Eastern Iowa Driver Rankings: April 29

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: N/A

Dropped out:  N/A

Just missed the cut:  Kyle Olson, Chad Simpson, Andy Nezworski, Ronn Lauritzen, Brian Irvine

RANK

+/-

NAME

CLASS

THOUGHTS

1

--

Justin Kay

Late Model

I know, I know. This isn't new, but it's almost impossible to argue. The two-time defending IMCA national champ and defending IMCA Deery Brothers Summer Series champ had a DNF to start the season...but was leading when he overheated. Since, he has wins in the Rebel 5K at Davenport and the West Liberty Deery Brothers race, and a third at the Deery race in Farley. Even with a new chassis manufacturer, he's still the undisputed man to beat.

2

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Damon Murty

Stock Car

This guy has been dominating at Benton County Speedway for so long, it's become old hat for him to win. But his longevity and sustained success hasn't let up, and he's undefeated there in three races this season (Frostbuster, 4/12 and 4/26). He also finished second at the Frostbuster feature at Marshalltown Speedway, and was fourth there a week later.

3

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Benji Irvine

Hobby Stock

These next two drivers go head to head every week at several Eastern Iowa tracks, and so far this year it's been one or the other in Victory Lane. Irvine gets the higher spot because he has one more win. He took the BCS Frostbuster feature, and both races so far at Independence Motor Speedway. His worst finish so far this season has been fifth at Marshalltown.

4

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Nathan Ballard

Hobby Stock

The Norway driver comes up just short of Irvine with one less win, but has been just as impressive to start this season. He's won the last two A-mains at BCS in Vinton, was third in the Frostbuster there and was second back-to-back weeks at Marshalltown.

 Clearly becoming a father hasn't slowed him down any from 2014 to 2015.

5

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Jenae Gustin

Sport Mod

The youngest of the Gustin clan had a case for third on this list with three wins so far this season, but wasn't as consistent in her other finishes as Irvine and Ballard. Her versatility is as it has been the last few years, with her wins coming at Marshalltown, BCS and Independence. Though the finishes haven't come, she's been a top-5 car everywhere so far.

6

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Tony Olson

Sport Mod

Got his season started off as good as anyone can with a feature win at Lee County Speedway in early April and got a win a little more than a week later at the Independence opener. He was third at the BCS Frostbuster the night before as well. Apart from a DNF (a race his cousin Kyle won) at BCS, his worst finish is sixth so far this season.

7

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Troy Cordes

Modified

Hasn't been quite as dominant as we was for much of 2014, but that kind of production is hard to match. He got a win at the BCS Frostbuster event, and has a worst finish of sixth since then, with a handful of top-5 finishes - including a pair of fourths at the Independence opener and at Farley Speedway on April 17.

8

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Matt Ryan

Late Model

Ryan made a chassis switch this offseason as well, and it seems to be paying off in a big way so far this year. He won at Quad City Speedway in East Moline, Ill., on Sunday (which is also the next stop of the Deery Brothers Summer Series), was second to Kay in the Rebel 5K and was sixth at the Deery Brothers race at Farley Speedway.

9

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Don Erger

Micro Mod

Age is just a number, right? Erger is certainly the senior member of the group racing Micro Mods at Benton County Speedway and Independence Motor Speedway, but that doesn't mean he's slow. He's undefeated at BCS and was running well at Independence before taking a DNF. Speed is clearly keeping him young, and the kids have to be learning something.

10

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Tyler Droste

LM/Mod

The Waterloo driver is the only one on the list without a win, but he makes the cut based on his double duty between an IMCA Late Model and Modified, and the big jump he's made in performance in the Late Model. He was second at the Deery Brothers race at Farley and third in the Rebel 5K in his Late Model, and has two top-5s and three top-10s in his Modified so far.

l Comments: (319) 368-8884; jeremiah.davis@sourcemedia.net