beloved Midwest dirt tracks from opening their pits,
paddocks and grandstands for spring testing? And
not long after, the 2020 season? The offseason that
was seemingly crawling by has come and gone, and
these last couple weeks away from the track have
been filled with livery and schedule releases and sponsorship announcements.
Before the 2020 Midwest SprintCar Association season kicks off, I thought it'd be fun to "power-rank" the top 20 drivers in the field. To be clear, this is a completely personal opinion based article, and takes into account driver's past statistics, "hot-streaks", team records, current win/top-5/top-10 totals, and championship standing.
For this initial list, I'll be looking at where drivers finished in the 2019 points, as well as new team/sponsor deals. Once again, this is entirely opinion based and should NOT be interpreted as fact, or official. I'm no expert by any stretch, however hopefully you find this as an entertaining way to keep track of your favorite driver's progress throughout the 2020 MSA season! Now, without further ado, onto the rankings!
1(a). #15m-Justin Miller
"J-Mill" replacing a now retired Jim Melis at Mayer Automotive Racing has to be the biggest news of the off-season (pending an official announcement from Team Two5). After a stellar 2019 saw the #15m nearly snatch the title from Kurt Davis and Travis Arenz in the dying weeks, all while not winning a single feature, Miller finds himself at a team that is accustomed to running at the front week in and week out. Great driver+Great team usually equals success. Can the Mayer Auto team and Justin put the pieces together in their first season? My guess is yes.
1(b). #25t-Travis Arenz
TA should have won the title last year. Plain and simple. 6 wins alone should have sealed the deal, yet that crown somehow eluded Team Two5. Whether Arenz makes the jump to a 410 car or not, this is a team with a chip on its shoulder, a bad fast driver, and a season of redemption ahead of them. Look out everyone else.
2. #35-Ben Schmidt
After a scattered 2019 season that saw the "Gladiator" only run a part time MSA schedule, Schmidt is back and better than ever. He committed to a full MSA season, slapped a badass new livery on the #35 machine, and his numbers from 2019 and an outstanding debut performance at the Chili Bowl Nationals show that Ben is racing at the peak of his capabilities. That is one SCARY prospect for the rest of the field.
3. #6k-Kurt Davis
"Hollywood"'s still got it folks. At an age when most racers would be heading into retirement (sorry Kurt), Davis is bagging wins and top 10's like a teenager bags kills in Call of Duty. A favorite for the championship every year, the 6k is showing ALMOST no signs of slowing down. The one factor being a refocused effort toward the #68t, his son, Tyler's ride. However, if Kurt simply enters enough races to stay competitive, we could be looking at even MORE hardware on the Davis family mantle.
4. #21-Will Gerrits
This kid is coming folks. After logging his first A Main win in 2019 and finishing 4th in points (all of that less than 1 year after breaking his arm in a horror crash at Dodge County), "The Flying Dutchman" is sure to be looking for more in 2020. With a stellar teammate like Tyler Brabant, and a great team behind him, look for Gerrits to log more wins, and possibly mount a title challenge this season.
5. #98-Brandon McMullen
It's hard to find words to describe the paradox that was McMullen Racing Enterprise in 2019. Start the year with an average finish of worse than 10th, wreck more than they had the past 4 years combined, then END the season averaging better than 2ND, bagging 2 wins, and somehow nearly winning the PDTR Track Championship on the final night of the season. If the #98 camp can keep a clean nose, we may be looking at a 4 time MSA champ at year's end.
6. #22b-Brandon Berth
After a less than ideal start to 2019, Berth finished strong, tallying a couple podium finishes and grabbing MSA and PDTR Rookie of the Year along the way. A feature win eluded the #22b team, but I wouldn't count on it being elusive for much longer in 2020. The man is FAST.
7. 24m-Adam Miller
Another driver with an up and down 2019 season. "Ace" and MFM obviously figured something out, coming home 6th in points and bagging Adam's first career feature win. One interesting dynamic to watch in 2020 will be the relationship between Adam and the now 1 car Miller Family Motorsports team, and the giant across the pits, Mayer Automotive Racing, who will field the other Miller brother's car this year. One of the huge benefits of having a teammate is the ease with which information is shared. Will the Mayer camp be so willing to spill the beans to MFM, and vice versa this year? My guess is no, but either way, look for the #24m squad to improve on a breakout 2019, with an even better year in 2020.
8. #21h-Tim Haddy
I honestly had to do a double take at Haddy's 2019 points finish. 7th? HOW? I think it's fair to say the 21h has had better (okay, WAY better) years than 2019, and yet Tim quietly still finished top ten in points. AGAIN. It seems like no amount of bad luck can keep this team down. Look for more of the same this season.
9. #4-Paul Pokorski
There's been a rumor floating around the MSA paddock for a while now that the young Pokorski will be taking over the #4 sprint sooner than later. Alas, no official news has surfaced yet. So we'll just assume Paul is in the car for 2020. Which almost guarantees the Pedal Down Promotions team a top ten finish in points. I'm 99% sure that in the dictionary, the definition of "consistent" is just a picture of a bright blue #4 sprint car.
10. #U2-Jack Vanderboom
"Fast Jack" is back! The youngster from Dousman nearly won ROY in 2019, battled for a couple feature wins with series vets, and scored a heat race win. All at the ripe old age of 15. FIFTEEN. Can you say, "the future is bright?"
NEXT TEN IN
11. #63k-Kevin Karnitz
12. #99-Tyler Brabant
13. #11-Tony Wondra
14. #7-Lance Fassbender
15. #53w-Shane Wenninger
16. #25-Danny Schlafer
17. #68t-Tyler Davis
18. #69-Bill Taylor
19. #2c-Chris Clayton
20. #26t-Tyler Tischendorf