Eastern Iowa Driver Rankings: June 1

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

Dropped out: Joel Callahan

Others considered (in no order):  Tyler Droste, Troy Cordes, Matt Ryan, Zach Less, Bryce Garnhart, Rob Toland, Jeff Aikey, Norman Chesmore, Joel Callahan, Mark Schulte, Mitch Morris, Chris Zogg, Tyler Bruening, Mitch Hovden, Dan Hovden, Tyler Bruening, Leah Wroten, Kyle Olson, Matt Gansen, Cayden Carter, Sam Wieben, Johnny Spaw, Joel Rust, Jim Hanson, Troy Hovey

RANK

+/-

NAME

CLASS

THOUGHTS

1

+2

Tyler Soppe

Sport Mod

The two hottest drivers at the moment happen to race in the same division. Tyler Soppe has been on the run of his life to start 2016, and added two more wins to it this weekend. He ran second at West Liberty Raceway on Saturday night after a rainout in Farley on Friday, then got wins at Dubuque on Sunday and Vinton - a track he's only been two a handful of times - on Monday. 

2

-1

Tony Olson

Sport Mod

Olson got win No. 9 on Friday night in Davenport, which continued his streak of winning at least once every weekend for all of May. He got rained out for Independence Motor Speedway on Saturday, then again on Sunday in Vinton. Monday at Benton County Speedway's extra night, Olson got caught up in an early wreck, then came from the back to sixth in the final 10 laps.

3

--

Nathan Ballard

Hobby Stock

Ballard made it all the way to Farley on Friday with both his Hobby Stock and new Sport Mod, but got rained out. He responded with a win on Sunday at Benton County Speedway before the rain started, then ended up fourth behind winner Leah Wroten in Monday's feature. 

4

-1

Kyle Brown

Modified

Brown was either checkers or wreckers this weekend. He took a DNF at Marshalltown Speedway on Friday night, then made it to Vinton for what was supposed to be back-to-back days of $1,000-to-win shows. Rain pushed the first one to Monday, which he won walking away. He was passing for the lead in the Hawkeye Dirt Tour main event later that night, but a cut tire sent him to the back. He was back to sixth before a broken tierod ended his night. Luck matters.

5

+4

Damon Murty

Stock Car

A big jump for the Chelsea Charger this week, thanks to getting IMCA Stock Car win No. 200 on Monday at Benton County Speedway, but also because of how he reacted to it. One of the first things he said was that he was on to win No. 300. It's easy to admire a guy who races as much as he does and holds himself and his results to such a high standard. 

6

--

J.D. Auringer

Modified

Auringer had to wait until Monday to get to race - thanks to rainouts at Farley Speedway, Independence Motor Speedway and Sunday's program in Vinton. He ran second in the first Modified main event on Monday, and then was running in the top five of the Hawkeye Dirt Tour main event before issues relegated him to 21st at the finish.

7

NR

Jeremiah Hurst

Late Model/Modified

Hurst returns to the rankings thanks to finally breaking through in IMCA Late Model. He looked on his way to a $2,000 win two weeks ago, but circumstances kept that from happening. He got his first Late Model win of the year at West Liberty on Saturday night, and backed it up with a fourth at Dubuque on Sunday. He also got a win in his Modified at Dubuque on Sunday. Monday's Hawkeye Dirt Tour race saw a long night end with a DNF in 24th.

8

-3

Benji Irvine

Hobby Stock

Iravine didn't get to race at his usual haunts this weekend, but did make the trip to Upper Iowa Speedway on Sunday. He led a bunch before ending up third. Irvine is still clearly stout in Hobby Stock when he gets to race. (Note: an earlier version erroneously had Irvine sidelined by rain all weekend, thanks to the author's mistaking the date on the results being referenced. Apologies to Irvine for the error.)

9

+1

Ronn Lauritzen

Modified

Lauritzen had a solid weekend up until the second of Monday's double-feature night at Benton County Speedway in Vinton. He was fifth at Marshalltown on Friday and got rained out on Saturday. He was fourth in the first Modified race on Monday, and had what looked like a decent car for the Hawkeye Dirt Tour main after transferring from a B-main. He broke something early that forced him into a DNF.

10

-2

Justin Kay

Late Model

No IMCA racing for Kay this week, but he and the Gheer'd Up crew went to Wheatland, Mo. for the Lucas Oil Late Model Series' Show Me 100 three-day event. He got off to a hot start, winning his heat and starting fourth in the opener. But a 15th that night was the best his weekend would be. He finished one out of the transfer for the main event Saturday. He, Chad and Chris Simpson, Jason Rauen and Dave Eckrich all represented Iowa well.

Previous weeks: April 27; May 4; May 11; May 18; May 25

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