I'm back! A lot has happened in the last two weeks since "Round 1" was released. A lot of rain that is... But we did get some racing in albeit with a threat of unfavorable weather every night.
With that said, let's take a look at this week's Top 10 in the national 410 sprint car driver rankings. Daryn Pittman vaulted from no. 5 to the top spot. His 4 consecutive wins and an additional podium finish speak for themselves as to why he is currently the hottest driver in the nation.
Brian Brown lead the charge to the top by moving from the "unranked" category into the no. 2 slot! Stevie Smith was quick to follow, moving the whole way up to no. 3 on the board.
Overall, 5 of the 10 drivers made their way into the rankings for the first time this year.
1. Daryn Pittman
Four straight wins on the World of Outlaws tour is no small task. The reigning champion made it happen and will look to continue his streak Friday night at The Dirt Track at Charlotte.
LW: 5
(+4)
2. Brian Brown
Brown struggled when he went out west with the WoO but has since returned closer to home to dominate his "home track". Brian Brown has won back to back shows at Knoxville. Look for him to challenge for the top spot if he keeps running this strongly.
LW: Unranked
3. Stevie Smith
Stevie Smith showed that he can still compete - and win - against the stiffest competition in the country. After topping the 48 car field at Lincoln Speedway for his first WoO win in years, he continued to impress with back to back top 5 finishes with with World of Outlaws at Williams Grove.
LW: Unranked
4. Joey Saldana
If it wasn't for Pittman winning every race that he has entered over the past week, we'd be talking about how strong Saldana has been running in just his second year with Motter Motorsports. Joey Saldana has five top 5 finishes in the past two weeks, including 3 runner-up finishes.
LW: 1
(-3)
5. Donny Schatz
The five-time World of Outlaw champion has run phenomenally of late. He has finished in the top 6 in his last six start, due in part to him timing in quicker than we're accustomed to. Though Schatz has ran tough, he hasn't made any headway on Pittman or Saldana who have been running just a little better.
LW: 3
(-2)
6. Paul McMahan
With only two finishes outside of the top 7 since our last ranking, McMahan has maintained a mid-level spot this week. His impressive qualifying has balanced out the fact that he hasn't "wow-ed" us as of late.
LW: 2
(-4)
7. David Gravel
A win and a runner-up finish in World of Outlaws action keep the Connecticut native in this week's rankings. He's walking on eggshells, balancing on the line of falling out based on his recent inconsistency.
LW: 4
(-3)
8. Jac Haudenschild
Haudenschild's first 410 sprint car win came recently in ASCoC action at Mercer Raceway Park, coming just one night after a runner-up finish with the All Stars at Lernerville. Haudenschild also recorded a top 5 with the World of Outlaws at Lincoln and another runner-up finish at Roaring Knob.
LW: Unranked
9. Kyle Hirst
The second Roth Motorsports car in the rankings comes in at #9. Kyle Hirst is an up-and-coming star that will be opening eyes in the coming years. His most recent win came with the King of the West 410 series at Thunderbowl Raceway.
LW: Unranked
10. Dave Blaney
It's understood that Dave Blaney hasn't been able to run sprint cars much in recent years. This year he has broken out the car more often and the rust has been shaken off. Following a 6th place run at Williams Grove with World of Outlaws, he fought off Jac Haudenschild and Mike Wagner at Roaring Knob to pick up $3,500.
LW: Unranked
Falling out of the rankings:
- Shane Stewart (LW: 6)
- Terry McCarl (LW: 7)
- Rico Abreu (LW: 8)
- Greg Hodnett (LW: 9)
- Dale Blaney (LW: 10)
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