We are just days away from the start of the 4th Annual H&H Sign Supply Fall Brawl Spectacular, and with an impressive and stacked entry list lined up for the 250-lap Super Late Model portion of the week, we thought we would rank the drivers from “Favorites” down to “Dark Horses”. With nearly 60 drivers on the entry list, it will be a task just for drivers to qualify their way into the 30-car field, as nearly 30 others will be sent home early.
We asked 7 anonymous Super Series drivers to rank each car on the entry list into one of four categories. Here’s how they voted:
*These rankings are for fun, unofficial, and for entertainment purposes only. Drivers are listed in ABC order by first name, in each category.*
THE FAVORITES
The drivers listed below should be expected to be seen at the front of the field, leading laps and contending for the win. These 7 drivers combine for over 200 career SARA victories, and will be looking to add their names to the list of Fall Brawl Winners.
- Colin Allman - Colin has been hot as of late, picking up a couple wins over the past few weeks in the Mods and SLM. With the speed he’s shown recently, he should be battling up front once again.
- David Krikorian - DK has always been a top contender in the SLM, and he continues to improve each week on the latest build. He’ll be looking to improve on his 3rd place finish from last year.
- Jim Caudill Jr. - Jim is one of the “Big 3” over the past couple seasons, and has 13 straight top tens, which include 12 top fives and 4 wins during that stretch. This trend should continue.
- Jimmy Mullis - Jimmy is the 2nd “Big 3” member and leads the current Super Series points, and also has a nice streak of 11 straight top tens, with 10 podium finishes and 3 wins. He looked to be on his way to winning last year’s Fall Brawl but used the wrong strategy and came up just short.
- Joe Schaffer Jr. - The final member of the “Big 3” has had a tough season so far, but he’s the defending Super Series champion for a reason. The Fall Brawl hasn’t always been nice to Joe, but he’ll look for redemption this year.
- Tim Bills - Tim is the only former Fall Brawl winner on this list of favorites, after winning the 2016 edition of the race. And with a decent stretch of races lately, he’ll look to see if he can become the first multi-time winner of the event.
- Ty Majeski - Ty is the winningest driver in SARA history, but hasn’t been able to prevail in the Fall Brawl yet. He was leading the 2016 edition before tangling with lapped traffic. But as always, he’s expected to be one of the biggest threats during the race.
In Contention
The drivers listed below should be expected to have solid runs and will likely run near the top half of the field. Under the right circumstances, it wouldn't be a surprise if any of these guys ended up in victory lane or on the podium.
- Adam Benefiel - Adam technically crossed the finish line first in last year's Fall Brawl, but a penalty took the win away. If he can avoid that same kind of trouble he might be able to redeem himself this year.
- Bill Martin - Bill has a knack for running up front, especially in bigger events. He's finished 8th and 12th in his two previous Fall Brawls, and he could easily improve on this finishes this time around.
- Brandon Wilkinson - Brandon has found some new speed of late, which especially shows in the Contender Series with a couple wins. He's used that extra track time to also run top five in Super Series points, and should have a solid finish in the Fall Brawl as well.
- Conner Blaise - Conner's SLM finishes recently don't necessarily show that he'll be "in contention", but he's been running really strong in the Tour Modifieds and if he can translate any of that speed to the SLM, he'll run pretty well.
- Dallas Pataska - Dallas is another name in this category that is proving the Contender Series is working. He has run well on Wednesday nights, and that speed should carry over to the Fall Brawl.
- Keith Medeiros - Keith has been able to run inside the top ten in the Super Series often, in addition to winning some Contender races. If he is able to find that same speed, he should run well in the Fall Brawl.
- Matt Rolfe - It's been a tough SLM season so far for Matt, but he has back-to-back 6th place finishes in the Fall Brawl, combining decent speed with good strategy. With the right strategy and more speed, Matt could add another solid finish.
- Ryan Doucette - Another Contender Series standout. Ryan hasn't finished outside of the top ten at all in the Wednesday night series, and is usually solid in the Super Series. Perhaps he can convert that streak over into the Fall Brawl.
- Ryan Matthews - Ryan has consistent been a top ten driver each week. He has a couple of Super Series wins to his name, but they've come from starting at the front. If he can maintain good track position, he'll have a shot.
- Trevor Edwards - Trevor is the defending Fall Brawl champion after being crowned the winner of last year's event. He has missed a little bit of that speed lately, but this is the kind of race that should turn the odds back in his favor.
- Ty Spearman - "The Ol' Wiley Vet" as we call him on SARATV should be strong this year. He led 184 laps in the 2015 edition but ended up on the wrong side of the strategy game, but he easily has the speed to repeat that kind of performance.
- Zack Novak - Zack has shown in previous seasons that when he's committed he can contend at the front of the field. We know the latest SLM builds haven't been to his liking lately, but he could like it a lot better if he runs like we think he could.
In The Mix
The drivers listed below should have a good shot at making the race, and as long as they qualify, the could have some decent runs. They may or may not contend for the win, but someone on this list could definitely break thru for a strong finish.
- Adam Josselyn
- AJ Rogers - Best Fall Brawl finish: 23rd
- Brad Mahar
- Camaron Hamilton
- Chris Canfield
- Clay Snider - Best Fall Brawl finish: 4th
- Dante Curtis
- Darrell Hamlin - Best Fall Brawl finish: 19th
- Derek Robinson - Best Fall Brawl finish: 4th
- Devon Morgan
- Donald Clark
- Fred Moreau
- Gareth Gonder
- Jarrid Boiros
- Jason Tarasenko - Best Fall Brawl finish: 24th
- Justin LaDuke
- Kyle Souza - Best Fall Brawl finish: 15th
- Matt Eddy - Best Fall Brawl finish: 9th
- Michael Goddard
- Russell Brown Jr.
- Samuel Roush - Best Fall Brawl finish: 5th
Dark Horses
The drivers listed below were voted on as Dark Horses, either for being somewhat unknown to the voting panel, or at times these drivers haven't quite shown us recently that they can run consistently up front. But we hope they can surprise us.
- Ben Kilcrease
- Ben Nile - Best Fall Brawl finish: 27th
- Brad Carpenter
- Brian Korlacki
- Devon Rogers - Best Fall Brawl finish: 15th
- Drew Kreibich - Best Fall Brawl finish: 7th
- Jarrad Wakefield
- Jason Benoit
- Jeffery Martin
- Jerry Glenn
- Kelsy Rogers
- Kyle Case
- Mark Humble
- Mark Royer
- Mitch Rollo
- TJ White
- Tony Quadros
- Travis Houck - Best Fall Brawl finish: 11th