RIDGEWAY, VA :: Well it’s about that time, time to head back to Martinsville Speedway for the granddaddy of them all, the MDCU (Martinsville Dupont Credit Union) 300. It’s the biggest Late Model Stock Car race in the country with the biggest car count traditionally over 60 cars and sometimes over 100.
With that said, it’s also time to lay out the Power Rankings for this event and it wasn’t easy this year. So many racers are now running part time schedules, so you don’t see them during the season so you have to go off of their past performances at Martinsville. Yes, it’s convoluted and it’s hard to determine even for us. So if we’ve got it wrong in your opinion, sorry but this is the way we see the drivers stacking up heading into this weekend’s big dance.
Honorable Mentions
Limiting this list to a half dozen or so wasn’t easy either. So here goes … Mike Darne, who was a top qualifier a few years ago. Ryan Wilson, had a surprise top five a couple years back. David Garbo, Jr. has shown speed but needs to be reigned in a little bit. RD Smith is fast this year but can he back it up on raceday? Here’s a few we don’t expect to race … Brandon Butler, one of the best records at Martinsville. Wayne Ramsey, always in contention, nearly won in 2006 and has been a contender throughout. Ryan Stiltner qualified and finished top five last season. Chad Finchum won the pole last year. (Hearing today Finchum will make the trip since the 650 carburetor was given back to the Ford Crate engines.)
22. Anthony Anders
While he’s yet to prove whether or not he belongs on any list about Martinsville, Anthony Anders has shown he can win on flat 1/2 mile tracks with his 22 wins at Greenville Pickens Speedway. The NASCAR Whelen All-American Series National Champion also didn’t show much speed at the test last week at Martinsville but if he was really making long runs, he could be one of those guys who goes from worst to first in the race? We’ll see this weekend.
21. Alex Yontz
I know it may seem funny to some of you to see Alex Yontz’s name in the Power Rankings but let’s be honest not many drivers have the record he does at Martinsville. He picked up a win in 2006 and finished third in 2010 but he’s fallen on hard times since then. However he showed some good speed in the recent test and he may very well show up even stronger this weekend.
20. Blake Stallings
Blake Stallings proved last year that it doesn’t matter where you start, you can still compete for a top five finish. Of course much of Martinsville has to do with luck and Stallings kept his nose clean and finished fourth gaining 33 spots along the way. Stallings was again fast at the test last week and he seems poised to do big things again.
19. Bruce Anderson
Driving the PHCC (Patrick Henry Community College) car hasn’t always been a good thing but Anderson has proved that he can get that team to the front. He won in that car this season at South Boston Speedway on July 19th and he seemed to be fairly strong at the test last week.
18. CE Falk
It’s never good to underestimate CE Falk but the young wheelman hasn’t been great at Martinsville in the past. He’s been middle of the road almost every year but with a lackluster season at South Boston Speedway and Langley Speedway behind him, this could be the year he breaks through in the biggest race of them all.
17. Kres VanDyke
The last time he competed at Martinsville Speedway Kres VanDyke finished runner up to Jamey Caudill in 2003. He’s back and better than he’s ever been after a career year at Kingsport and Lonesome Pine where he picked up 10 wins and picked up the Kingsport Speedway championship. Look for him and his Ford Crate to be stout come Sunday.
16. Mike Looney
Mike Looney is a veteran of Late Model Stock Car racing with many wins at Motor Mile and Franklin County Speedway but he’s still searching for that first Martinsville Grandfather clock. Looney has been in contention before as several seasons back he was running in the top five when his engine expired. He’s followed by bad luck but maybe he’s got it all out of the way for the biggest win of his career.
15. Josh Berry
He might have been sent packing last year after his heat race but Josh Berry and his JR Motorsports team were extremely fast during the recent test at Martinsville. Josh Berry is coming off of a great season at Hickory Motor Speedway where he won eight races (nine including one at Southern National) and the championship at Hickory.
14. Matt Waltz
Here’s another guy who everyone thought could be on his way to victory lane last year and that’s Matt Waltz. He led laps and battled with Dillon Bassett and Lee Pulliam for the lead before cutting a tire and finishing 20th. He was also one of the cars to beat at the Denny Hamlin Short Track Showdown at South Boston and he’s always one of the cars to beat at Langley Speedway. Look for this young star to make some more noise this year.
13. Matt Bowling
Two years ago Matt Bowling led some laps and looked poised for victory but let it slip away in the end and finished sixth. Last season he ended up 38th with a brake failure listed as his official reason for falling out. He’s been in the mix before and he’s had another great season winning the Denny Hamlin Short Track Showdown at South Boston Speedway.
12. Peyton Sellers
Forget that he missed last year’s race in his own car only to take the reins of his teammate Tony Keen’s car for the feature to ensure he could continue to compete for the Virginia Triple Crown series championship. Peyton Sellers is still one of the guys in a Late Model Stock Car that you just can’t count out. He’s never been as good at Martinsville as he is everywhere else but he’s about due for a good finish on the 1/2 mile speedplant.
11. Deac McCaskill
Sans a crash with Lee Pulliam with just 10 laps to go last year and Deac McCaskill would very likely have finished in the top five. Instead, he had to rally to a 12th place finish. It seems the feud between McCaskill and Pulliam is over and, if they play nice, McCaskill could easily be a top five finisher.
10. Dillon Bassett
If we went solely off last season’s race Dillon Bassett would be in the top three on this list however if we went solely off the test the other day he might not even make the list. Maybe it’s the carb and weight penalty or changes for the Ford Crate or maybe he’s just off but don’t take those test times to heart, I’m 100% sure no one will give more effort than Dillon.
9. Tommy Lemons, Jr.
I know some people are losing their minds seeing the races most recent winner ranked just ninth but stay with me here. Lemons wasn’t the best car last year and hasn’t had the best car at Martinsville since (memory is fuzzy) maybe 2007 or 2008 when he was spun out of the lead by Philip Morris. He did however have one hell of a restart last year and caught Dillon Bassett sleeping to pick up the victory. I’m not counting him out by any means, just looking at the reality of Martinsville.
8. BJ Mackey
While you won’t find his name in the record books or any list of previous winners, BJ Mackey has in fact been to victory lane in the MDCU 300 before. He played the role of crew chief for Jake Crum in 2009 when the young driver went to victory lane. Mackey is one of the guys you’d find in an all-time Late Model drivers list and at Martinsville he’s been good but seems to find a lot of bad luck. If he can put that behind him he might just breakthrough for his second Martinsville victory.
7. Stacy Puryear
Maybe he’s never won at Martinsville but Stacy Puryear has been right where he needed to be to get top five finishes many times in the MDCU 300. His best recent finish was third in 2011 before missing the race in 2012 and not attempting the race last year. However this year he’s already shown speed in the test session and no one would be surprised if he put his car in victory lane.
6. Jamey Caudill
He’s been absent from the Late Model Stock Car world, at least as a driver, for the better part of the last couple seasons but, teamed with ARI (Atlantic Resources, Inc), he’s back and back with a vengeance. He picked up his 100th and 101st victory in a Late Model Stock Car several weeks ago during the finale at Southern National Motorsports Park. He might be a little older than he was when he won the race in 2003 but don’t be fooled he’s just as sharp as he ever was.
5. Timothy Peters
He’s not always able to run this race given his NASCAR Camping World Truck Series schedule but when time permits Timothy Peters is always one of the drivers to beat at Martinsville in the MDCU 300. He was the 2005 winner and we expect he’ll be one of the contenders come Sunday.
4. Davin Scites
He’s the one guy who hasn’t won the race but has been near the front of the field every time he entered the race. He’s always a threat to win the pole and he’s always one of the guys to beat. Last year unlike in years previous he started shotgun on the field as the last car to transfer through the last chance race and raced his way to a 17th place finish. With a premium being placed on qualifying again this year with the top two not having to run a heat race, I expect Scites might very well be the fastest man in town again.
3. Dennis Setzer
While he wasn’t at the test on Wednesday or Thursday, Dennis Setzer and the Long Brothers entry really doesn’t need it. He’s a one time winner in the modern era and twice overall (1992, 2007) and he’s been right near the front of the field nearly every year. It isn’t 100% for sure that he’ll race but he may be the shining light of the Ford Crate contingent come Sunday.
2. Lee Pulliam
25 wins in 46 starts this season with 41 of them being top five finishes, there’s not much else that needs to be said about Lee Pulliam. However his record at Martinsville also speaks for itself. He was leading when wrecked with 10 to go last year, finished second to Morris in 2012, won it with a bump and run on Matt McCall in 2011, won the pole and finished fifth in 2010 after failing to qualify in his first two attempts in 2008 and 2009. He’ll undoubtedly be in the mix this year and without the National Champions curse to worry about he’s the favorite to win.
1. Philip Morris
While Lee Pulliam, Anthony Anders and Dillon Bassett find themselves among the elites of the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series week in and week out now, the King of Late Model Stock Cars Philip Morris is still the King of Martinsville. Boasting three wins in the modern era (since Martinsville Speedway went to one race per year), Morris is always in the mix and don’t let his test times confuse you, he will be again this year.
