Eastern Iowa Driver Rankings, June 7

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: Cayden Carter, Chris Zogg

Dropped out: Darrel DeFrance, John Oliver Jr

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, Troy Hovey, Daniel Wauters, Dalton Simonsen, Richie Gustin, Kyle Brown, Troy Cordes, Dan Hovden, Bryce Garnhart, John Oliver Jr, Darrel DeFrance, Jimmy Gustin, Andy Eckrich, Darin Duffy

RANK

+/-

NAME

CLASS

THOUGHTS

1

+1

Tyler Soppe

Sport Mod

It's June 7 and Soppe has 14 wins in 2017. That's a lot. No. 12, 13 and 14 came this weekend at his weekly stops of Farley, Maquoketa and Dubuque Speedways - also marking his second weekend sweep of the season. I was curious when he got his new car why he switched chassis brands, given his success on the last one. Turns out, it doesn't seem to much matter what he's sitting in.

2

+1

Justin Kay

Late Model/Modified

Back in Eastern Iowa after going to Nebraska last weekend, Kay returned to some familiar Victory Lanes - and found one new one. He got a $2,000 Tri-Track Challenge win in his Late Model at Farley on Friday, was fourth at the second Tri-Track race at West Liberty, then inherited the Deery Bros win at Marshalltown on Tuesday thanks to a DQ (hold that thought). I asked him after the Marshalltown race where he was going this weekend. He laughed and literally made the ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ motion. They're gonna find somewhere to race, but only if it's fun.

3

+2

Tyler Droste

Modified

He took most of the weekend off, and only got to a racetrack once, but gets a two-spot bump thanks to the show he helped put on in the Hawkeye Dirt Tour main event at Marshalltown Speedway on Tuesday. He might've ended up second to Todd Shute, but he earned high praise from Shute in doing so. Almost-sliders are some of the most entertaining, because everyone sits on pins waiting to see if it'll land or not. 

4

--

Jeremiah Hurst

Late Model

The good news: Hurst got a $2,000 Tri-Track Challenge win at Dubuque on Sunday, and got top five finishes at Farley on Friday and Maquoketa on Saturday. He also crossed the finish line first at Marshalltown Speedway in the Deery Brothers Summer Series event Tuesday. The bad news: he was disqualified for an illegal axle tube. What I know for sure? He and that team are gonna come back from that with vigor.

5

+2

Chris Simpson

Late Model

Hard flips and DNFs are a distant memory for this guy now. He went to a pair of MLRA races at Scotland County Speedway in Memphis, Mo. and Lee County Speedway in Donnellson, and left with wins at both stops - collecting $5,000 along the way. It marked a sweep of the Lee County Speedway races, and ensured he hasn't lost any speed in that Late Model since the wreck at I-80.

6

--

Tony Olson

Sport Mod

The rankings so far this year have been pretty top heavy. The top five or six guys have been clearly very, very good, and Olson certainly has been among them. His not moving up higher - yet, most likely - has way more to do with what other guys are winning than anything. He had a great weekend with wins at Davenport and Vinton, and a second at Independence. 

7

-6

Hunter Marriott

Modified

I'm not begrudging him the week off it appears he took, but I also can't keep him up top if his car stays at home and the others make the trip - especially given he didn't race the Hawkeye Dirt Tour show at Marshalltown. He'll be back and he'll be successful again, I have no doubt. 

8

--

Damon Murty

Stock Car

Only a couple races for Murty this weekend, but as usual, it was a couple of really good runs. He won at Marshalltown on Friday night and came back for the show on Tuesday in support of the Deery Brothers Summer Series and Hawkeye Dirt Tour. In what looked like a new car, he ran second to Jeff Mueller.

9

NR

Cayden Carter

Late Model/Modified

I'll prepare myself for the "but he's from Oskaloosa!" messages I'm bound to get, but here goes: Carter has raced in Eastern Iowa a bunch this season and the wins are starting to add up. He won Friday night in his new Modified at Lee County Speedway after getting a win last Wednesday at his home track in Oskaloosa. And while he didn't get the finishes to back it up, he was competitive in his Late Model and Modified at Marshalltown on Tuesday.

10

NR

Chris Zogg

Modified

Zogg has found consistency in the last few weeks, and he was on it in a big way this weekend. He ran second to Carter at Lee County Speedway on Friday night, and then had them covered in a big win on Saturday at West Liberty Raceway - which almost always has a stout Modified field on hand. 

Previous weeks: May 10, May 17; May 24; May 31

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