CONCORD, NC – Sept. 2, 2011 – Rusty Schlenk’s relentless march to the top of the DIRTcar UMP Late Model national points standings is now complete, but his ultimate mission is far from accomplished.
The circuit’s defending national champion finally caught and passed Ryan Unzicker for the 2011 points lead last weekend, putting him in prime position to repeat as the title battle heads into its deciding final month of competition.
Schlenk, 25, of Jackson, Mich., got off to a slow start this season, but the full-fender owner-operator has been slowly-but-surely moving up in the points standings with each week’s results. He reached second place behind El Paso, Ill.’s Unzicker one month ago and last weekend overtook the longtime points leader, parlaying a runner-up finish on Aug. 26 at Kankakee (Ill.) County Speedway and a victory (his 16th of 2011) on Aug. 27 at Oakshade Raceway in Wauseon, Ohio, into the catbird’s seat.
Unzicker, 28, won the Aug. 26 feature at Kankakee, giving him 12 UMP-sanctioned triumphs in ’11. But that was his only points-earning event in four starts during Week 31, allowing Schlenk to make his move and grab a nine-point edge (2,407-2,398) in the standings.
The DIRTcar UMP Late Model points battle is determined using drivers’ best 35 finishes/points nights. Unzicker reached the 35-race plateau several weeks before Schlenk.
Jon Henry of Ada, Ohio, is also in the thick of the Late Model points battle. A 14-time winner this season after scoring back-to-back victories last weekend on Aug. 26 at Hartford (Mich.) Motor Speedway and Aug. 27 at Attica (Ohio) Raceway Park, he sits third in the standings, 29 points behind Schlenk and 20 behind Unzicker.
Mike Harrison of Highland, Ill., meanwhile, heads into the Labor Day weekend of action leading the DIRTcar UMP Modified national points standings.
Coming off a weekend that saw him score his 21st win of 2011 on Aug. 25 at Highland (Ill.) Speedway, Harrison holds a 22-point advantage (1,898-1,876) over Michael Long of Quincy, Ill. Long is the division’s hottest driver after running his winning streak to seven with triumphs last weekend on Aug. 26 at Tri-City Speedway in Pontoon Beach, Ill., and Aug. 27 at Quincy (Ill.) Raceways.
The top five in the UMP Modified national standings are separated by just 74 points. Todd Sherman of Churubusco, Ind., is third (65 points behind Harrison), followed by Ray Bollinger of Kewanee, Ill. (-69) and Nick Allen of Wheatfield, Ind. (-75).
Other divisional national points leaders through Week 31 are Dustin Griffin of Camp Point, Ill. (Pro Late Models); Troy Clark of North Vernon, Ind. (Sportsman); Mark Anderson of Canton, Ill. (Limited Modifieds); Nate Zimmer of Mattoon, Ill. (Stock Cars); Dennis Bringedahl of Twin Lake, Mich. (Factory Stocks); and Kenny Butterfield of Glassford, Ill. (Sport Compacts).
Log on to www.DirtCar.com for more information on DIRTcar Racing’s UMP circuit and to view complete points standings for all divisions, including the current State points rankings.
New for 2011, the weekly DIRTcar UMP points update is powered by www.MotorStats.com. DIRTcar’s affiliation with the Durham, N.C.-based Web site is providing fans and competitors a more timely and detailed look at the points standings. National and State points standings for all divisions are typically updated by Thursday each week, and new features allow visitors to click on each driver’s name to see a complete race-by-race review of their finishes to date.
DIRTcar Racing UMP National Points Standings (as of Aug. 29, 2011):
Late Models (rank/driver/races/points):
1. Rusty Schlenk 35 2407
2. Ryan Unzicker 35 2398
3. Jon Henry 35 2378
4. Brandon Sheppard 35 2274
5. Brandon Thirlby 35 2251
6. Jason Feger 35 2170
7. Shannon Babb 32 2133
8. Bobby Pierce 35 2061
9. Mike Spatola III 35 2056
10. Eric Spangler 33 2015
11. Randy Korte 35 1975
12. Mike Provenzano 34 1946
13. Mark Voigt 35 1926
14. Scott Schmitt 35 1909
15. Eric Smith 32 1904
16. Dennis Erb Jr. 35 1892
17. Brian Ruhlman 35 1887
18. Dillan White 35 1822
19. Mike Hammerle 35 1821
20. Steve Lance Jr. 31 1810
UMP Modifieds (rank/driver/races/points):
1. Mike Harrison 25 1898
2. Michael Long 25 1876
3. Todd Sherman 25 1833
4. Ray Bollinger 25 1829
5. Nick Allen 25 1824
6. Scott Weber 25 1797
7. Jacob Poel 25 1793
7. Jamie Lomax 25 1793
9. Clayton Miller 25 1779
10. Tim Hancock 25 1754
11. Jeff Leka 25 1746
12. Danny Crane 25 1743
13. Brian Lynn 25 1734
14. Dean Hoffman 25 1731
15. Randle Sweeney 25 1727
16. Doug Adkins 25 1721
17. Mark Anderson 25 1720
18. John DeMoss 25 1707
19. Clint Demoss 25 1674
20. Trent Young 25 1672
Pro Late Models (rank/driver/races/points):
1. Dustin Griffin 20 1495
2. Nick Bauman 20 1460
3. Mark Oller 20 1400
4. Credence Mott 20 1387
5. Clayton Miller 20 1380
6. Jerry Lierly 20 1370
7. Bobby Martintoni 20 1290
8. Brad Denney 20 1285
8. Evan Fink 20 1285
10. Randy Myers 20 1280
Sportsman (rank/driver/races/points):
1. Troy Clark 20 1436
2. Jeremy Hines 20 1423
3. Dan Flessner 20 1419
4. Dave Crawley Jr. 20 1358
5. Chris Hillman 20 1282
6. Nick Macklin 19 1270
7. Joey Ladouceur 19 1267
8. Stephane Lemire 20 1233
9. Joel Funk 20 1199
10. Steve Hollars 20 1196
Limited Modifieds (rank/driver/races/points):
1. Mark Anderson 20 1362
2. Todd Bates 20 1358
3. Haley Westerfield 20 1156
4. Jeff Lawson 20 1131
5. Christopher Geary 20 1065
6. John Wyble 19 1048
7. Clay Settles 20 1012
8. Johnny Holden 19 983
9. Josh Smith 17 917
10. Billy Hawes 19 916
Stock Cars (rank/driver/races/points):
1. Nate Zimmer 20 1477
2. John Farris 20 1470
3. Mike Hodges 20 1455
4. Chuck Barnes Jr. 20 1450
5. Derek Poland 20 1381
6. Dan Dykman 20 1376
7. Joel Funk 20 1369
8. Andrew Funk 20 1366
9. Darrel Dick 20 1356
10. Joeseph Hamm 20 1348
Factory Stocks (rank/driver/races/points):
1. Dennis Bringedahl 20 1376
2. Rob Sternberg 20 1351
3. Jake Hewitt 20 1320
4. Mark Farber 20 1266
5. Dan Wilson 20 1222
6. Jeff Buss 20 1109
7. Ben Welch 20 1083
8. Tom Hughes 17 1079
9. TJ Eilers 20 1046
10. Mike Epplett 20 1044
Sport Compacts (rank/driver/races/points):
1. Kenny Butterfield 20 1506
2. Rob Shaw 20 1479
3. Matt Maier 20 1476
4. Paul Namey 20 1439
5. Trevor Isaak 20 1426
6. Jacob Rexing 20 1425
7. Earl Pryor 20 1396
8. Bradley McGhee 20 1349
9. Jordan Suhre 20 1340
10. Blayne Ellis 20 1323