Eastern Iowa Driver Rankings: June 21

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: Darin Duffy, Brody Willett

Dropped out: Jeremiah Hurst, Cayden Carter

Others considered (in no order):  David Brandies, Luke Goedert, Benji Irvine, Tyler Bruening, Ronn Lauritzen, J.D. Auringer, Nathan Ballard, Matt Ryan, Rob Toland, Mark Schulte, Mitch Hovden, Kyle Olson, Johnny Spaw, Daniel Wauters, Dalton Simonsen, Richie Gustin, John Emerson, Kyle Brown, Troy Cordes, Dan Hovden, Bryce Garnhart, John Oliver Jr, Darrel DeFrance, Jimmy Gustin, Andy Eckrich, Chris Zogg, Joel Rust, Jeremiah Hurst, Cayden Carter

RANK

+/-

NAME

CLASS

THOUGHTS

1

--

Justin Kay

Late Model/Modified

Kay picked up right where he left off from his Hawkeye Dirt Tour/Deery Brothers SUmmer Series for Late Models sweep at West Liberty last week, with another sweep on Friday night. Kay won IMCA Late Model and Modified at Farley Speedway - with an improved car count - to keep his roll going. He was supposed to get to race his open Late Model at Farley on Wednesday night, but rain won that race.

2

--

Tyler Soppe

Sport Mod

After two straight weekends of three-race sweeps, it was almost jarring to see him not in Victory Lane at all this weekend, but he's still running very well regardless. He was third on Friday night at Farley and second at Dubuque on Sunday after a rainout Saturday. His cars have a tremendous amount of speed - evidenced by Joe Docekal's win in Soppe's second car at Vinton on Sunday.

3

--

Tyler Droste

Modified

Droste didn't race close to home this weekend, rather he made the trip to Deer Creek Speedway to race his car as a USRA A-Mod for the first time. While rain won the night, he did manage to win his heat race before Mother Nature called it a night. He's heading out of state again this weekend, testing himself against more new competition.

4

+1

Tony Olson

Sport Mod

No wins for Olson this weekend, but he remained consistent, with a pair of second place finishes at Davenport Speedway on Friday night and at Benton County Speedway in Vinton on Sunday. Wins aren't coming as frequently as the last few years, but he still has plenty of speed. A run of wins soon isn't out of the question.

5

+3

Damon Murty

Stock Car

The Chelsea Charger has been doing this thing for so long, and without boasting or bragging, it's easy to shrug off the fact that his finishing worse than top 3 is a rarity. He backed that up again this weekend with a second place at Marshalltown on Friday and a win on Sunday at Vinton - a week after a photo finish left him second.

6

-1

Chris Simpson

Late Model

The first of a pair of guys on the rankings who took the weekend off. His was following a solid run at The Dream at Eldora, so he doesn't fall far in the rankings this week. He's been consistently fast, even through big wrecks. He's on pace to have one of his best years.

7

-1

Hunter Marriott

Modified

Like Simpson, Marriott again took the weekend off after his win at the Topless 50 at Hamilton County Speedway in Webster City last week. His time off was to prep for the upcoming Clash at the Creek, held each year at 141 Speedway in Wisconsin. Marriott also has the Dakota Mod Tour coming up, so we'll see plenty from him soon.

8

+2

Nathan Wood

Stock Car

Wood is on a roll, too. He won at Southern Iowa Speedway last week, then was second at Columbus Junction Speedway and third Sunday at Benton County Speedway in Vinton. He's got consistent speed wherever he goes - which varies week-to-week. That versatility is impressive.

9

NR

Darin Duffy

Modified

Duffy might not three nights a week, but he got his third straight win at Marshalltown Speedway on Friday night - and that cannot be ignored. The caliber of racers who trek to Marshalltown for weekly racing resembles much of the Hawkeye Dirt Tour field, so winning there is a tall ask for anyone. Duffy struggled in 2016, so his resurgence is of note.

10

NR

Brody Willett

Late Model

It's been a while since there's been a non-dirt guy make the rankings, but Willett gets the last spot ahead - barely edging out three others who had a case this week. Willett's win with a last lap pass of Griffin McGrath at Hawkeye Downs on Friday could be a seminal moment in his career. It might be the one we look back on when he's climbed the ladder forward. He won with Landon Cassill in the field, and had to pass a lot of cars to do it. 

Previous weeks: May 10, May 17; May 24; May 31; June 7; June 15

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