COPPER HILL, VA :: Continuing our look back at the “Best of 2014”, we now take a look at the best drivers in the Super Late Model scene from the 2014 season.
15. Augie Grill
It was a downtrodden year for Augie Grill in terms of trips to Victory Lane but it wasn’t for a lack of speed. Grill dominated the World Crown 300 but a mechanical failure ended his efforts at Gresham Motorsports Park in August. The speed finally paid off in September as Grill won the penultimate Southern Super Series race at Pensacola, finished second in the finale while also contending for the win at the Snowball Derby.
14. Casey Roderick
The Georgia driver won two of the bigger Super Late Model events in 2014, earning the big trophy in both the Rattler 250 and World Crown 300. Roderick didn’t necessarily have the fastest car on those nights but he survived a tremendous amount of crashes in both events en route to Victory Lane. There is something to be said about bursts of speed and being a survivor respectively.
13. Anderson Bowen
In his first full season as a straight-rail driver, Bowen won his first career Super Late Model race on national television in the Sunoco 125 at Gresham Motorsports Park and added a second in the historic Alabama 200 at Montgomery Motor Speedway. He was also a consistent force in the Southern Super Series, finishing fifth in the final standings.
12. Ross Kenseth
The second-generation star earned runner-up honors in the CRA Super Series in 2014, scoring 12 top-10s and four top-5s in 14 events. He also qualified fifth in the Snowball Derby but failed to finish after making contact with the wall in the early stages of the race.
11. Ty Majeski
Majeski earned his way onto this list for a variety of reasons. For one, he won the ARCA Midwest Tour championship as a 20-year-old — a league record — while also winning races at Dells Raceway, Toledo Speedway, Illiana Speedway and Hawkeye Downs. His save in qualifying at the Snowball Derby also was one for the ages.
10. Cole Timm
Timm won his first career Super Late Model race at South Boston Speedway during the summer and was just defeated for the PASS South championship by Tyler Church. Timm also made his debut in the Snowball Derby, finishing 18th after earning his way into the field via the annual Last Chance Race.
9. Tyler Church
The Hickory-native won his first PASS championship in 2014 based on pinpoint consistency. He won only once, at Ace Speedway, but otherwise posted 10 top-10s in 14 races to defeat Cole Timm and Jared Irvan in the final standings.
8. Brian Campbell
In many ways, Campbell was the Preston Peltier of the midwest this season in that he was also more selective in 2014. He also remained effective, winning twice in CRA Super Series competition at Toledo and Berlin, adding a second place at Anderson for good measure.
7. Preston Peltier
Peltier was more selective about entering races than in years past but remained a contender no matter where he went. The winningest driver in PASS competition added three more victories to his resume, at Southern National Motorsports Park, South Boston Speedway and Hickory Motor Speedway.
He also added a P11 in the World Crown 300 and made the field for the Snowball Derby for the second season in a row.
6. John Hunter Nemechek
The second-generation NASCAR prospect won the biggest race of the season, dominating the Snowball Derby in a car designed wholly with the purpose of winning the Superbowl of Short Track Racing. The result was his first victory in Super Late Model competition, adding to a second-place result at Lucas Oil Raceway in which he finished second to Kyle Busch in an event that received national headlines.
Nemechek also “won” a Southern Super Series race at Fairgrounds Speedway Nashville in April but the result was negated when it was deemed that his No. 8 housed an illegal driveshaft.
5. Donnie Wilson
The Oklahoma-native enjoyed a career resurgence in 2014, scoring his first Super Late Model victories since 2002 when he won ROMCO events at Central Texas Speedway and San Antonio Speedway as defending champion. The return to form can be attributed to new crew chief Butch Miller as the former ASA champion led Wilson to three victories at Fairgrounds Speedway Nashville, Montgomery Motor Speedway and Mobile International Speedway respectively. He also finished fifth and third at CRA events at Toledo and in the Winchester 400.
4. Travis Braden
Travis Braden won twice in CRA Super Series competition in 2014 to earn his second-straight tour championship. His victories came at Columbus Motor Speedway and Flat Rock Speedway but it was his near-win in the Winchester 400 that stands above all other accomplishments.
Braden took the lead away from Erik Jones with a bump and run with seven laps remaining but Jones returned the favor and held the champion off for the remainder of the event. Braden used his winning to travel south to the Snowball Derby in Pensacola for the first time in his career but ultimately failed to qualify for the event.
3. DJ Shaw
The New Hampshire native won four races last season, including three in PASS North at Star Speedway, Autodrome Chaudiere and White Mountain Motorsports Park to earn his first career touring series championship. However, his biggest victory of the season came down south when he took the top spot in the prestigious Easter Bunny 150 at Hickory Motor Speedway.
2. Bubba Pollard
Always a dominant force in the southeast, Bubba Pollard began to travel more in 2014, competing in both the Southern Super Series and CRA Super Series with regularity. He won five events, all in the SSS en route to his first career touring series championship, while also adding top-10s in the Redbud 300 (P3), Battle at Berlin 251 (P2) and Winchester 400 (P8).
1. Daniel Hemric
There was not much internal debate in selecting Daniel Hemric as the top Super Late Model driver of 2014.
The Southern Super Series championship runner-up won eight races this season and did so on three different tours — the SSS, PASS South and the CRA Super Series. The biggest victory of his career (thus far) came on June 16 in the prestigious Redbud 300 at Anderson Speedway in Indiana, defeating Bubba Pollard and Travis Braden in a race that set the tone for the remainder of his season.
He also won events at Greenville Pickens Speedway, Dillon Motor Speedway, Southern National Motorsports Park, Lucas Oil Raceway Indiana, Five Flags Speedway and Mobile International Speedway — the diversity adding to his credibility as the man to beat in 2014.
