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Race consistent enough
long enough, and you can get your name
up in the standings. However, run up
front enough long enough and it gets you
noticed by the fans who just might want
to see what you are all about. Here is a
list of drivers in a few series of note
that you might have already become
familiar with, or soon will be, based on
their number of wins, Top Fives, and
those races in which they were relevant
(a Top Ten or high among the lap
leaders).
ARCA
Former Formula One driver Scott Speed
has a name race fans should be able to
remember easily. The 25-year old
continued to buff up his stock car
resume with a win last week at Kentucky.
You might still be forgiven for
mistaking Ricky Stenhouse Jr for that
old wrestler Ricky Steamboat, but not
for much longer. The 20-year old from
Mississippi has won a pair behind the
wheel of a Roush Fenway ride and has
been relevant in all but a couple of
ARCA's eleven events. The 12th race on
the schedule goes at the Berlin Raceway
in Marne, Michigan on Saturday.
1. Scott Speed (2-6-10)
2. Ricky Stenhouse Jr (2-6-8)
3. Justin Allgaier (2-7-7)
4. Frank Kimmel (0-6-7)
5. Matt Carter (1-3-6)
6. Michael Annett (1-3-4)
7. Ken Schrader (0-2-3)
8. Matt Hawkins (1-2-3)
9. Patrick Sheltra (0-1-5)
10. Dexter Bean (0-2-4)
11. Joey Logano (0-2-4)
12. Justin Lofton (1-1-2)
CRAFTSMAN
TRUCKS
The top three here have combined to
capture more than half of the 13 races
in the pickups to date, which probably
explains their lofty status. Unlike the
previous circuit, the leaders of this
pack are not exactly spring chickens.
Ron Hornaday, who has dominated two of
the last five races to claim victories,
saw his odometer click over 50 a month
ago. Johnny Benson, who just turned 45 a
few weeks back, has won two of the past
three. There is even some kid in the
bunch who has also done well, but more
on him later. You will get to see these
boys on the small track at Indianapolis
on Friday night.
1. Ron Hornaday (3 - 6 - 9)
2. Johnny Benson (2 - 7 - 9)
3. Kyle Busch (2 - 4 - 8)
4. Matt Crafton (1 - 7 - 8)
5. Todd Bodine (1 - 6 - 7)
6. Erik Darnell (1 - 5 - 6)
7. Jack Sprague (0 - 3 - 5)
8. David Starr (0 - 4 - 6)
9. Mike Skinner (0 - 3 - 11)
10. Dennis Setzer (1 - 2 - 4)
11. Scott Speed (1 - 2 - 4)
12. Rick Crawford (0 - 4 - 7)
NATIONWIDE
If that is not convenient for you, maybe
you can see Kyle Busch on Saturday. If
they ran each of NASCAR's top three
events on the same track every week, the
23-year old would probably lead them
all, both on these charts and in the
official standings. Clint Bowyer has
been the standard of consistency this
year, while Tony Stewart has been a
story himself this year in the few
events he has ran, and won. Again, Cup
guys lead the way, so the fact that Brad
Keselowski is on here is a credit to
him. As for 18-year old Joey Logano, the
only reason he isn't higher as due to
the fact he had to wait until his last
birthday to run, and some think he has
done rather well over those five races.
He'll continue to serve his brief
apprenticeship for Joe Gibbs this
Saturday before heading up to Cup next
season.
1. Kyle Busch (5 - 10 - 14)
2. Clint Bowyer (1 - 8 - 18)
3. Carl Edwards (2 - 9 - 12)
4. Denny Hamlin (3 - 7 - 9)
5. Tony Stewart (5 - 5 - 8)
6. Brad Keselowski (1 - 8 - 13)
7. Kevin Harvick (0 - 6 - 7)
8. David Reutimann (0 - 7 - 11)
9. David Stremme (0 - 4 - 11)
10. Joey Logano (1 - 3 - 5)
11. Scott Wimmer (1 - 2 - 8)
12. David Ragan (0 - 4 - 13)
SPRINT CUP
Did I mention earlier how some names
start to become familiar? If they were
to put the new face on the new game
right now, based strictly on what has
been done on the track, that prickly
cactus from Las Vegas would be the one.
Junior has the fans, Gordon has the
titles, Johnson has the last two, but
Busch has been the story thus far in
2008. That would be especially true
should he win the Brickyard 400 on
Sunday. NASCAR Ironman Ricky Rudd and
former Daytona 500 winner Kevin Harvick
are the only past winners of that race
who have not been or later became NASCAR
champs.
1. Kyle Busch (7 - 12 - 14)
2. Carl Edwards (3 - 7 - 13)
3. Jimmie Johnson (1 - 5 - 9)
4. Dale Earnhardt Jr (1 - 7 - 12)
5. Denny Hamlin (1 - 5 - 10)
6. Kasey Kahne (2 - 3 - 9)
7. Jeff Gordon (0 - 7 - 9)
8. Greg Biffle (0 - 6 - 9)
9. Clint Bowyer (1 - 4 - 9)
10. Tony Stewart (0 - 7 - 12)
11. Matt Kenseth (0 - 4 - 13)
12. Jeff Burton (1 - 4 - 10)
INDY CAR
If they are not coming from Indy to race
in NASCAR, they could be heading back to
that series after failing to cut the
mustard. The big prize among these open
wheelers remains the Indianapolis 500,
one of four races Scott Dixon has won
this season. Yet, more fans could tell
you about the man with the fancy foot
work, Helio Castroneves, who has raced
well this season yet has not claimed a
victory since Dancing With the Stars.
While most might not be house hold names
just yet, those leading this list are
becoming quite familiar. Of course,
Danica Patrick has a great gimmick,
great looks, and a win. Yet, this week's
showcased verbal cat fight with Milko
Duno probably helped sell a bunch of
tickets for this weekend's event in
Edmonton. I guess it isn't all just
about the driving.
1. Scott Dixon (4 - 10 - 10)
2. Helio Castroneves (0 - 10 - 11)
3. Dan Wheldon (2 - 8 - 8)
4. Tony Kanaan (1 - 8 - 10)
5. Ryan Briscoe (2 - 3 - 7)
6. Marco Andretti (0 - 4 - 6)
7. Danica Patrick (1 - 2 - 8)
8. Will Power (1 - 2 - 4)
9. Hideki Mutoh (0 - 1 - 7)
10. Ryan Hunter-Reay (1 - 1 - 6)
11. Graham Rahal (1 - 1 - 3)
12. Darren Manning (0 - 1 - 5)
You can
contact Ron at
thornton@speedwaymedia.com
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