Eastern Iowa Driver Rankings: May 25

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: Justin Kay, Damon Murty, Joel Callahan

Dropped out: Kyle Olson, Matt Gansen, Cayden Carter

Others considered (in no order):  Tyler Droste, Troy Cordes, Matt Ryan, Zach Less, Bryce Garnhart, Rob Toland, Jeff Aikey, Norman Chesmore, Jeremiah Hurst, 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, Doug Burkhead

RANK

+/-

NAME

CLASS

THOUGHTS

1

--

Tony Olson

Sport Mod

Thanks to IMCA executive secretary Ryan Clark, we know Tony Olson keeps breaking new ground in the IMCA Sport Mod division. He swept Independence Motor Speedway and Benton County Speedway main events for the second weekend in a row - something that's never been done. He's ahead of where he was at this point last year, which - and I know it's super early - puts him as the frontrunner for the Driver of the Year award.

2

+2

Kyle Brown

Modified

There was some hubbub about shocks and why they were or weren't claimed from Kyle Brown last week. Well, losing some shocks doesn't seem to have slowed him down at all. He took the $2,000 Modified Madness victory at Davenport Speedway on Friday night, then took the win at Boone Speedway on Saturday. He's been chasing and finding those big-money wins all season.

3

-1

Tyler Soppe

Sport Mod

Soppe returned to the winner's circle this weekend, taking the IMCA Sport Mod win at Farley Speedway on Friday night. He ran into some trouble on Saturday night at Maquoketa Speedway in the track's return from a week off, finishing 12th, but was back to his recent form with a second-place finish at Dubuque Speedway on Sunday. He only drops because Brown bumped up.

4

-1

Nathan Ballard

Hobby Stock

The bad luck bug looked like it had been shaken by Ballard last week, but it came back in the form of a right rear tire falling off on Sunday at Benton County Speedway in Vinton. But he did end up second at Marshalltown Speedway on Friday night, so clearly the car is still fast. We'll see if that Sport Mod picks up when he gets it rolling.

5

--

Benji Irvine

Hobby Stock

Irvine looked back to form this weekend, racing twice - at Marshalltown Speedway on Friday night and on Saturday night at Independence Motor Speedway. He was fifth at Motown, and took the win in Indee. Like Olson and Soppe, I wish Irvine and Ballard raced each other more. 

6

+1

JD Auringer

Modified

Auringer finished sixth in an always-stacked IMCA Modified feature at Independence Motor Speedway on Saturday night, then turned around and took the win at Benton County Speedway on Sunday in Vinton. Auringer remains consistent at both tracks, and is closing in on Ronn Lauritzen for the points lead at BCS. He's only three points out there, and four points behind Scott Hogan at Indee.

7

NR

Joel Callahan

Late Model

Callahan's IMCA Deery Brothers Summer Series win at Quad City Speedway sparked a major run through Eastern Iowa for the Dubuque driver. He won $2,000 at the Tri-Track Challenge race at Farley Speedway on Friday night, was fourth at West Liberty Raceway on Saturday, then got another win at Dubuque Speedway on Sunday. He's the hottest man in an IMCA Late Model at the moment.

8

NR

Justin Kay

Late Model

What, you thought he was just going to stay out of the rankings forever? Kay gave me a hard time at the end of our interview for Monday's Notebook. Just before hanging up he laughed and said, "hey by the way, see what happens when you drop me from the rankings?" A win at Davenport Speedway on Friday and another - for $2,000 - at West Liberty on Saturday were certainly enough to bring him back. He just reminded everyone he hasn't lost anything.

9

NR

Damon Murty

Stock Car

Murty's assessment that he's in a slump would give almost anyone a laugh, but he's dead serious. His 199th IMCA Stock Car win on Sunday at Benton County Speedway had him fired up to go chase more - and not because No. 200 is hanging out there. He expects to win every time out, and sure has lived up to it more than a few times. My guess is 200 comes at Vinton on Sunday.

10

-4

Ronn Lauritzen

Modified

Lauritzen didn't have the weekend he did two weeks ago with his wins, but he was a solid top-10 car everywhere he went. He was sixth at Marshalltown on Friday, 10th at Independence on Saturday and was seventh at Benton County Speedway on Sunday. I know he wants more out of all three finishes, but each field he's in has stout cars that can win every week.

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

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