Eastern Iowa Driver Rankings: May 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, or comment in the comments section.

New this week: Richie Gustin, Austin Moyer

Dropped out: Chris Simpson, Tim Plummer

RANK

+/-

NAME

CLASS

THOUGHTS

1

--

Justin Kay

Late Model

There's hardly been a weekend this season where the Wheatland native's No. 15K hasn't been in Victory Lane. Kay took the season opener at Dubuque Speedway on Sunday night. His IMCA late model program is the best in the area right now.

2

+1

Benji Irvine

Hobby Stock

Make that three wins in four weeks at Independence Motor Speedway. The Stanley native is doing what he can to put any track championship doubts to rest early in the season. He just about made it two wins in two days, finishing second at Benton County Speedway on Sunday.

3

-1

Andy Eckrich

Late Model

It's tough sledding when your worst finish at your home track to this point in the season is fifth and you still drop a spot in the rankings. The Oxford native kept his top-five streak alive at West Liberty, and still remains stout whenever his IMCA late model rolls into the pits.

4

+1

Ronn Lauritzen

Modified

The Jesup driver became the first repeat winner in the IMCA Modified division at Independence Motor Speedway on Saturday night. He also top-five at Benton County Speedway, finishing third. Independence has another driver who is the odds-on-favorite for a track title.

5

+2

Bill Whalen

Sport Compact

Whalen had a solid weekend, grabbing two wins and another top-five finish. He won at Southern Iowa Speedway a week ago, finished second at West Liberty on Saturday night, then won at Benton County Speedway on Sunday. Results like that keep you in contention for a national IMCA title.

6

--

Tony Olson

Sport Mod

Ctrl+C this guy's entry from last week to this week. You know it's been a good year so far when finishing second is a run-of-the-mill result. The Cedar Rapids native finished second again last week at West Liberty, once again behind Brayton Carter. 

7

+2

Jenae Gustin

Sport Mod

The Marshalltown native had a tough night at her home track on Friday, but rebounded for her second win of the season at Indpendence Motor Speedway. She did get a top-five finish last week at Southern Iowa Speedway, as well. Despite some hiccups, she's been consistent in 2014. 

8

-4

Jeff Aikey

Late Model

Takes a bit of a free fall in this week's rankings because of how well some others are running at the moment. Between that and not notching a top-five anywhere this weekend, and he lands here. Look for him to bounce back when the Deery Brothers Summer Series gets back in action this weekend.

9

N/R

Richie Gustin

Modified

Richie joins his sister to become the first brother-sister combo in the brief history of these rankings. Richie was another with two wins this weekend, Richie got wins at his hometown track in Marshalltown on Friday night, then backed that up with a win Saturday at West Liberty Raceway.

10

N/R

Austin Moyer

Sport Mod

Opened this season like gangbusters, and has been hit or miss since then. And while Moyer may not have gotten a win this weekend, he did get two top-five finishes. Moyer finished third behind Carter and Olson at West Liberty on Saturday, then ran second at Dubuque Speedway on Sunday.

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