By Mike Ruefer – It’s been Hot and Dry here at home. The racing has even been hotter in August with the conclusion of the World of Outlaws for three days at Davenport Speedway. Except for rain in certain parts of the county that cancelled some events, each and every weekend was jam packed with prestige and big money on the line. In the SLMP ranking world, that all means an opportunity to improve your average finishing rate or blow it up with a DNF. So let’s take a quick snapshot look at the Top Ten.
Johnathan Davenport continues to hold his line and the #1 ranking. Closing in is Brandon Overton who has been chipping away at the margin difference every week. If Overton is going to make a run and pass Davenport, September will be his best chance.
A bad year for Brandon Sheppard is like a great year for just about anyone else. He’s not won to the level of the previous two years but the consistency is still there night after night. The driver that just keeps digging to the front in the ranking is Tim McCreadie. His long coveted Lucas title is in sight.
Next is the tale of two drivers going in different directions. Max Blair has slipped down in the ranking after getting lassoed by the WoO guys and Devin Moran is riding high in the saddle and gaining traction. His wins at Davenport were very impressive.
Tyler Erb is kind of in a funk right now. The Terbo porridge is neither hot nor cold. Bobby Pierce on the other hand had his wins on the Summer Nationals and kept his dad busy replacing right rear quarter panels. These two are fun to watch.
Another hot driver to move back up in the ranking is Hudson O’Neal. His positivity and outlook are contagious while leading him to victories. Last but not least is Gregg Satterlee. He has slipped downward recently but once his beard comes back in for the cooler fall races I think he’ll recover nicely.
That wraps up August and it’s time for September as we hit the home stretch of the racing season. The biggest of the Crown Jewels is The Twin World 100’s. There will be a lot on the line in the ranking with four nights of racing. All month long there are races that will continue to be Must See Streaming TV. Keep in mind DNF’s. Should a leading driver have them it could be the biggest contributing factor towards a fall in their overall average rate and ranking. Run up front or even better win and you’re in position to be #1 at the end of the season.
The current ranking qualifier number for August was 18 features and will now top off at 20 in September and stay there for the rest of the year. Currently 116 drivers have met this threshold. All results are tracked via DirtonDirt. Without them and their attention to detail because they’re the best, I couldn’t do this and have this much fun.
With 1268 drivers currently being tracked since January 1st, here is the SLM Performance Ranking “Top 50” for August. It’s the “Best of the Best” from around the country.
1 Jonathan Davenport
2 Brandon Overton
3 Brandon Sheppard
4 Tim McCreadie
5 Max Blair
6 Devin Moran
7 Tyler Erb
8 Bobby Pierce
9 Hudson O’Neal
10 Gregg Satterlee
11 Tanner English
12 Chris Madden
13 Jimmy Owens
14 Ashton Winger
15 Brian Rickman
16 Donald McIntosh
17 Brian Shirley
18 Jacob Hawkins
19 Ricky Thornton Jr.
20 Dale McDowell
21 Ross Bailes
22 Kyle Bronson
23 Frank Heckenast Jr.
24 Ryan Unzicker
25 Shannon Babb
26 Kyle Beard
27 Devin Gilpin
28 Josh Richards
29 Logan Martin
30 Billy Moyer
31 Zack Dohm
32 Garrett Alberson
33 Mike Marlar
34 Gary Stuhler
35 Chad Thrash
36 Tony Jackson Jr.
37 Jimmy Mars
38 Travis Stemler
39 Josh Rice
40 Jason Feger
41 Jeff Rine
42 Rusty Schlenk
43 Zack Mitchell
44 Spencer Hughes
45 Tyler Bruening
46 Jason Papich
47 Chris Ferguson
48 Darrell Lanigan
49 Mike Spatola
50 Dalton Cook
What is the Super Late Model Performance Ranking? The SLM Performance Ranking has its origins from the A-Team Ranking developed by Sam Holbrooks in 1996 and printed in “Behind the Wheel” and Late Model America.” The SLM Performance Ranking is a national ranking for Open Motor events that pay a minimum $2500 to win. Each driver who makes a feature event will earn a mathematical formula based rate built on performance, competition and durability. The final ranking is based on rate and logic rules that reward racing more. Nothing in the rate, rank or logic is subjective. It’s just all numbers, math and rules. The SLM Performance Ranking isn’t about who is best but who is having the best year. If you think that makes the driver “The Best” that’s ok with me.
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Mike Ruefer
Photographer & Writer