Content by: Langley Austin ~ [email protected]
*List Voted On by RACE22.com’s Panel of Late Model Stock Car experts
Salisbury, NC(May 20, 2011) — With the bottom 11 in the May 2011 FDJ Motorsports Power Rankings for Late Model Stock Car racers being released yesterday, it’s now time to reveal the Top 11 drivers.
We told you that we had a tie for both first and second as well as third and fourth and without having another person that we felt comfortable with to vote on the positions to decide the final ranking, we came up with an idea. With the third and fourth place guys we tried to first look at finishes other than wins, but when comparing those we were quick to notice that the size of the fields were much different.
Plus, the level of competition at the comparing tracks with both guys running two tracks didn’t compare, so we used one drivers recent disqualification to determine who the number three driver would be. We used the same method to determine the number one driver as we were able to use comparable car counts and determine number one by where they each finished in the one race where they didn’t win.
This turned out to be a tougher task than we had even originally realized and we have decided to add several more members to the panel before the June 2011 voting commences a month from now. Enjoy our top 11 list and let us know what you think on our Facebook by CLICKING HERE.
#11 – C.E. Falk — Langley/South Boston Speedway
CE Falk has been one of the two drivers that have found themselves up near the front of the field when it comes to the FDJ Motorsports Power Rankings the last two seasons. It was him and Justin Johnson, who spent the most time in the top two the last two seasons, but this year he’s off to a slow start …. atleast by his standards. Falk hasn’t picked up a win as of yet in the 2011 season, but he’s certainly closer than his counterpart and sometimes rival of the last two years, Justin Johnson, who has been really struggling so far this season. With two second place finishes at Langley Speedway in two races so far, he’s started his run for his third track championship in a row.
#10 – Kyle Grissom — UARA-STARS Series
Kyle Grissom has had his share of ups and downs in Late Model Stock Car racing from a successful multi-win season in the UARA-STARS Series in 2005 to a much slower couple of seasons recently winning only one race. This season he’s up on the wheel again and after splitting with his crew chief of 2010, Nick Hutchins, he and his family owned team are back at it their own way again … without a big name crew chief. And, for Grissom it seems to be working as he again finds himself running at the front of the pack and in contention for wins. He finished third in the season opener and then was crashed out of the lead on the final lap of the second race of the season. He finished runner-up in the most recent race at Rockingham Speedway and he’s finding himself running in championship form back at the front of the pack everywhere they go.
#9 – Nate Monteith — Kingsport Speedway
Nate Monteith has spent the last few seasons running the ASA sanctioned, Lonesome Pine Raceway in Coeburn, VA, where he’s been the guy to beat nearly every time out. This season he’s moved over to the newly reopened, Kingsport Speedway, which has NASCAR Sanctioning this season. After the track was closed since 2002 for weekly racing, the track has returned with the leadership of former NASCAR Nationwide Series driver, Robert Pressley. For Nate Monteith that’s meant a closer trip to the track and so far three trips to victory lane on the 3/8 mile concrete track. Monteith has found himself in a battle on and off the track with Late Model Stock Car veteran, Lee Tissot, but has for the most part come out on top with Tissot having only one win.
#8 – BJ Mackey — Caraway Speedway
BJ Mackey has been one of the top Late Model Stock Car racers for some time now as he’s been winning races everywhere he’s raced from Caraway Speedway to the UARA-STARS Series tour. Now he’s teamed up with Barber Motorsports, the same ride that Alex Yontz won several times in during the 2008 season. Mackey and the Barber team have taken to Caraway Speedway this season and with only three starts, they’ve already taken two victories in twin races. Mackey and his team look to be one of the guys to knock off Davin Scites in the Super Five Series at Caraway, which resumes this weekend and with Mackey’s past, he could be the guy to do it.
#7 – Davin Scites — Caraway/Motor Mile Speedway
Davin Scites started off the 2011 season like the Late Model Stock Car veteran is expected to … in victory lane in the biggest season opening race of the year. He picked up the win in the first of the Super Five Series races at Caraway Speedway on March 13th. After his disqualification at Martinsville last fall in the biggest race of the year, many were looking to see how the veteran would rebound. Scites rebounded just the way many of us expected and so far this season with his win at Caraway and several runner-up finishes at Motor Mile Speedway. The veteran West Virginia native has proven that he’s one of the best Late Model Stock Car racers anywhere, but he’ll have to keep his #06 car at the front of the pack to keep himself toward the top of this list.
#6 – Kyle Moon — Hickory Motor Speedway
Winning two races at Hickory Motor Speedway doesn’t always put a driver toward the top of this list, I mean Jesse LeFevers won twin races a few weeks ago, but he didn’t make the top 22. He and Kyle Moon are the only two time winners there this season and Kyle finds himself in sixth, just behind some of the biggest names in Late Model Stock Car racing right now. Moon, however had never won a race in Late Model Stock Car before this season and opening the season with a pair of second place finishes in the season opening twin races at Hickory, he then went out and picked up his first career win in the following race. Since then he also picked up a win in the most recent race, taking a driver who had never won to a two-time winner and the leader of the pack at Hickory Motor Speedway.
#5 – Garrett Campbell — Ace Speedway/UARA-STARS
Garrett Campbell has visited victory lane twice already this season, which isn’t exactly something to get a man to the top of the list, but when it’s the only two races he’s run this season, it’s pretty impressive. Even with one of the wins being tossed out for a very questionable decision in tech at Ace Speedway, Campbell has still been one of the drivers to beat everywhere he’s been and so far he hasn’t lost a race. Campbell is also the only driver to beat the number one driver on this list and with two trips to victory lane in two races, we couldn’t see how he wouldn’t be ranked near the top of the Power Rankings. The young driver will have a lot of pressure on him to stay at the top of this list as it’ll be really hard to win every race he runs.
#4 – Anthony Anders — Greenville/Anderson
Anthony Anders has never found his name on the FDJ Motorsports Power Rankings that we can remember and his debut is really close to the top as he comes in at number four after being tied with Lee Pulliam for third. The racer, who’s been known to be one of the best at Greenville Pickens Speedway and this season he’s making his mark as the man to beat there. He’s also finding his groove at nearby Anderson Motor Speedway, that competes on Friday nights, where he’s won two of the three races there this season. He’s also won five of seven races at Greenville Pickens Speedway and dethroned of dominator of the 1/2 mile flat track. Anders is making a huge name for himself in UpState South Carolina and he’s becoming the new guy to beat in those parts.
#3 – Lee Pulliam — Motor Mile/South Boston
Lee Pulliam’s season started off with a crash at South Boston Speedway’s season opener, he then got black flagged in the seasons second race before moving to Motor Mile Speedway when the track opened a few weeks later. Pulliam put his name on the map in 2010 as he won five of the final races of the season at South Boston and then qualified on the pole for the Virginia is for Racing Lovers 300 at Martinsville Speedway. His performance in the biggest race of them all for Late Model Stock Car racers, put his name at the top of the list for all LMSC fans. His move to Motor Mile Speedway was a well timed one as he has taken wins in five of the six races there this season. He’ll have his biggest challenge of the season to date as the “King” of Motor Mile Speedway, Philip Morris returns this weekend, but we’re expecting him to stand up to the challenge.
#2 – Philip Morris — South Boston Speedway
Philip Morris is disputably the “King of Late Model Stock Car Racing” … people often question his talent and his rank among the all time greats of Late Model Stock Car racing, but his stats speak for themselves. Morris may well be the all-time greatest Late Model Stock Car racer or maybe he’s not, but one thing is for sure he’s been the best the last decade for sure. He’s been the best for decades and while he’s not always found himself atop this list he’s certainly deserving of a spot here in the top two and found himself in a tie with the number one driver. After all he’s won seven races in a row at South Boston Speedway, but winning at only one track kept him from reaching the top of this list when compared to a driver who races different tracks every week. Don’t be surprised if this veteran keeps winning that he won’t vault to the top … and fast.
#1 – Brennan Poole — UARA-STARS
Brennan Poole is easily the hottest commodity in short track racing right now even and that’s in short track racing as a whole. In the Late Model Stock Car world, he’s easily tops among most every racer and despite the tie with Philip Morris for first, his finishes when not winning vaulted him to the top of the list. He and Morris both have been dominant in their own respect, but when each have only one loss, Poole’s second place finish vaulted him ahead of Morris, who crashed out of his only loss. Poole has won three of four UARA-STARS Series starts this season with his only loss being a second place finish at Newport Speedway. Lending even more credit to his wins are the fact that they’ve come on different tracks of different sizes. Hickory Motor Speedway’s 3/8 mile asphalt bullring was the site of win number one, Kingsport Speedway’s 3/8 mile concrete track was site of win number two and his third win came on the one-mile Rockingham Speedway. Poole’s stats this season have easily made him the driver that everyone is aiming at and while it’ll be hard to keep up the momentum, he’s off to one of the best starts in UARA history. He now has nine career wins over two seasons and is only five wins away from beating the series record of 13, held by Late Model Stock Car veteran and 98-time race winner, Jamey Caudill.
