Poll Position presented by Keyser Manufacturing
Top 25: Shirley surges as Pierce still solidly No. 1
By Todd Turner
DirtonDirt managing editor
Brian Shirley (joshjamesartwork.com)
After surging to his career-richest payday, Brian Shirley of Chatham, Ill., vaulted nine positions to No. 9 in DirtonDirt’s weekly power rankings with Bobby Pierce of Oakwood, Ill., maintaining his unanimous hold on the top spot.
Shirley, who turned back Pierce and others en route to $88,500 in purse and lap money earnings, captured his first Prairie Dirt Classic on Saturday at Fairbury (Ill.) Speedway on the World of Outlaws Real American Beer Late Model Series.
Pierce, who won Fairbury’s FloRacing Night in America event three nights before the PDC, earned every No. 1 vote in the Keyser Manufacturing-backed poll while Jonathan Davenport of Blairsville, Ga., received every second-place vote to maintain his No. 2 spot. Pierce and Davenport both ran into trouble on a late PDC restart that knocked them from contention after the second-running Pierce’s car stalled and collected a host of cars.
The rest of the top five remained constant as well with Ricky Thornton Jr. of Chandler, Ariz., in third after a runner-up finish in FloRacing action and an early retirement in the Prairie Dirt Classic, which started and finished early Sunday morning after a three-hour rain delay. Hudson O’Neal of Martinsville, Ind., who led early in the Prairie Dirt Classic driving Kevin Rumley’s entry, remains fourth in the ranking with PDC runner-up Brandon Sheppard of New Berlin, Ill., at No. 5.
Besides Shirley, PDC third-place finisher Dennis Erb Jr. of Carpentersville, Ill., was the poll’s biggest mover, up six positions in a tie for 16th. Fifth-place Fairbury finisher Tim McCreadie of Watertown, N.Y., was up two spots into a tie for 10th and red-hot Zack Mitchell of Enoree, S.C., on the strength of two Schaeffer's Southern Nationals victories, was up two spots to No. 14, a career high.
Balloting was completed before Monday’s WoO event at Wilmot (Wis.) Raceway won by Ryan Gustin of Marshalltown, Iowa, but points below reflect Wilmot’s results.
Voting is done by a 10-member committee made up of staffers and contributors to determine the Top 25 power rankings: Richard Allen, Bryan Ault, Jeff Broeg, Kelley Carlton, Ryan Delph, Josh James, Kevin Kovac, Kyle McFadden, Mike Ruefer and Kyle Symons. Results are compiled and tabulated by Todd Turner, who serves as a voting alternate along with fellow staffer Aaron Clay.
Rankings appear Tuesdays through mid-November provided at least half of the drivers in the current rankings are in action in the previous week.
1. Bobby Pierce, Oakwood, Ill.
Comment: Fresh off a FloRacing victory at Fairbury, a stall-out on a late restart triggers pileup and spoils chance for a Prairie Dirt Classic repeat. He’ll target six-figure payday at Cedar Lake’s USA Nationals. Series points: 1st (WoO). 1st (FloRacing). Previous ranking: 1st (nc)
2. Jonathan Davenport, Blairsville, Ga.
Comment: Caught up in PDC pileup, he’ll take aim at his fourth USA Nationals victory with a race-record $100,000 up for grabs. Series points: 1st (Lucas Oil); 2nd (FloRacing). Previous ranking: 2nd (nc)
3. Ricky Thornton Jr., Chandler, Ariz.
Comment: Runner-up in FloRacing action at Fairbury, he bows out early in PDC with Koehler Motorsports team tentatively planning a rare weekend off ahead of Florence’s North-South 100. Series points: 2nd (Lucas Oil); 3rd (FloRacing). Previous ranking: 3rd (nc)
4. Hudson O’Neal, Martinsville, Ind.
Comment: After fourth in FloRacing event at Fairbury, he wins a PDC semi feature and leads early in 100-lapper before falling from contention in Kevin Rumley-prepared car. He’ll return to SSI car at Cedar Lake. Series points: 3rd (Lucas Oil); 6th (FloRacing). Previous ranking: 4th (nc)
5. Brandon Sheppard, New Berlin, Ill.
Comment: Failing to overtake winner Brian Shirley in final laps of Prairie Dirt Classic, PDC semifeature winner settles for second. Cedar Lake next for Rocket1 camp. Series points: 6th (Lucas Oil); 4th (FloRacing). Previous ranking: 5th (nc)
6. Nick Hoffman, Mooresville, N.C.
Comment: Salvages fourth-place finish at Prairie Dirt Classic despite being in middle of late pileup. He’ll look for his first top-five in USA Nationals. Series points: 2nd (WoO); T7th (FloRacing). Previous ranking: T6th (nc)
7. Devin Moran, Dresden, Ohio
Comment: Pilots Ryan Wetzstein’s modified in chase for six-figure payday at Ogilvie (Minn.) Speedway, but fails to make feature race. He’ll return to Double Down team at Cedar Lake, where he hasn’t raced since 2018. Series points: 4th (Lucas Oil); 7th (FloRacing). Previous ranking: T6th (-1)
8. Garrett Alberson, Las Cruces, N.M.
Comment: PDC’s fast qualifier never a serious factor in three nights of Fairbury action. Roberts Motorsports team heads for USA Nationals. Series points: 5th (Lucas Oil); 10th (FloRacing). Previous ranking: 8th (nc)
9. Brian Shirley, Chatham, Ill.
Comment: Pockets career-high $88,500 in purse and lap money for first Prairie Dirt Classic victory on an unforgettable Sunday morning. WoO beat goes on at Cedar Lake. Series points: 7th (WoO); 5th (FloRacing). Previous ranking: 18th (+9)
T10. Tyler Erb, New Waverly, Texas
Comment: Not a factor at Fairbury, Best Performance team tentatively idle until Florence’s North-South 100. Series points: 2nd (Summer Nationals). Previous ranking: 9th (-1)
T10. Tim McCreadie, Watertown, N.Y.
Comment: Briggs Transport driver avoids pileup for a 21st-to-fifth run in Prairie Dirt Classic. He’ll aim to repeat his 2013 USA Nationals victory. Series points: 5th (WoO). Previous ranking: 12th (+2)
12. Ryan Gustin, Marshalltown, Iowa
Comment: After pedestrian showings at Fairbury, he grabs a WoO victory at Wilmot and heads to Cedar Lake, trying to improve on last season’s fourth-place finish. Series points: 3rd (WoO); T7th (FloRacing). Previous ranking: 10th (-2)
13. Brandon Overton, Evans, Ga.
Comment: After a disappointing Fairbury trip ends against wall in consolation race, Longhorn Factory Team will take a break before North-South 100. Series points: 7th (Lucas Oil). Previous ranking: 11th (-2)
14. Zack Mitchell, Enoree, S.C.
Comment: Hottest streak of career continues with Southern Nationals victories at Toccoa and Sugar Creek. He’ll return to HTF circuit at Duck River, where he finished second last season. Series points: 3rd (Hunt the Front). Previous ranking: 16th (+2)
15. Jimmy Owens, Newport, Tenn.
Comment: Ends Schaeffer's Southern Nationals run in the Big Frog Motorsports car winless. He’s back in Koehler Motorsports ride for HTF action at Duck River. Series points: 1st (Hunt the Front); T2nd (Southern Nationals). Previous ranking: 13th (-2)
T16. Dennis Erb Jr., Carpentersville, Ill.
Comment: Enjoys solid third-place finishes at Fairbury’s Prairie Dirt Classic and Wilmot before heading to Cedar Lake, where he has a single podium finish in 43 feature starts. Series points: 6th (WoO); 9th (FloRacing). Previous ranking: 22nd (+6)
T16. Jason Feger, Bloomington, Ill.
Comment: Still looking for his first top-five at the PDC since 2017, Feger Nation heads to $100,000-to-win USA Nationals at Cedar Lake. Series points: Champion (Summer Nationals); 1st (MARS). Previous ranking: 15th (-1)
18. Mike Marlar, Winfield, Tenn.
Comment: Tentative schedule unpublicized after surviving PDC pileup for seventh-place finish at Fairbury. Series points: None. Previous ranking: 19th (+1)
19. Josh Rice, Crittenden, Ky.
Comment: Breaks late in Prairie Dirt Classic to lose a top-10 finish. Up next is Northern Allstars action at Brownstown. Series points: 1st (Northern Allstars). Previous ranking: 14th (-5)
20. Max Blair, Centerville, Pa.
Comment: Settles for a 10th-place finish during an up-and-down Prairie Dirt Classic. Cedar Lake next on the docket for Centerline Motorsports. Series points: None. Previous ranking: 20th (nc)
21. Drake Troutman, Hyndman, Pa.
Comment: Provisional start at Prairie Dirt Classic ends early. Heads to Cedar Lake, where he hasn’t cracked top 10 in three starts. Series points: 4th (WoO). Previous ranking: 19th (-2)
22. Cory Hedgecock, Loudon, Tenn.
Comment: After a weekend off, he’ll return to HTF action at Duck River, where he finished second in March’s WinterFest. Series points: 2nd (Hunt the Front). Previous ranking: 21st (-1)
23. Daulton Wilson, Fayetteville, N.C.
Comment: After ninth-place finish at Fairbury, JRR Motorsports team taking a break until Florence’s North-South 100. Series points: 8th (Lucas Oil). Previous ranking: Unranked
24. Gregg Satterlee, Indiana, Pa.
Comment: With Selinsgrove’s rainout giving him a weekend off, he’ll return to the half-mile for ULMS action that continues Saturday at Marion Center. Series points: Champion (Appalachian Mountain Speedweek). Previous ranking: 24th (nc)
25. Dale McDowell, Chickamauga, Ga.
Comment: He’s fourth, third and eighth in three final Southern Nationals races, which includes a DNF after leading at Tazewell finale. Duck River’s HTF action up next. Series points: None. Previous ranking: 25th (nc)
Dropped out: Mason Zeigler
Others receiving votes: Mason Zeigler, Kyle Bronson, Tanner English, Cody Overton, Sam Seawright, Trey Mills, Ashton Winger, Mark Whitener, Ethan Dotson, Donald McIntosh, Kaede Loudy, Garrett Smith.
