It’s definitely a “what have you done for me lately” society. News cycles are short and memories are even shorter. In racing it’s not about how you finished last month but how you finished this past weekend. In a very short time big victories and strong finishes are quickly forgotten.
Here is what is primarily different about this ranking. It’s not only about what a driver did last week but what the driver has done since their season began. It’s not subjective or based on what I think but based on a mathematical formula that averages out all finishing positions.
Often I hear the term “The Number 1 Driver in America” and that’s okay with me. Everyone has a right to their own opinion. I take a different approach and base my decisions on data and time proven rules that design the ranking. So let’s do something different this month and dissect the data for “The Case for Numero uno.”
It can factually be said that over the last 20 races Brandon Overton has performed the best and won the biggest races when compared to his peers and thus #1. He has had an outstanding run. As you can see below he has easily outdistanced himself from Jonathan Davenport and Max Blair.
Last 20 Races Average Rate
Jonathan Davenport 14.125
Brandon Overton 6.66
Max Blair 13.988
Now let’s dig a little deeper. Because this is a year to date ranking we have to go back to the beginning of the year. Jonathan Davenport had a very strong start in Arizona and carried good performances throughout spring and outperformed Overton and Blair.
First 20 Races Average Rate
Jonathan Davenport 12.723
Brandon Overton 16.0095
Max Blair 16.2585
Next let’s dive a little more and review the meat between the bread and see where our top three stack up. In this scenario Jonathan Davenport continued to pull the competition and outperformed Overton and Blair.
Middle 20 Races Average Rate
Jonathan Davenport 9.964
Brandon Overton 23.408
Max Blair 16.766
So when we look at our top three drivers in our year to date analysis Jonathan Davenport continues to be the #1 performing driver so far in 2021. Max Blair is probably the most underrated driver nationally in the media and deserves recognition. Brandon Overton is the hottest driver in America regardless where he unloads the racecar at the biggest events during his last 20 races.
Year to Date Average Rate Race Total
Jonathan Davenport 12.69 56
Max Blair 13.33 35
Brandon Overton 15.16 52
That wraps up July and it’s time for a hot August of racing action. The schedule starts to slow down a bit during the week but the weekends are filled with big races and Crown Jewel events. The regional drivers are making more noise and also claiming their spot in the ranking. The ranking system will continue to be very tight with individual rates that are very close. Every finishing position matters which influences the rating formula. There will be comers and goers as consistency matters. Those who rate the best will be ranked the highest.
The current ranking qualifier number for July was 16 features and will go up by two each month and top off at 20 in September. Currently 119 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 1183 drivers currently being tracked since January 1st, here is the SLM Performance Ranking “Top 50” for July. It’s the “Best of the Best” from around the country.
1 Jonathan Davenport
2 Max Blair
3 Brandon Overton
4 Brandon Sheppard
5 Tyler Erb
6 Bobby Pierce
7 Tim McCreadie
8 Chris Madden
9 Gregg Satterlee
10 Tanner English
11 Devin Moran
12 Hudson O’Neal
13 Jared Miley
14 Dale McDowell
15 Brian Rickman
16 Donald McIntosh
17 Jimmy Owens
18 Brian Shirley
19 B.J. Robinson
20 Logan Martin
21 Ricky Thornton Jr.
22 Jacob Hawkins
23 Ashton Winger
24 Kyle Beard
25 Garrett Alberson
26 Ross Bailes
27 Cory Hedgecock
28 Kyle Bronson
29 Zack Mitchell
30 Shannon Babb
31 Frank Heckenast Jr.
32 Devin Gilpin
33 Josh Richards
34 Zack Dohm
35 Billy Moyer
36 Chad Thrash
37 Ryan Unzicker
38 Dylan Yoder
39 Mike Marlar
40 Mike Spatola
41 Spencer Hughes
42 Jeff Rine
43 Tony Jackson Jr.
44 Jason Feger
45 Chris Ferguson
46 Rick Eckert
47 Darrell Lanigan
48 Jason Papich
49 Gary Stuhler
50 Tyler Bruening
What is the Super Late Model Performance Ranking? The SLM Performance Ranking has its origins from the A-Team Ranking developed by Sam Holbrooks in 1996 and printed in “Behind the Wheel” and Late Model America.” The SLM Performance Ranking is a national ranking for Open Motor events that pay a minimum $2500 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 SLM Performance Ranking 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.
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Mike Ruefer
Photographer & Writer