he goes.

10

NR

Jerry Miles

Stock Car

The Bernard driver makes his debut in the Eastern Iowa Driver Rankings this week. He's been top three at Farley Speedway the last several weeks, with another third place finish on Friday night. He broke through for a win at Dubuque Speedway on Sunday, a week after a runner-up finish there in the season opener. 

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