COPPER HILL, VA :: Competition has been tough in the Limited Late Model ranks all across the region and, as such, our Limited Late Model power rankings have shuffled up drastically. New faces have emerged in our Power Rankings (some we should have included last time) and others have fallen out as ‘The Dog Days of Summer’ have taken their course.
Honorable Mention: Florence Motor Speedway
We’d like to include you Florence but your website and the way your results are listed won’t allow us to unless we happen to remember to get the results that week. Plus there are no press releases sent to us so we have no idea what’s happening there. Please help us drivers, fans and track staff to better promote you and your racers.
15. Joey Throckmotron
There’s no doubt that the competition in the Limited Sportsman division at South Boston Speedway is among the toughest in the region, if not the toughest. Winning there is no easy task. Joey Throckmorton was the latest person to score a victory at South Boston Speedway and he has been strong all year. Welcome to the power rankings, Joey!
14. Daryn Cockram
Daryn Cockram moves up to 14th by remaining competitive at South Boston and Motor Mile. Cockram also traveled to Southern National Motorsports Park where he was able to finish in the top-five in spite of a couple entanglements with a track regular. Cockram’s tough to beat anywhere he goes, and he plans on traveling even more throughout the season.
13. Jason Payne
Jason Payne is one of the guys we probably should have included back in our Power Rankings in June. Payne has three wins on the season and leads the points at Ace Speedway which sports one of the most competitive fields in Limited Late Model competition in the region.
12. Ryan Robertson
While Robertson only has two wins on the season, he’s been killing them with consistency as he holds on to the points lead in the Sportsman division at Bowman Gray Stadium. It’s not likely that he’s made his last trip to Victory Lane this season either.
11. Boo Boo Dalton
Here’s another guy who isn’t afraid to travel: Rods “Boo Boo” Dalton. Boo Boo has wins this season at Ace Speedway and Caraway Speedway and made an appearances at other tracks this season as well, including Southern National. Dalton’s another driver who’s likely to score more victories before the season’s over at the always tough Ace Speedway.
10. Michael Tilley
Michael Tilley bursts on to our Power Rankings by virtue of his three wins this season, two of those coming in the last month, along with a podium finish a few weeks ago at Ace Speedway. Tilley’s got his program together and is proving to be competitive every race now. If he keeps running the way he has been, he’ll likely race his way up towards the top of the Power Rankings.
9. Derek Stoltz
Last time we ranked Derek Stoltz, we had him at the top of the list. Since then, Stoltz has cooled down a lot. “Primetime” hasn’t won a race since June 21st which seems almost unbelievable after clicking off five wins in the first half of the season at Bowman Gray Stadium and being the most talked about driver in all of short track racing. Stoltz has shown glimpses in recent races that he’s ready to get back to Victory Lane at “The Madhouse”.
8. Dexter Canipe, Jr.
Dexter Canipe, Jr. is another driver that takes a fall in the Power Rankings. Canipe has also gone nearly two months without winning a race as competition from Hickory Motor Speedway points leader Taylor Stricklin and Mark Johnson has proven to be quite tough for Canipe. We’ll be looking for Canipe to get back on track. Until then, he holds steady inside the Power Rankings.
7. Chuck Lawson
Here’s another guy we left off last time around, Chuck Lawson. Lawson has been dominant at Orange County Speedway lately, completely dominant. He has won the last three Limited Sportsman races at the Rougement speedplant and is showing no signs of slowing down. Lawson’s dominance has propelled him atop the Orange County Speedway Limited Sportsman standings and inside the top-seven in our Power Rankings.
6. Dylan Ward
Dylan Ward bursts in to our Power Rankings one spot out of the top-five by virtue of the power he has exhibited at Ace Speedway in the summer months. Ward has scored two wins in his last four races at Ace Speedway. Both of those wins came against Ace Speedway’s Limited Late Model regulars. He also clicked off a lightning fast lap in the first Moonshine Capital Promotions Series event at Ace Speedway before having a potential win derailed in an early accident. Ward’s one young driver everyone should keep an eye on as he’s likely got plenty more wins coming this season.
5. Louis White
Louis White is one of the drivers that there’s no doubt should have been included in the Power Rankings last time around. White has scored seven wins at East Carolina Motor Speedway – a track that is actually sporting tough competition and strong car counts in its Limited Sportsman division.
4. Danny Willis, Jr.
Danny Willis, Jr. sits atop the standings at the always tough South Boston Speedway in their Limited Sportsman division with three wins on the season. Two of those wins have come in the last three races. Willis is showing the kind of dominance we come to expect from the veteran and defending champion. When Willis is firing on all cylinders, he’s extremely tough to beat and he appears to be powering his third Limited Sportsman Championship at “America’s Hometown Track”.
3. Scott Lancaster
Okay, we heard you Motor Mile Speedway fans. Last time around, we left Scott Lancaster off this list, not because we thought he didn’t belong, but because it was simply hard to gauge where he stacks up with only two starts on the season at a track where the first two races had been won in the tech shed. Now that the races have been won on the track, there’s no denying that Scott Lancaster belongs inside the top-three. He’s won three of four Limited Sportsman races at Motor Mile Speedway – a track which consistently sports some of the strongest Limited fields in the region – and has a healthy points lead. Lancaster’s likely going to win the championship and could easily win the rest of the races the way he has performed.
2. Rusty Daniels
Rusty Daniels moves up to second in our Power Rankings by virtue of the dominance he has displayed on the rest of the field at Southern National Motorsports Park in recent weeks. Daniels has won three of the last four races. The race he didn’t win, he finished in second. Daniels also scored a win early in the season at East Carolina Motor Speedway. While he may be well outside of first place in the track’s championship picture, there’s no doubt that Daniels is the man to beat in Kenly right now.
1. Bradley McCaskill
Bradley McCaskill has three wins on the season but what puts him atop our standings is that those wins all came at different tracks. In fact, McCaskill has raced at six tracks, and has been competitive at all six. He’s scored victories this season at Caraway Speedway in the Southeast Limited Late Model touring series event, Dillon Motor Speedway and East Carolina Motor Speedway. He also has starts at Ace Speedway, where he scored a third place finish, Southern National Motorsports Park and Wake County Speedway, where he’s scored multiple runner-up finishes. If you’re a Limited Late Model racer and Bradley McCaskill shows up at your track, you better have your A-Game because you can guarantee McCaskill has his.
So, that’s how things shake up in the summer months. Some drivers have had consistency woes during the hot summer months while others have simply cooled down – but there can be a case for 20-25 drivers in the region. There’s no doubt Limited Late Model racing
