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Preview: UARA Power Rankings
This year between each one of the 16 UARA-STARS Series races and a pre-season(this one) and a post season, 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 ... Who's the pre-season favorites? ... Read Our Picks for this years UARA-STARS Series Most Powerful Drivers!
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#10 - Scott Turlington
The third time's the charm ... right? Scott Turlington enters his third straight full-time effort in the UARA-STARS Series in 2010 and he's came a long way in the last two seasons. Turlington now looks to have all the right tools from new Marlowe Chassis' he purchased last year and help from Wesley Page and David Mercer to a team that has been loyal to him through the years. For Turlington it's time to show what he's got and if his pre-season tests are any indication, Turlington's game is going to be atleast a few notches above what it has been in the last two seasons.
#9 - Lee Tissot
Former UARA-STARS Series Champion, Lee Tissot is coming in this season in an unfamiliar role, he's coming in the underdog. You ask, "how's that possible?", well Tissot hasn't been up to previous standards over the last few seasons, but this season as he attempts to make a full-on blitz of the competition for the first time since his title run, he's certainly going to be one of the guys to beat. However, no one is talking about him, which seems strange given his past performances. We'll see where he's at come the drop of the green flag at Hickory Motor Speedway.
#8 - Garrett Campbell
Garrett Campbell is another driver who's time to 'put up or shut up' has come, much like Turlington. Campbell has shown signs of brillance, like qualifying on the outside pole at Ace in 2008 and leading laps, but too many times his results haven't been as good as they need to be. Campbell has the talent, we've all seen that, but now he needs the results to back it up and teamming with Alex Yontz this season will certainly help his effort as every young driver needs someone to help show them the ropes and guide them and he's now got all the pieces to his puzzle.
#7 - Brennan Poole
Brennan Poole's 2009 rookie season rivaled the largest roller coaster with cellar lows and extreme highs. With major sucesses such as his Dillon performance in May, qualifying second, being black flagged, going to the rear and racing back to fourth before having engine troubles and he's also had nights like Hickory, where he had one of the fastest cars in practice and qualified 15th or worse and ran there all night. During the off-season, he's spent a lot of time testing and he's hoping the testing will help produce him his first UARA victory. The goal is the championship, but he's got a lot of talented young drivers ahead of him, but this young driver has the potential to overcome.
From 2009 USARacing Pro-Cup Rookie of the Year to chasing the UARA-STARS Series championship in 2010, Lucas Ransone isn't afraid of tackling big challenges. Lucas became one of the tough young competitors in LMSC racing in 2008 racing weekly at Hickory and after competing full-time in the Pro-Cup series in 2009, he came back and won one of two LMSC starts in one of the biggest LMSC races of the year, the Myrtle Beach 250. Lucas is now moving full-time into the UARA, which will be a tough task, but with his recent success in LMSC, he could be a threat to win every week and a threat for the title.
#6 - Lucas Ransone
#5 - Kyle Grissom
In the off-season, Kyle Grissom made a move to get 2007 UARA-STARS Series championship winning crew chief, Nick Hutchins and that move certainly puts the young driver a step closer to being the lead candidate for this years title. Grissom already has four UARA-STARS Series wins and the 2005 Rookie of the Year award on his resume, but now he's hoping to add the elusive UARA-STARS Series Championship to his impressive list of stats. In 2009, he won one race, but if he wants to win the title, he's going to have to really step up his game and based on his crew chief's past, he may just be the missing link.
#4 - Coleman Pressley
Though his part-time NASCAR Nationwide Series schedule with R3 Motorsports will keep him from competing in all the UARA-STARS Series races, Coleman Pressley can't be overlooked in the overall scheme of things. Pressley, a third generation driver made his presence known in 2009 in his first full season with the UARA by finishing consistently in the top ten and winning two of the last three races. This season he'll certainly be making noise and though he will be in Richmond competing in the Nationwide Series when the UARA rolls into Ace Speedway, Pressley could still be a contender for the season long championship.
Jamie Yelton has no plans to run full time in the UARA-STARS Series this season while continuing his role as Brennan Poole's driver coach. However, Yelton will compete in a handful of starts including the season opener at Hickory Motor Speedway this weekend and with the amount of experience he has not only in Late Model Stock Cars, but the UARA-STARS Series in general, you know he's going to be one of the guys to beat when it comes time for the green flag to drop on any starts he makes. Also, if he runs anywhere near as good as his "bad" looking race car looks, Yelton could win in every start!
#3 - Jamie Yelton
When the FDJ Motorsports Army rolls into Hickory Motor Speedway this weekend, Deiny will come in with little UARA experience(despite having one win), but an unmistakable record in LMSC racing having won track championships at five different tracks throughout the region. Deiny's going to be one the drivers to beat, the only question is if he can overcome the fact that all the other front running guys have been testing and Deiny sat in the car he's running for the first time on Wednesday and his FDJ team started working on it the same day. Deiny's one of LMSC greatest drivers, but how will he stack up when he's against the best in the LMSC business on a different track every week??? .... We'll see!
#2 - Frank Deiny, Jr.
While it was hard to decide the top ten drivers and what positions they would be in, one thing was easily predictable and that's the fact that Alex Yontz would be the number one driver. Yontz' UARA resume is impressive with two Bristol wins and on the NASCAR side he's a Martinsville LMSC winner as well, but one thing that has eluded him is the UARA Championship. This season, the young driver simply needs improved performances on a few of the tracks to kick the door down and win the series title, but of course things are never as easy as they seem ...
#1 - Alex Yontz
Coming up next, we'll preview the UARA-STARS Series incredible crop of Rookie drivers and we'll give you the info you need to know including the drivers we think will have the best chance at winning the Rookie of the Year this season ...
