Compiled by: Langley Austin ~ [email protected]

Copper Hill, VA(August 3, 2012) — Another two-week edition of the FDJ Motorsports Power Rankings and no question, you probably already know who’s on top, but this edition has an interesting mix of drivers from around the region.

Some of these guys you may know a lot about and others, well not so much.  But, here at RACE22.com we like to give a little love to everyone and we’re certainly not afraid to give our opinions.  People rarely agree with us and we don’t really care, so check out the list below and tell us what you think on our facebook account at http://www.Facebook.com/RACE22

Honorable Mentions …

Dustin Storm
The name is probably familiar to most anyone who is familiar with the Late Model racing scene, but in recent years Dustin Storm hasn’t been as strong as he has in the past. However, his win in the Youth for Tomorrow 150 at Old Dominion Speedway proved that he can still get it done behind the wheel.

Matt Bowling
Winning the Hampton Heat at Langley Speedway wasn’t certainly a surprise to everyone, probably including Matt Bowling. The young driver has been running up front for the last couple of seasons, but this season he has stepped up his game and now has two career wins(both this season). He’s been good, just not good enough to be considered with Late Model Stock Car racing’s elite.

Paul Nogradi
A win a few weeks back at Kingsport Speedway certainly proved that the young driver can get up on the wheel, but Paul Nogradi is flexing his muscle on the 3/8 mile track lately. He has qualified among the top two or three cars nearly every week and finds himself as one of the best cars at the track and even was out running invader Lee Pulliam when the two wrecked together last week and he’s done something Pulliam can’t …. get to victory lane on the tough East Tennessee track.

10 – Anthony Anders
The veteran driver found himself among the top four or five drivers all of last season on the FDJ Motorsports Power Rankings, but this season racing on unfamiliar ground at Kingsport Speedway and Myrtle Beach Speedway has kept him off the list. However, last weekend in a return to one of his home tracks of Anderson Speedway, he was able to get to victory lane and followed that up with another win at Myrtle Beach the following day. Though he was disqualified from his Anderson win, we still give him credit for the “Power” he displayed en route to two wins on two totally different tracks with two different engines.

9 – Tommy Lemons, Jr.
Tommy Lemons, Jr. has had an on again, off again love affair with the FDJ Motorsports Power Rankings. From time to time, he’s high on the list and then he’ll fall completely off of it for long periods of time. Of course that’s how his wins have come in his career as well … he never seems to get in a rhythm, sometimes it seems it’s feast or famine, but right now he’s running more consistent than ever and despite not winning in a month he has run good enough to stay on the list.

8 – Kenny Brooks
The veteran Late Model Stock Car driver picked up the Concord Speedway championship last weekend on the heels of his 11th win of the 2012 season. He’s certainly destroyed the competition at Concord Speedway and proved that he’s one of the top Late Model Stock Car racers at least at his home track. With the season completed at Concord, maybe now we’ll see him venture away from comfortable confines in search of more victories.

7 – Lance Gatlin
With nine wins in a row(the only nine races this season) at Lonesome Pine Raceway, Lance Gatlin has proven that he’s the top of the heap on the 3/8 mile track. With a $450 bounty on his head and growing the veteran wheelman is getting more and more competition every week and despite that he’s been able to keep winning. And, now the track has changed the rules just to get someone else to win, so I’d say he’s pretty powerful.

6 – Frank Deiny, Jr.
All he can seem to think about every week when he’s being interviewed is the FDJ Motorsports Power Rankings and we’re not sure if he’s just trying to promote the thing that he sponsors or if he’s hurt over not having been on the list. Either way, we’re tired of hearing about the Power Rankings from him, so we put him on here, just to see if it stops … OK, maybe not … maybe it’s because he’s been running up front with Lee Pulliam nearly every race and if not for a broken wheel two weeks ago, he might well have taken down the new “prince” of Late Model Stock Car racing.

5 – Josh Berry
Speaking of taking down the “prince” of Late Model Stock Car racing … Josh Berry is another driver who is on the verge of doing just that. Berry, who won the first race of Lee Pulliam’s storied return in May after Pulliam broke and this past weekend he was able to run door to door with Pulliam late in the race, though his inexperience may have cost him a chance at the win. But, Berry is on the verge of breaking through for a win, even with Pulliam at the top of his game.

4 – CE Falk III
Once a prominent contender for the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series National Championship and once a contender for his fourth straight championship at Langley Speedway, now Falk seems to be more interested in driving cars in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, that give him little to no chance to win. No matter, he’s still a contender when in a Late Model Stock Car and looked to be one of the top two drivers in the Hampton Heat until his rivalry with Greg Edwards reignited.

3 – Deac McCaskill
Winning has been about the only thing that Deac McCaskill has done this season at Southern National Motorsports Park and despite a small slip a couple weeks back, he’s still the winningest driver on the newly reopened track. With 12 wins to his credit at SNMP and another one at South Boston Speedway, he’s had an incredible season that isn’t going south.

2 – Nate Monteith
He might not be a fan favorite, but his cocky attitude is backed up with his driving skills especially at his home track of Kingsport Speedway. There this season he has won eight times and has dominated and is on his way to his second championship in a row. Add to that, he has also is the only driver to keep Lee Pulliam from invading his home turf and has beat him every time he’s traveled to the 3/8 mile concrete track.

1 – Lee Pulliam
There was no real drama in deciding who the number one driver was going to be … I mean Lee Pulliam is obviously the top Late Model Stock Car driver and he appears to be on his way to his first NASCAR Whelen All-American Series National Championship. He also continues to win with 15 wins now to his credit, his only slip this season has been his travels to Kingsport Speedway, where despite continuing to go back, he has been unable to get to victory lane. He may finish the season with 20 plus wins, a National Championship and all kinds of other accomplishments, but if he doesn’t win at Kingsport, his season won’t be complete and he only has a couple more chances.