The Power Rankings are back as the 2015 Summer Season got underway last week, with all four of the league’s division hitting the track at Richmond. The total car count for the week was 133 cars, as the top three series each saw car counts of 37 or more cars, and a total of 69 drivers competed in week one. Some familiar names got off to a good start to take up a majority of the spots in the Power Rankings, but let’s see where they rank and if there were any new guys that were able to shake it up inside the top ten. Here’s the Week One Power Rankings:
10. Mike Testa + Camaron Hamilton
In the opening week of the season, we saw 6 different drivers run just one race all week and pick up top ten finishes, but for these two, they both ended up with a 6th place finish to start out their seasons. Mike finished 6th in the SK Shootout race after climbing from his 16th starting spot. For Camaron, he ran just outside the top ten for most of the race before picking up spots late to grab 6th. Both drivers are off to good starts in their respective divisions, and we’ll look to see if they can continue the trend in week two.
9. Matt Rolfe
Matt’s consistent Spring Season carried over into the start of the Summer Season, as he picked up two top fives to kick off his week. He finished top five in the SK Shootout race, and then backed it up with a 4th in the Street Stocks. He didn’t have as much luck in the Super Late Models, getting collected in a late wreck that dropped him to 22nd. Matt should rebound with some solid runs so look for some more top five and top ten finishes in week two.
8. Joe Schaffer Jr.
Joe is a new face to SARA but showed he’s not afraid to mix it up and compete with the league’s best. His week started off with a 4th place finish in the Street Stock race, which was his first career league race. He got caught up in some things that dropped him to a 29th place finish in the Pro Late Model race, but then rebounded by taking advantage of the Qualifying Dash invert to start up front in the Super Late Model race and led 59 laps before falling back to 8th. Look for Joe to become a familiar name up front.
7. David Krikorian
It’s time to stop calling David just a “ringer” as he’s proven he can compete for wins each week out. His week started out with an impressive pair of 2nd place finishes in both the SK Modified and the Street Stocks. He then started off the Pro Late Model race by leading the first 50 laps, but an incident later in the race would take him out of contention. He had similar luck in the Super Late Model race, resulting in a 24th place finish. While he had the bad luck in the last two races, he showed plenty of speed to be running up front, look for much of the same in week two.
6. Bill Martin
Similar to David’s week, Bill’s first two races started off by finishing on the podium with a 3rd place finish in the SK Shootout race, and then he stepped it up a notch finishing 2nd in the Pro Late Model race behind his teammate. But then a bad qualifying effort put Bill in the back of the Super Late Model field where he got caught up in a couple of incidents and took him out before he ever got going. But we know Bill has what it takes to be a contender for wins each race, so watch for him to bounce back strong.
5. Derek Robinson
Last season Derek had 11 top ten finishes in 13 total starts, and he’s off to a good start again this season as he picked up a couple more top ten finishes. He worked his way up to a 5th place finish in the Pro Late Model race, and backed it up in the Super Late Model race with a 9th place finish after starting back near 20th. Derek has what it takes to run up front more often than not, so look for similar results moving forward.
4. Trey Jarrell
Trey finished off last season with a win, and he’s off to a good start this season. He ran near the front at the start of the Pro Late Model race before having to pit for gas, but charged his way back up to an 8th place finish. But then in the Super Late Model race, there were no gas issues and he kept it up front all race long. He worked his way up to 2nd and gave it one last shot on the final restart to make something happen before finishing 2nd. We don’t think it will be too long before Trey reaches victory lane again.
3. Cody Kelley
Cody basically dominated the Spring Season, and he came out of the gates in the Summer Season by taking the opening night victory in the SK Shootout Series. An early wreck took him out of the Pro Late Model race, but then he rebounded and took home another podium finish by grabbing a 3rd place finish after running in the top five all race long. We know how good Cody can be, so it’s not surprising to see him with one win already, but we’re a little surprised that it was only one win. Look for Cody to be one of the guys to beat all season long.
2. Casey Kelley
While Cody took the opening night win, his brother Casey was doing the same thing on Tuesday night in the Street Stock race as he took the lead with less than 10 to go. Then he finished out his week with a pair of 4th place finishes. He had to work for his 4th in the Pro Late Model race after an early eace incident put him a lap down before he battled back. Then in the Super Late Model race he took the lead for a few laps before falling back a little during the last portion of the race. Casey was a part time driver last season, but if we see him running more, we could be seeing a lot more of him up front.
1. Ty Majeski
No surprise here as Ty got off to a very strong start in the Summer Season. He ran just two races last week, and he made them both count as he took home the big trophies in each of them. He didn’t dominate the races like we’re used to seeing, but once he took over the lead in both races, there was no letting go. He went on to lead the final 50 laps of the Pro Late Model race for that win, and he then led 47 laps of the Super Late Model race in that one. That moves him up to 36 career wins (most all-time) and by setting the fast times in both races’ time trials, he moves up to 39 career poles (tied for most all-time). Get used to seeing similar results all season long.
Just Outside, Looking In: Darrell Hamlin, Evan Sorensen, Patrick Hahe, Windell Stratton, Darren Daves, Ian Layne