22nd — Tim George, Jr.(n/r)
Tim George, Jr …. Not a name you would usually expect to see on the Power Rankings, but after a great performance in the Myrtle Beach 400, he deserves to be on here. George, first qualified in the top twenty, but eventually found himself in the top ten, once nine other drivers were tossed out ahead of him. In the race, he didn’t wreck or get caught up in a wreck, but rather motored on and had a top ten run until late.
21st — Tommy Lemons, Jr.(8)
Tommy Lemons, Jr’s run in the Myrtle Beach 400 was eerily similar to how his seasons been. First he posted a top twenty qualifying effort and then found himself moving up due to others being tossed out ahead of him. Lemons looked to have a good car early as he was just trying to ride, but then he found himself spun trying to avoid a big crash and going a lap down. He would finish a lap down in 17th.
20th — RA Brown(21)
RA Brown wasn’t quite as good as we knew he had the potential to be at Myrtle Beach, but he was solid. RA has become hit and miss in the last two seasons, but at Myrtle Beach, minus the water bottle incident in 2009, he has shown alot of strength. This year he finished 20th, just one lap down and showed that he could still get the job done on the tough old track.
19th — David Latour, Jr.(n/r)
David Latour, Jr. gets absolutely no respect … I think I’ve said this before, but we here at RACE22.com need to start giving him the pre-race respect that he deserves. He once again proved that in the Myrtle Beach 400 as he was one of the overlooked drivers all weekend and in the pre-race Power Rankings, but again performed up to his usual standards. He finished 18th, one lap down, but could have easily been in the mix.
18th — BJ Mackey(7)
BJ Mackey’s return to the seat in the Myrtle Beach 400 wasn’t quite what we had expected, but still he showed that he could be in the middle of it all. Being in the middle of it all was exactly Mackey’s problem as he found himself in the middle of the days biggest wreck, no doing of his own. He managed to remain in the race and finished 25th, but it wasn’t indicative of what he was capable of.
17th — Paddy Rodenbeck(13)
Paddy Rodenbeck, yes the same guy who does all those interviews with us discussing his stinky clothes and other useless information. He had a good run in the Myrtle Beach 400 despite going down a lap early and came back to finish on the lead lap to finish in 14th. Paddy may be a goof off the track, but on the track he is all business and that showed when he was smart enough to follow, Frank Deiny toward the end.
16th — Adam Long(n/r)
Adam Long is one of those young drivers that doesn’t often find himself in the mix toward the end of races, but he’s getting closer. The Myrtle Beach 400 showed one just how much better this young driver is getting as he continues to progress. He ran up in the top ten most of the race and finished on the lead lap in 13th, which was a great first run on the gritty old track.
15th — Harrison Rhodes(n/r)
Harrison Rhodes continues to impress, simply put he’s never been on anyone’s radar, that is until this fall as he made the Virginia is for Racing Lovers 300 at Martinsville through a heat race and then flexed his muscle by leading laps in the Myrtle Beach 400. He’s been impressive to say the least and if he continues down this path, he’ll be in the top five of the Power Rankings often in 2011.
14th — Greg Edwards(n/r)
We really weren’t that sure whether to put Greg Edwards on this list or not after he jumped out in front of the field not only early on, when he looked poised to lap the field, but later in the race, when he needed to save his tires he was still up front burning rubber. However, it was impressive that he was able to save his tires as much as he did at the end to come home 8th in his first start in a while at Myrtle Beach.
13th — Jamey Caudill(3)
Jamey Caudill is a name you think of when you think of the smartest and most succesful Late Model Stock Car drivers anywhere. However, this season he really struggled in just a handful of starts and didn’t score a single win for the first time in a while. Caudill again looked poised to be in contention in the Myrtle Beach 400, but he never made a serious challenge for a top five position, finishing 15th.
12th — Lee Tissot(19)
Lee Tissot was under severe pressure heading into the final race of the 2010 season as his car owner, Mitch West had never went winless for an entire season, but had yet to pick up a victory. Tissot wasn’t able to deliver on picking up the win, but he was just as strong as we thought he could have been at Myrtle Beach and brought home a ninth place finish when the checkered flag fell.
Check Back for Drivers 1 through 11 Later …
