Brandon Sheppard
Mike Ruefer’s
A-Team “Top 25” Dirt Late Model Ranking
May 2019 “The Before the Dream Edition”
Rain and storms were the headlines this month as much as the racing. Let’s hope the weather calms down and we can get back to a consistent racing schedule. June is a big month. We start off with the Dream at Eldora Speedway and feast the rest of the month with a steady diet of Summer Nationals. Summer is here!
Rocket #1 is #1 in the ranking once again. Holding down the top spot since the first of the year. Brandon Sheppard continues to be impressive and even widened his margin over 2nd ranked Jonathan Davenport. As I keep saying it’s a dog fight for supremacy.
Now streaking into 3rd in the ranking is Earl Pearson Jr. The Black Diamond Team isn’t missing a beat from week to week. Earl’s driving the heck out of the racecar and getting very good finishes on the Lucas tour.
Roaring into the ranking this month is Jason Covert from York Haven, Pennsylvania. His finishing average has been extraordinary. He might have started slow but since has posted top finish after top finish.
Tyler Erb had a good month and raised his rank to 5th. Terbo is a hard charger and is getting better. He’s also a lot of fun to watch.
Our next driver slipped just a bit but still overall is posting good results. Darrel Lanigan comes in at 6th and still having a good start to his 2019 campaign in his own Club 29.
Bobby Pierce has such a good start during the beginning of May on the MLRA circuit that it helped him gain his entry into the Top 10 and sits comfortably in 7th. With Summer Nationals time looming he’s in position to make a run to the top. It will be fun to watch.
I can throw a blanket over the next three in the ranking. It’s that close in their rate earned. Dale McDowell is “Sweet” in 7th. Chase Junghans has become the “Contender” in 9th and Donald McIntosh is the “Rebound Kid” finishing out the Top 10.
That’s it for the Month of May. June should be interesting.
The current event qualifier number for May was 12 features and will go up by 2 each month. It will top off at twenty in September. Currently 48 drivers have met this threshold. All results are tracked via DirtonDirt. Without them and their attention to detail because they’re the best, I couldn’t do this and have this much fun.
With 769 drivers currently being tracked since January 1st, here is the A-Team “Top 25” for May. It’s the “Best of the Best” from around the country.
1 Brandon Sheppard
2 Jonathan Davenport
3 Earl Pearson Jr.
4 Jason Covert
5 Tyler Erb
6 Darrell Lanigan
7 Bobby Pierce
8 Dale McDowell
9 Chase Junghans
10 Donald McIntosh
11 Ricky Weiss
12 Shane Clanton
13 Kyle Beard
14 Ross Bailes
15 Josh Richards
16 Dennis Erb Jr.
17 Michael Page
18 Mike Marlar
19 Devin Moran
20 Chris Madden
21 Scott Bloomquist
22 Tim McCreadie
23 Brian Shirley
24 Morgan Bagley
25 Brandon Overton
26 Jimmy Owens
What is the A-Team Dirt Late Model Ranking? The original A-Team was developed by Sam Holbrooks in 1996 and printed in “Behind the Wheel” and Late Model America.” The A-Team is a national ranking for Open Motor events that pay a minimum $2000 to win. Each driver who makes a feature event will earn a mathematical formula based rate built on performance, competition and durability. The final ranking is based on rate and logic rules that reward racing more. Nothing in the rate, rank or logic is subjective. It’s just all numbers, math and rules. The A-Team isn’t about who is best but who is having the best year. If you think that makes the driver “The Best” that’s ok with me.
