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UARA Power Rankings -- April 1, 2010
This year between each one of the 16 UARA-STARS Series races and a post season edition, we're going to give you the Top 10 Drivers on the tour, whether it's a part-time "power player" or a full-time guy swinging for the fences and looking to bring home UARA gold ... With the season opener at Hickory & Kingsport now in the books ... who's the top 10 and who from the last list isn't there anymore!
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#10 - John King II(n/a)
John King has not really even got his feet good and wet in the UARA-STARS Series after running just a handful of races last year and starting off this season looking to race for the series championship. But, last weekend at Kingsport Speedway the young driver appeared determined as he started from toward the tail of the field and was looking for a run to the front of the field. King collected a few battle scars along the way, but drove to a fifth place finish, his first top five in the ultra-competitive series. We'll see at Dillon if he can ride the momentum to another solid finish.
#9 - Grant McGinnis(9th)
Now that we've found out just who Grant McGinnis is he gets caught up in an early accident that doesn't allow the young driver to showcase his abilities. McGinnis however keeps his place among the elite ten drivers in the UARA-STARS because we've seen what he's capable of. Now McGinnis has to prove himself all over again as the series heads to another track that he's never raced on and while he lost his rookie status last season by running one too many UARA races, we know he's still a little green.
#8 - Matt Kurzejewski(n/a)
Like John King above, Matt Kurzejewski also had a few battle scars, mainly because he wasn't afraid to beat and bang with the best the UARA has to offer. Kurzejewski(or Smith as we call him) had a great run after practicing solid on Friday, backing it up on Saturday and qualifying in seventh. Then come race time he ran a solid race and finished fifth, but unfortunately for him he wasn't credited with fifth because of having illegal cylinder heads in tech, but the young mans on track performance makes him easily one of UARA's top ten drivers right now.
#7 - Lee Tissot(n/a)
Lee Tissot's Kingsport performance was certainly enough to launch him back on the "Most Powerful" list as the old veteran qualified up front and finished there at a track he knows all too well. Tissot stayed among the leaders all day and when the race was drawing to a conclusion he kept the pressure on the leader and nearly knocked him out of the lead to take the win himself. Tissot's second place was a great performance following a dismal weekend at Hickory, so we'll see what week three might bring.
Scott Turlington hasn't made an extreme amount of noise so far this season, but from running strong at Hickory and being taken out to having brake problems on lap two at Kingsport, he simply needs some good luck. Turlington's one of those drivers, who despite all the bad luck you can imagine, keeps his chin up and prepares for the next week as if nothing bad had happened and it's eventually got to pay off. Turlington has his program going in the right direction and it's just a matter of time before he gets himself into victory lane.
#6 - Scott Turlington(7th)
#5 - Clint King(8th)
Clint King won in just his third start in the UARA ... yes that's 14 year old, Clint King ... yes, that was his third start and no he hadn't even had a top ten previous to winning. It's amazing the amount of talent that this young kid has shown, but equally amazing is that he is using the same team from a to z that he had with him in Pro Challenge cars including crew chief, Ricky Bryant. These guys have certainly shown that you don't have to go out and hire the latest and greatest to have success, but rather are keeping it in the family and in victory lane!
#4 - Alex Yontz(1st)
Alex Yontz has officially fallen from grace ... Yontz who was easily anyones choice as a pre-season favorite this year has certainly not lived up to expectations. The young driver, who had a terrible 2009 season for off-track reasons looks poised right now for a less than stellar on-track season. Yontz, who was our pick for the championship at seasons beginning appears to not even be able to make all the races. This weekend is in doubt as he 'cooked' his engine this past weekend and isn't sure it will be ready in time for Saturday night, leaving him out in the cold.
Brennan Poole's qualifying ranking would be about a 15th, but the kid has proven time and time again that he can race through a field like no one else in Late Model Stock Car racing seems to be able to. Personally, we've never seen a driver start or have to go to the rear in a race as many times as Brennan has in his past 30 or so LMSC races and everytime he's proven he can race his car to the front. Now the young driver has to prove he can win at this level ... it's time for him to say "I made it!"
#3 - Brennan Poole(6th)
Kyle Grissom had the best car at Hickory in the opener and was relegated to a 17th place finish after a part failure ... at Kingsport he was among the best on Friday, but seemed to just miss it on Saturday and had handling problems in the race. Grissom doesn't have the finishes to show it, but he is close to the top of the UARA-STARS racing world right now, but the young man needs a little luck and everyone else will be wondering when his win streak will end.
#2 - Kyle Grissom(2nd)
Attention Coleman Pressley: You can stop sandbagging in practice ... really man, it's a waste of your time ... we know that the Ford Crate engine has been given an advantage. You've shown us twice now, now all you need to do is practice like you're going to qualify and race. Coleman should be two for two this season if not for Shane Huffman barely holding him off at Hickory and a dropped cylinder at Kingsport. Sandbagging time is over, everyone's already complaining about your advantages ... it's time to flex your muscle and show them You are the MAN!
#1 - Coleman Pressley(4th)
