Winged 410 Sprint Car Rankings - Volume V

The season is quickly winding down, and thus our periodic sprint car rankings will be doing the same. Don't get too worked up...we've got at least a couple left after this issue. This volume of sprint car rankings dates back to August 20th (when Volume IV was created). Just as always, only winged 410 sprint results will count. So let's get to it.

Donny Schatz continues his dominance with the WoO through late summer

1. Donny Schatz (No Change)

The pilot of the Tony Stewart Racing #15 machine stays atop our Winged Sprint Car Rankings for the 3rd consecutive volume. Since our last rankings, Schatz earned four wins on the World of Outlaws circuit (Skagit Speedway [2], Castrol Raceway, and Grays Harbor Raceway). As the season winds down, Donny has bumped his win total up to 20 and currently carries a 196 point lead in the championship standings.


2. Daryn Pittman (No Change)

If it wasn't for the man that stands atop the rankings, Daryn Pittman is the man that we would all be talking about. Over the past three weeks, Pittman can hold one World of Outlaws win (Southern Oregon Speedway) and four runner-up finishes to his credit. The defending series champion sits second in the championship standings at the moment and has collected 13 wins.


3. Dale Blaney (No Change)

The "King of the All Stars" has once again had another stellar couple of weeks behind the wheel of Tony Kennedy's #14K sprint car. In recent weeks, Dale Blaney has won two more All Star races (Mercer Raceway Park, Attica Raceway Park). In addition, Blaney had strong runs this past weekend at Port Royal, charging through the field Friday night and running in the top five during the "Tuscarora 50" until problems occurred later in the race.


4. Greg Hodnett (Unranked)

Greg Hodnett has made his first season with the Heffner Racing team one to remember. He has seemingly dominated the Central PA circuit, being the fastest and most consistent without question, but it is his recent runs that land him in position 4 on our rankings. His 2nd place run at the Labor Day Classic at Port Royal was just a precursor to his $12,000 "Tuscarora 50" win that ensued at the Speed Palace the following weekend.


5. Danny Holtgraver (Unranked)

Holtgraver, a Pittsburgh, PA resident, makes his debut in our Winged Sprint Car Rankings based upon his strong runs as of late with the All Stars Circuit of Champions. Danny recently won his third ASCoC race of the season (Attica Raceway Park), making a great year for the start-up team Rob Hunter Racing. Holtgraver's #10H also managed a runner-up finish in ASCoC action at Mercer Raceway Park and collected back-to-back top four finishes at Port Royal for the fair weekend.


6. Kerry Madsen (-2)

Though Madsen has dropped two spots since our last rankings just three weeks ago, being just the fourth driver to stay on the ballot for three straight volumes is nothing to scoff at. The Australia-native has cooled down after heating up earlier this summer, but his results still speak for themselves. His recent win was the closest in recorded WoO history (.005 seconds at Antioch Speedway), and he also has a runner-up finish to his credit in recent weeks. He currently sits at fourth in the points standings.


7. Stevie Smith (Unranked)

The "Black Bandit" has continued to impress while running out of the Fred Rahmer stable for the 2014 season. Stevie Smith was the winner of the ASCoC-sanctioned "Night Before the 50" after staving off a charging Danny Holtgraver. Smith then followed that up with a runner-up finish in the historic "Tuscarora 50" at Port Royal Speedway.


8. Carson Macedo/Jonathan Allard/Kyle Hirst (All Unranked)

The trio of California drivers combine to make up our 8th and final spot on the rankings. While Macedo and Allard triumphed against the Outlaws while Hirst lost by a mere 5 thousandths of a second, their lack of 410 results over the span that this rankings includes comes due to the fact that they have limited opportunity to participate in 410 sprint action. Think of this 8th spot as a representation of all California sprint car drivers and the tough competition that they present when outsiders invade their territory.


On the Edge: Drivers that just missed making the cut

Danny Dietrich
Shane Stewart


Drivers that fell out of the previous rankings:

Brian Brown
Brent Marks
Rico Abreu
Paul McMahan

Winged Sprint Car Rankings - Volume IV

Welcome back for another edition of our monthly Winged 410 Sprint Car Rankings. First and foremost, I welcome any feedback that you may have. Whether you agree, disagree, wonder why I left someone off the lift, thought I overranked a driver, or any other feelings you might have, please leave a comment below!

So with that said, it's time to get down to business!

Donny Schatz powers his TSR #15 through the corner

1. Donny Schatz (No Change)

Surely to no one's surprise, Schatz comes in at no. 1 in our rankings for the second straight month. In 12 World of Outlaws races since our last set of rankings, Donny has tallied six wins (including another Knoxville Nationals triumph), three runner-up finishes and a lone third place run. To put it on the podium in 10 of the last 12 WoO races against the best competition undoubtedly notches his current title as the best sprint car driver in the country. Schatz currently holds a 154-point stranglehold of the standings over defending champ Daryn Pittman.


2. Daryn Pittman (No Change)

The defending World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series champion finds his place in our rankings at no. 2 for the second straight month as well. Pittman continued his success in the Northeast with a win at Fulton Speedway in NY. His 2nd and most recent win with the WoO in the past month came at the high-banked 1/3rd mile oval known as River Cities Speedway where he had to fend off the current series points leader Donny Schatz. In between the two wins, Pittman found victory lane at the Knoxville Raceway after partaking in the Speed Sport World Challenge on Saturday afternoon of Nationals Week.



3. Dale Blaney (+1)

The "King of the All Stars" has been exactly that. The Ohio native's domination of the All Star Circuit of Champions Sprint Car Series is almost unheard of. Taking a look at the numbers, Blaney has won four of the last five ASCoC races. His lone blunder came at Huset's Speedway in Brandon, SD where mechanical troubles retired him from the race.



4. Kerry Madsen (-1)

Australia's own Kerry Madsen has been laying the smack down on his American competitors, landing him at #4 on our rankings. Madsen's commanding win in the Ironman 55 at Ken Schrader's Federated Auto Parts Raceway in Pevely, MO is a lifetime dream for many drivers, yet it may have only been his second best run in the past month. Madsen's third-place run in the 54th Annual Knoxville Nationals could be a stepping stone for more success for the team in the coming years.



5. Brian Brown (Unranked)

Unfortunately, Brian Brown may own the title of "Best Sprint Car Driver Without a WoO Win". Discount the multiple Knoxville Nationals prelim feature victories that he has collected, because the WoO higher-ups do not count those as official WoO wins. Nonetheless, Brown captured another prelim victory in this year's edition of the Nationals as well as his third consecutive runner-up finish in the main event. His breakthrough is coming soon!



6. Brent Marks (Unranked)

The 23 year old Myerstown, PA native has begun to establish himself as a power in Posseland. Within the past month, Marks has notched four wins on the tough Central PA circuit, including the $10,000 to win Dream race at Port Royal and a stretch of three wins in as many starts. Marks has also opened some eyes as he's improved when he decided to take his family-owned team on the road to hit a handful of World of Outlaws shows.



7. Rico Abreu (Unranked)

Abreu, fresh out of St. Helena, Calif., has continued to impress many fans and critics. In recent weeks, Abreu has garnered wins in unfamiliar territory with victories at tracks that he doesn't frequent very often. One of Abreu's two wins over the past month came at Tri-City Speedway (IL) over veteran Danny Lasoski in Midwest Open Wheel Association action. Following that up, Rico held off the likes of Mark Dobmeier, Brady Bacon, and others to snag his first career All Star win at Huset's Speedway in South Dakota.



8. Paul McMahan (-3)

Paul McMahan's sprint car resume has continued to build with recent successes. A veteran in every sense of the word, McMahan has propelled the CJB Motorsports #51 machine to be a persistent threat to win at every show they enter. Strong runs for McMahan of late include a WoO win at I-55 in Pevely, MO (a precursor to the Ironman 55) and a sixth-place finish in the 54th running of the Knoxville Nationals.




On the Edge: Drivers that fell out of the rankings

Justin Henderson
Lucas Wolfe
Greg Hodnett

Donny Schatz WoOs the Home Town Fans in Grand Forks

If you haven't seen this highlight video from last Friday's race at River Cities Speedway, it's worth a look. You missed one heck of a race.

Five-time World of Outlaws Champion Donny Schatz won in impressive fashion, edging out Cody Darrah and Kerry Madsen. After the race, Schatz had this to say his sixth win of the season.

"It wasn't pretty, I know that," said Schatz. "It was on two wheels, no wheels, it was kind of all over the place. I was kind of nervous there the first part, I just could not get the thing to roll the corners very well. This STP crew, I can't say enough about them. They're unbelievable. We got qualifying a lot better. Generally we race a lot better, but tonight it wasn't that way. They did a great job, they deserve this. They kept digging and let me have a little fun and we got the victory." (WoOSprint.com)

With the win, Schatz secured the 153rd win of his World of Outlaws STP Sprint Car Series career. Currently, Schatz has a 27 point lead over Daryn Pittman. The Outlaws will return to River Cities Speedway on August 15, 2014.