DIRTcar Racing UMP Weekly Points Update

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DIRTcar Racing UMP Weekly Points Update: Schlenk Expands National Late Model Lead, Sweeney's Modified Edge Shrinks To Single Point

 

MARYVILLE, IL – May 20, 2010 – Rusty Schlenk of Jackson, Mich., continued to expand his early-season lead in DIRTcar Racing's UMP Late Model national points standings, pushing his edge to a healthy 372 points after seven weeks of weekly competition.

 

The UMP Modified national points battle, meanwhile, has suddenly become extremely tight. Randle Sweeney of Clifty, Ky., remains atop the standings in races contested through May 17, but his lead is down to a single point and just 43 points separate the top-four drivers in the rankings.

 

Schlenk, 23, put together another solid weekend under DIRTcar's UMP banner, finishing third on May 14 at Attica (Ohio) Raceway Park and emerging victorious on May 15 at Oakshade Raceway in Wauseon, Ohio. The triumph was his sixth overall of the 2010 season, the 60th of Schlenk's young dirt Late Model career and moved him into the points lead at Oakshade.

 

With 18 UMP-sanctioned starts already under his belt, Schlenk has accumulated an impressive 12 top-three finishes as he chases his first-ever UMP Late Model national crown. His closest pursuer in the points standings is now Ryan Unzicker of El Paso, Ill., whose finishes last weekend of fifth on May 14 at Farmer City (Ill.) Raceway and 18th on May 15 at La Salle (Ill.) Speedway left him with 14 starts to his credit this season.

 

In the UMP Modified ranks, the veteran Sweeney saw his lead in the national points standings virtually disappear during a weekend in which his lone points-scoring outing come on May 15 at Soggy Bottom Raceway in Morgantown, Ky., where he finished second. He entered the weekend with a 39-point advantage over Devin Gilpin of Columbus, Ind., but ended it leading Rusty Griffaw of Festus, Mo., by just one point (1,069-1,068).

 

Griffaw rocketed up from fourth in the previous week's standings on the strength of back-to-back wins, on May 14 at Jacksonville (Ill.) Speedway and May 15 at La Salle. He has seven victories this season.

 

Twenty-year-old Stormy Scott of Las Cruces, N.M., remained third in the UMP Modified points standings, six points behind Sweeney after finishing second on May 14 at El Paso (Texas) Raceway Park and winning on May 15 at Southern New Mexico Speedway in Las Cruces, N.M. Gilpin, meanwhile, fell from second to fourth after recording a single points-scoring start last weekend – a third-place finish on May 14 at Moler Raceway Park in Williamsburg, Ohio.

 

There was no change at the top of the national points standings in five of DIRTcar Racing's six other divisions. Tait Davenport of West Paducah, Ky. (Pro Late Models), Jimmy Cummins of Waterloo, Ill. (Sportsman), Trevor Gamble of DeLeon Springs, Fla. (Stock Cars), Scott Mooers of Osteen, Fla. (Factory Stocks) and Michael Rittenberry of Clarksville, Tenn. (Sport Compacts) remained points leaders, while Mississippi's Jeff Lawson moved to the top of the Limited Modified standings.

 

Log on to www.dirtcar.com for more information on DIRTcar Racing's UMP circuit and to view complete points standings for all divisions.

 

DIRTcar Racing UMP National Points Standings (as of May 17, 2010):

 

Late Models (driver/points/races):

 

1. Rusty Schlenk 1276 18

2. Ryan Unzicker 904 14

3. Jason McBride 826 15

4. Mike Hammerle 775 16

5. Jeff Walston 752 12

6. Dillan White 709 12

7. Brandon Sheppard 697 13

8. Dennis Erb Jr. 665 11

9. Brian Ruhlman 654 10

10. Richie Hedrick 599 12

11. Brian Shirley 574 9

12. Phil Ausra 572 11

13. Dusty Moore 562 10

14. Mike Schulte 551 10

15. Jared Miley 547 8

16. Jeep VanWormer 527 7

17. Mark Voigt 526 8

18. Jeff Babcock 521 10

19. Eric Turner 521 8

20. Michael Kloos 518 9

 

Modifieds (driver/points/races):

 

1. Randle Sweeney 1069 17

2. Rusty Griffaw 1068 16

3. Stormy Scott 1063 16

4. Devin Gilpin 1026 16

5. Levin Kissinger 880 16

6. Jeff Matthews 811 12

7. Dustin Isom 800 16

8. Todd Sherman 790 12

9. Mike Spatola 784 14

10. Trent Young 759 14

11. Clint DeMoss 724 10

12. Dave Wietholder 693 11

13. Will Krup 684 16

14. Tony Anderson 680 13

15. Chad Evans 675 12

16. Rob Penny 664 16

17. Brett Korves 661 11

18. Zach Fair 648 12

19. Jimmy Ray 648 11

20. Dean Hoffman 637 11

 

Pro Late Models (driver/points/races):

 

1. Tait Davenport 771 13

2. Matt Santel 643 12

3. Credence Mott 593 11

4. Nick Lyons 575 10

5. Scott Weber 528 7

6. Cary King 410 7

7. Bobby Pierce 410 6

8. Nick Bauman 405 6

9. Bobby Martintoni 396 7

10. Tony Albright 380 7

 

Sportsman (driver/points/races):

 

1. Jimmy Cummins 820 13

2. Steve Peeden 696 11

3. Chris Hillman 659 11

4. Shaun Daugharty 585 9

5. Aaron Barsness 569 9

6. Brad Cummings 535 10

7. Jeff Herzog 532 8

8. Randy Petro 505 9

9. Troy Clark 491 9

10. Lee Hobbs 476 8

 

Limited Modifieds (driver/points/races):

 

1. Jeff Lawson 406 7

2. Scotty Oliver 399 7

3. John Paul Talkington 378 7

4. Kevin Dupont 336 6

5. Shane Hebert 335 5

6. Ronnie Cotton 319 6

7. Josh Tyler 303 6

8. Clay Settles 300 5

9. Grant Brown 297 6

10. Shelli O'Bryan 292 6

 

Stock Cars (driver/points/races):

 

1. Trevor Gamble 523 9

2. Tim Hughes 520 9

3. Rick Rush 467 10

4. Larry Russell Jr. 435 7

5. Phillip Brown 426 7

6. JR Mason 409 6

7. Frank Burnell Jr. 387 6

8. Mike Lynn 386 6

9. Charles Christian 359 6

10. Ed Kuhn 356 6

 

Factory Stocks (driver/points/races):

 

1. Scott Mooers 666 10

2. Brad Venhaus 561 8

3. Zac Hoffman 467 8

4. Luke Sadler 438 9

5. Stephen Fohne 394 8

6. Brian Crawford 393 7

7. Dennis Ponder 393 8

8. Jordan Bauer 383 7

9. Troy Bunfill 372 6

10. Richard Calmes Jr. 354 8

 

Sport Compacts (driver/points/races):

 

1. Michael Rittenberry 842 13

2. Eldon Hemken 684 11

3. Justin Hall 672 14

4. Bradley McGhee 646 11

5. Jordan Suhre 641 10

6. Rob Shaw 596 8

7. Jay Gordon 565 11

8. Trevor Isaak 558 11

9. Cook Crawford 539 10

10. Shawn Kozier 529 8