 by Don Martin                   4.19.2018
This is the first week of STLRacing.com Dirt Late Model Rankings.   The way it works is simple so there are no politics involved.   In order for a driver to receive a point, they must win a race of $5,000 to win or more.    Below is the criteria to determine the Top Super Dirt Late Model Drivers in the country.  We will update this weekly.
$5,000 to win – 1 pt
$10,000 to win – 3 pts – 2 for second and 1 for third
20,000 to win – 5 pts awarded to the winner
40,000 to win or more – 10 pts to the winner
Below are the rankings thru last week which included Scott Bloomquist’s win at Atomic Speedway.   Dale McDowell also pulled off a $10,000 to win race at Bulls Gap in dramatic fashion coming from the 5th to do so.  Finally, what can you say about Jonathan Davenport scoring the biggest win of the weekend by taking home $20,000 at Virginia Motor Speedway.
This week the Lucas Series has a Triple Header out east this weekend starting at Sharon Speedway before heading to Hagerstown, and Port Royal.   The World of Outlaws have a pair of $10,000 to win races at Whynot Motorsports Park in Mississippi.   The MLRA has a couple of races this weekend in Iowa paying $5,000 to win at Davenport and $10,000 to win at Burlington.   You can expect most of the Illinois bad boys at Burlington including Brian Shirley, Shannon Babb, and Jason Feger to name a few.   Other races this week paying $5,000 to win include Florence Speedway, Midway, and Carolina Speedway.
STLRacing.com Top 25 Super Dirt Late Model Rankings
1             Jonathan Davenport      Georgia               Has 6 wins already paying over 5K to wn !
2             Scott Bloomquist             Tennessee         Mr. Consistent has more podiums than anyone.
3             Brandon Sheppard         Illinois                  Brandon Sheppard has 5 wins.
4             Chris Madden                   S. Carolina          2 wins this year and had a podium finish at Virginia.
5             Josh Richards                    W. Virginia         Lucas Oil Champ has 2 wins this season
6             Dale McDowell                 Georgia                               3 wins including last week’s Bull Gap win.
7             Tim McCreadie                 New York           He has one win this season again been very consistent.
8             Kyle Bronson                    Florida                 Lucas Oil Rookie of the Year Contender – 1 win.
9             Ricky Weiss                        Canada                2 wins in this season driving Bloomquist Cars.
10          Mike Marlar                      Tennessee         1 win this season and that was in Arizona
11          Brandon Overton            Georgia                               1 win at East Bay driving the potent 116.
12          Chris Simpson                   Illinois                  1 win taking home the big money at LaSalle.
13          Earl Pearson Jr.                Florida                 1 win taking home the Lucas checkers at Boyd’s.
14          Don O’Neal                        Indiana                Finished 2nd at Atomic last week.
15          Rusty Schlenk                  Michigan             2nd at LaSalle in his Rayburn.
16          Hudson O’Neal                Indiana                Podium in Florida.
17          Michael Page                    Georgia                               2 wins over $5,000 to win Talladega and Moulton
18          Donald McIntosh            Georgia                               2nd at Bulls Gap last week driving for Big Frog.
19          Don Shaw                           Minnesota         2 wins in Arizona
20          Michael Brown                 S. Carolina          2nd place finish at Fayetteville.
21          Shannon Babb                  Illinois                  LaSalle Winner
22          Dennis Erb Jr.                    Illinois                  Clarksville Winner
23          Gregg Satterlee                               Pennsylvania    Podium finish in Florida
24          Jimmy Owens                   Tennessee         3rd at Bulls Gap last weekend.
25          Tyler Erb                             Texas                   Turbo has had one podium.
Big surprise of the year thus far is not to see Bobby Pierce on this list. I look for a strong weekend from Brandon Sheppard, Mike Marlar, and Chris Madden this weekend.   Madden looks great early on in the Barry Wright house car.   I can see a Brian Shirley having a good weekend and possibly breaking into the top 25.