Top 25 National Sprint Car Poll - Week 6

Bryan Clauson makes his debut in the Top 25 following
his 1st career ASCoC win at Sharon Speedway.

We're currently on the home stretch of a sprint car fan's paradise: 15 races in 17 days between the Ohio and Pennsylvania speedweeks. The ASCoC-sanctioned OH Speedweek went off without a hitch, where all eight races were completed as scheduled. PA Speedweek is currently 2.5/4 as their Williams Grove date succumbed to rain as well as the second half of the feature at Grandview.

Making their debuts in our Top 25 rankings are Bryan Clauson (20) and Rico Abreu (25). Clauson is in the midst of his Circular Insanity Tour, a breathtaking schedule of over 200 racing events in 2016. Abreu took advantage of the downtime from his asphalt ride to slide through the dirt. Both drivers picked up a win and several other good finishes during their Ohio Speedweek starts.

As you're accustomed to seeing, Fargo, N.D.'s Donny Schatz still occupies the No. 1 spot. Over the past week he compiled two podium finishes and a 6th place result on the WoO tour. Lo and behold, Schatz only captured 6 of the 8 first-place votes. Daryn Pittman (No. 2 in the Top 25 rankings) and David Gravel (No. 3) collected one first-place vote apiece.

Lance Dewease moved up 8 spots to No. 14 in the rankings following his PA Speedweek win at Lincoln to earn this week's Hard Charger Award. The triumph marked his first sprint car start in a number of weeks. Daryn Pittman and Mark Dobmeier both moved up 5 spots following their impressive weekend in the Midwest.

The two drivers who dropped out of the rankings from last week's poll were California's Tim Kaeding and Louisiana's Jason Johnson.

Our panel of voting members for Week 6 included the following:
Blake Anderson, Brian Liskai, Bobby Gerould, Tony Bokhoven, Mike Leone, Kyle Symons, Anthony Corini and Tyler Beichner.

1. Donny Schatz, 198 points (6)
Recent Results: Although winless, had finishes of 2nd (I-80), 6th (Jackson), and 3rd (Beaver Dam).
Previous Ranking: 1st (NC)

2. Daryn Pittman, 181 points (1)
Recent Results: A quiet 12th at I-80 leads into a win at Jackson and runner-up finish at Beaver Dam.
Previous Ranking: 7th (+5)

3. David Gravel, 180 points (1)
Recent Results: Back-to-back Top 5 runs at Jackson and Beaver Dam to follow up an 8th at I-80.
Previous Ranking: 2nd (-1)

4. Shane Stewart, 174 points
Recent Results: Finishes of 7th, 3rd, & 6th at I-80, Jackson, and Beaver Dam respectively.
Previous Ranking: 3rd (-1)

5. Greg Hodnett, 170 points
Recent Results: Current leader of the PA Speedweek points finished 4th at Lincoln and 1st at Path Valley.
Previous Ranking: 5th (NC)

6. Brad Sweet, 139 points
Recent Results: Grabbed podium 3rd place at I-80 before distant 18th place finishes at Jackson & Beaver Dam.
Previous Ranking: 4th (-2)

7. Chad Kemenah, 130 points
Recent Results: Had an up-and-down Ohio Speedweek highlighted by a 3rd place run at Eldora.
Previous Ranking: 9th (+2)

8. Dale Blaney, 129 points
Recent Results: A dismal ending to Ohio Speedweek, a 4th at Sharon was his only Top 15 in last 5 races.
Previous Ranking: 6th (-2)

9. Kerry Madsen, 119 points
Recent Results: Two solid Top 5 finishes with the WoO at I-80 & Jackson for the Aussie veteran.
Previous Ranking: 10th (+1)

10. Danny Lasoski, 118 points
Recent Results: Scored a 7th place at Jackson with WoO before reaching the podium with NSL at Knoxville.
Previous Ranking: 8th (-2)

11. Kyle Larson, 115 points
Recent Results: Added 1st, 2nd, & 6th place finishes on Ohio Speedweek before returning to asphalt duties.
Previous Ranking: 14th (+3)

12. Joey Saldana, 106 points
Recent Results: Scores much-needed win at I-80 and respectable finishes of 7th (Jackson) & 4th (Beaver Dam).
Previous Ranking: 13th (+1)

13. Sheldon Haudenschild, 89 points
Recent Results: A shaky end to Ohio Speedweek results in podium finishes at Atomic & Wayne County.
Previous Ranking: 15th (+2)

14. Lance Dewease, 80 points
Recent Results: Making his first appearance in awhile, he wins the PA Speedweek opener at Lincoln.
Previous Ranking: 22nd (+8)

15. Brian Brown, 69 points
Recent Results: Strong 4th place finish at I-80 before distant 16th place results (Jackson & Knoxville).
Previous Ranking: 11th (-4)

16. Terry McCarl, 66 points
Recent Results: Rebounds from two rough outings with the WoO to score a runner-up at Badlands.
Previous Ranking: 12th (-4)

17. Craig Dollansky, 63 points
Recent Results: Solid finishes last weekend of 5th (Jackson, WoO) & 6th (Knoxville, NSL).
Previous Ranking: 18th (+1)

18. Mark Dobmeier, 62 points
Recent Results: Sweeps double features night at River Cities and then breaks while leading at Badlands.
Previous Ranking: 23rd (+5)

19. Lucas Wolfe, 62 points
Recent Results: Starts of PA Speedweek with Top 5 finishes at Lincoln and Path Valley.
Previous Ranking: 16th (-3)

20. Bryan Clauson, 51 points
Recent Results: Made a combined 6 starts between OH and PA Speedweek. Scored first ASCoC win at Sharon.
Previous Ranking: Not Ranked

21. Sammy Swindell, 45 points
Recent Results: Disappointing 22nd at Jackson, but rebounds to score NSL win at Knoxville on Saturday.
Previous Ranking: 25th (+4)

22. Dusty Zomer, 37 points
Recent Results: Records a distant 13th at I-80, 2nd & DNF at River Cities, and 5th place finish at Badlands.
Previous Ranking: 17th (-5)

23. Danny Dietrich, 27 points
Recent Results: Comes back from a hellish Ohio Speedweek to finish runner-up at Lincoln's Speedweek opener.
Previous Ranking: 20th (-3)

24. Byron Reed, 20 points
Recent Results: Poor results at Wayne County & Limaland culminate in a $5,000 paycheck at Fremont.
Previous Ranking: 24th (NC)

25. Rico Abreu, 19 points
Recent Results: Picks up 1st at Wayne County, 8th at Sharon, & 10th at Atomic during Ohio Speedweek.
Previous Ranking: Not Ranked

Dropped Out of Rankings
Tim Kaeding (19), Jason Johnson (21)