In this edition of our new weekly Power Rankings, we take a look back at the opening week of our Summer Season and count down the drivers that had a great start to the season. The opening week as a whole was very impressive as we had the highest total car count to start a season with 98 cars across the board, and the racing was outstanding.
Let’s take a look at who made the Week 1 Power Rankings:
(Rank. Driver (Last week’s rank))
10. Travis Warling (PS Rank: NR)
Last season Travis ran with us in the Legends division just a handful of times, but he had 3 wins in those races. He picked right back up where he left off by winning the season opener in the Legends race at the Daytona Short road course. If Travis ends up running a full season, he could be the one to beat in that division for the championship.
9. Jarrett Lawrence (PS Rank: NR)
Jarrett was one of our drivers to watch in the preseason rankings and was a top 10 machine last season. Things look to be no different this season as Jarrett picked up a 6th place finish in the legends and a 7th place finish in the competitive Pro Late Model race. We don’t expect this top 10 streak to end anytime soon.
8. Anthony Celentano (PS Rank: 8)
Anthony came in at #8 in our preseason rankings after some big improvements last season, and he backed it up with a strong run in the Super Late Model race this week. A big field would see a lot of fast drivers compete out front, and Anthony would hang around the top 10 all night and eventually work his way up to a 7th place finish by the end of it, proving that he continues to make gains each time out.
7. Matt Rolfe (PS Rank: 4)
Matt came in at number 4 in our preseason rankings, as he picked up two championships last season. He would start off this season with a 4th place finish in the Street Stock race at Charlotte, and ended up finishing in the 10th place in both the Pro Late Model and Super Late Model races at Richmond. Matt will have more competition this season as he looks to see if he can defend his championships.
6. James Linkiewicz (PS Rank: 10)
James came in at number 10 in the preseason rankings after a strong run in the Pro Late Model division last season after joining halfway through. He would start the week off with a 9th place finish in the PLM series, but improved on that in the Super Late Model race with a very strong 6th place finish. James looks like he’ll continue to run up front each week and we’ll see if he can continue to back up his good start.
5. Ronald Williams (PS Rank: 7)
Ronald came in at just #7 in the preseason rankings, even though he picked up 6 wins last season in the lower two divisions. But this season it looks like Ronald will be moving up and competing in the Pro Late Models and Super Late Models as well, and he proved he can be fast in any car he gets into. He started off the week with a 3rd place in the Legends race, before picking up the win in the SS race at Charlotte. He finished up 8th in the PLM race, and looked to be working his way well inside the top 10 in the SLM race before finding trouble in the late laps.
4. Jacob Linkiewicz (PS Rank: 10)
Jacob was also listed at #10 in the preseason rankings with his brother after a strong showing last season in the Pro Late Model division. He would start off this season very strong as well as he finished just outside the top 5 with a 6th place finish in the PLM race at Richmond, and then backed it up in the Super Late Model race with an even more impressive run as he brought it home in 4th place. Despite some stiff competition in the upper series, Jacob continues to be one of the drivers that can continue to compete up front.
3. Todd Garren (PS Rank: NR)
Todd is new with us this season, and showed right out of the gate that he could be a front runner. He started out in the Pro Late Models with a 5th place finish. Then when the Super Late Models took the track, he worked his way from a 14th place start all the way up to an impressive 2nd place finish. With such a strong start, we’ll look to see if Todd can be a front runner every week, and if so, he’ll be in contention in the points for sure.
2. Justin Brooks (PS Rank: 2)
Justin dominated every race he was in last season and looked to do the same at the start of this one. He started off the week picking up the pole in the SS race, but ran into trouble and still worked his way up to a 6th place finish, ending his winning streak however. Then he took the pole for the Pro Late Model race and had a strong run to finish 2nd. The only thing keeping Justin from the top of these rankings, is his teammate who beat him out for the PLM win.
1. Trey Jarrell (PS Rank: NR)
Trey ran with us just once last season, and picked up a 2nd place finish at Milwaukee. This season he started out by running in both the Pro Late Model and Super Late Model races at Richmond, and showed some serious strength at the front of the field. He battled all race long with Justin Brooks in the PLM race and made a pass late in the race to pick up the win. Then he backed it up by picking up the pole and leading all 115 laps in the SLM race for his 2nd win in as many nights. Despite not being ranked in the Preseason Rankings, two wins in two very competitive races shoots Trey all the way to the top of these rankings. If Trey can continue to run up front every race and pick up wins, it’s going to be tough for anyone to knock him off the top spot.