The race for the NASCAR Dodge Weekly Series championship is underway at tracks across North America. The following is a rundown of the top 10 drivers in Division I.
No. 1 – Peyton Sellers (South Boston Speedway, South Boston, Va.). Hometown: Danville, Va. Points: 738. Previous ranking: 1. Peyton Sellers extended his lead in the NASCAR Dodge Weekly Series Division I point standings by capturing his second Late Model Stock Car victory at Motor Mile Speedway in Radford, Va. last weekend. Sellers is splitting time between his home track at South Boston and Motor Mile, taking advantage of the proximity of the two Division I tracks to boost his chances for the championship.
No. 2 – Frank Deiny Jr. (Motor Mile Speedway, Radford, Va.). Hometown: Mechanicsville, Va. Points: 602. Previous ranking: 2. A contentious rivalry is shaping up between Deiny and Sellers, as these two Late Model Stock Car stars race head-to-head at Motor Mile Speedway and other tracks in NASCAR’s Division I. Deiny finished second to Sellers last weekend at Motor Mile, losing two precious points in the divisional standings.
No. 3 – Clay Dale (Lanier National Speedway, Braselton, Ga.). Hometown: Jefferson, Ga. Points: 416. Previous ranking: 6. Dale advanced three positions in the Division I point standings, after recording a win and a second-place finish in twin 30-lap events last Saturday at Lanier National Speedway. In a near-perfect performance, Dale picked up 118 points towards the Division I title including 20 bonus points for competing in two races which featured 20 cars each. (10 NASCAR bonus points are awarded to each driver in each field of 15-20 cars; 20 bonus points are awarded in fields of 21 or more cars).
No. 4 – Travis Swaim (Caraway Speedway, Asheboro, N.C.). Hometown: High Point, N.C. Points: 370. Previous ranking: 3. Swaim’s home track took the night off last Saturday and returns to action May 28 with a 100-lap feature race for Late Model Stock Cars.
No. 5 – Dustin Boney (Linn County Speedway, Pleasanton, Kan.). Hometown: De Soto, Kan. Points: 358. Previous ranking: Not ranked. Boney recorded his first start and his first win at Linn County Speedway last Saturday, but has also been racing regularly on Friday nights at Lakeside Speedway in Kansas City, Kan., which is also in Division I. After a fast start at both tracks, this 24-year-old Dirt Modified racer has cracked the top five in the Division I standings for the first time.
No. 6 – Kerry Davis (Lakeside Speedway, Kansas City, Kan.). Hometown: Kansas City, Mo. Points: 352. Previous ranking: Not Ranked. Not to be outdone by rival Dustin Boney, Davis grabbed headlines and a sixth-place berth in the Division I standings after a sensational win last Friday night at Lakeside Speedway. Davis beat none other than NASCAR Busch Series star Clint Bowyer in a close battle and near photo finish. Bowyer returned to his home track Friday, during an off weekend in his NASCAR Busch Series schedule. Bowyer was the 2002 Lakeside Speedway track champion and NASCAR Dodge Weekly Series Midwest Region champion.
No. 7 – Shawn Balluzzo (Langley Speedway, Hampton, Va.). Hometown: Hampton, Va. Points: 316. Previous ranking: Not Ranked. Balluzzo finished second in last weekend’s Late Model Sportsman race at Langley Speedway and jumped into the seventh spot in this week’s Division I rankings. While Balluzzo has yet to win a race in 2005, he and other Langley competitors have benefited from a high turnout of teams and drivers to their home track. Twenty-seven teams participated in last weekend’s event, giving Balluzzo and the rest of the Langley field 20 bonus points each.
No. 8 – Duane Howard (Big Diamond Raceway, Minersville, Pa.). Hometown: Oley, Pa. Points: 314. Previous ranking: 4. Big Diamond Raceway was rained out last Friday night, causing Howard to miss a weekend of racing and drop four positions in the Division I standings.
No. 9 – Kenneth Headen (Greenville-Pickens Speedway, Greenville, S.C.). Hometown: Piedmont, S.C. Points: 312. Previous ranking: 5. Headen, the reigning Late Model track champion at Greenville-Pickens Speedway, dropped four positions in the Division I standings after an off weekend at his home track. Headen, already a three-time race winner this season, has a chance to redeem his top five points position when Greenville-Pickens resumes its NASCAR Dodge Weekly Series schedule May 28.
No. 10 – Tim Brown (Bowman Gray Stadium, Winston-Salem, N.C.). Hometown: Cana, Va. Points: 289. Previous ranking: 11. Brown’s second-place finish last Saturday at Bowman Gray Stadium helped him improve to 10th in this week’s NASCAR Dodge Weekly Series Division I point standings.
Outside the Top 10: 11. Ricky Bilderback, Rockford (Ill.) Speedway, 286 points, 12. Nick Parker, Rocky Mountain Raceways, West Valley City, Utah, 258 points, 13. Gaylon Stewart, Evergreen Speedway, Monroe, Wash., 246 points, 14. Steve Whitener, JAX Raceways, 200 points, 15. Bill Rodgers, Beech Ridge Motor Speedway, Scarborough, Maine, 110 points, 16. Todd Massey, Ace Speedway, Altamahaw, N.C., 100 points.
