Eastern Iowa Driver Rankings: July 29

Welcome to the Inside Track's Eastern Iowa Driver Rankings. Each week of the racing season, the Gazette's Jeremiah Davis will rank the area's top 10 drivers across all divisions.

Think the list should be different? Tweet him at @jeremiahdavis10, send him an email at jeremiah.davis@thegazette.com or leave a comment at The Inside Track by Jeremiah Davis Facebook page.

New this week: Troy Cordes, Jenae Gustin

Dropped out: Zach Less, Quinton Miller

Just missed the cut:  Matt Ryan, Zach Less, Quinton Miller, Andy Nezworski, Jarrett Franzen, Nick Marolf, Jerry Luloff, Richie Gustin, David Brandies, Mark Schulte, Kyle Brown, Tyler Soppe, Brian Irvine, Benji Irvine, Jeff Aikey

RANK

+/-

NAME

CLASS

THOUGHTS

1

+1

Justin Kay

Late Model

It's typically a bad sign for the competition when Justin Kay is driven. After finishing second to Brian Harris in a close race for the second time this season, he wasn't happy. His group didn't need outside motivation before, so having it only means bad things for the rest going forward. For reference: he was fifth at East Moline last Wednesday and responded with wins at Webster City in Deery Bros competition the next night and a win at Davenport on Friday.

2

+1

Nathan Ballard

Hobby Stock/

Hobby Stock/

Sportsmen

All three of the top three in these rankings have 19 wins this season. That's a ridiculous number - and it could be higher for all three. Ballard gets to second because he had a perfect week. He won Thursday night at Benton County Speedway, got two Friday night at Hawkeye Downs in his two classes, then ran away with the win Sunday in Vinton. Only he can beat himself right now.

3

-2

Tony Olson

Sport Mod

He drops two spots because he ONLY got one win and three second place finishes this weekend. Obviously that's a great weekend by nearly anyone's standards, but the one he's set for himself this year - plus what the other two guys did - means he lands here. You know you're having an outstanding year when three second place finishes feel like a disappointment.

4

+1

Jeremiah Hurst

Modified

The last few weeks have been pretty darn good to Hurst - a man with pretty great first name, for what it's worth. Hurst got wins in both races he ran on Friday at Farley Speedway and Saturday at Jackson County Speedway in Maquoketa. He even had a pretty decent campaign going on social media from his fans to get him voted into the All-Star race at Supernationals. He's performing like an All-Star right now.

5

+1

Tyler Droste

Late Model

Any week in which a guy gets a Deery Brothers Summer Series win - let alone his first - is grounds for moving up in these rankings. Droste won from the pole at Quad City Speedway in East Moline, Ill., but had to earn every bit of it through multiple restarts. He finished ninth the next night in Webster City, then was fourth at Independence.

6

-2

J.D. Auringer

Modified

No wins for Auringer this weekend, but he was still in contention both nights he was able to race. He was third at Farley Speedway on Friday night, then ran fifth at Independence Motor Speedway on Saturday. Much like what I said about Olson, a weekend like that is almost a disappointment with how much he's won this year.

7

NR

Jenae Gustin

Sport Mod

She's back. Gustin had fallen out of the rankings for several weeks after some bad luck, some drama at the scales and some time off. But she's back in on what she did Friday night at Davenport Speedway alone. After transferring through the B-main in the $2,000-to-win Sport Mod special, she drove all the way through the field for the win, passing Tony Olson to get it done. She also ran second in Maquoketa.

8

-1

Damon Murty

Stock Car

Murty was one of five drivers from last week's rankings to race on Sunday at Benton County Speedway, and he was involved in one of the best races of the weekend. He ended up second to Shane Ebaugh, but he, Ebaugh and Scott Pippert put on a great three-man battle for the win.

9

NR

Troy Cordes

Modified

Here's another driver back in the rankings after several weeks away. If you ask Cordes himself how things are going, you'll get an exasperated laugh. Whatever could've gone wrong this year has. But he got a win at the Jones County Fair race in Monticello, was third at Independence later that day, then was second to Scott Hogan in Vinton on Sunday. 

10

-2

Ryan Dolan

Late Model

Any other week, three finishes outside the top 10 would result in dropping out of the rankings, but I kept Dolan here for perseverance and how he bounced back. Being able to get a win Sunday in Vinton after an 11th at East Moline, 13th at Webster City and 12th at Webster City shows a strength others don't have. How a team and driver respond to bad runs is as important as anything else.

Previous: April 29; May 6; May 13; May 20; May 27; June 3; June 10; June 17; June 24; July 1; July 8; July 15; July 22

l Comments: (319) 368-8884; jeremiah.davis@thegazette.com