Gravel Closing the Gap on Schatz in STIDA Winged 410 Power Rankings
The Wheatley Chronicles – Volume V, No. 14
Lonnie Wheatley, TULSA, Okla. (April 19, 2017) – Donny Schatz maintains his familiar position atop the STIDA Winged 410 Power Rankings.
But not by as much though, as David Gravel has been cutting the gap with three more wins in recent weeks to run his season win total to five triumphs.
Meanwhile, Schatz has been stuck on nine wins for a full month now, shut out of victory lane since a March 18 triumph at Tulare’s Thunderbowl.
As a result, Schatz’ edge over Gravel has been cut from 143 points to just 98 markers. Brad Sweet is just another 35 points back in third as the lead trio of Schatz, Gravel and Sweet have effectively separated themselves from the rest of the pack.
Schatz (16), Gravel (14) and Sweet (13) are the only drivers in double-digits in terms of posting top-five finishes with nobody else posting more than seven.
While Schatz, Gravel and Sweet have been strongest in the early portion of the season, Jason Johnson made a move to fourth with last weekend’s Devil’s Bowl triumph while Tim Shaffer rounds out the top five.
The balance of the current top ten includes Rico Abreu, Daryn Pittman, Shane Stewart, Brian Brown and Chad Kemenah.
The current top 50 in STIDA Winged 410 Power Rankings…
| Rank | Name | Hometown | Wins | Points | Previous |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Donny Schatz | Fargo, ND | 9 | 401 | 1 |
| 2 | David Gravel | Watertown, CT | 5 | 303 | 2 |
| 3 | Brad Sweet | Grass Valley, CA | 2 | 268 | 3 |
| 4 | Jason Johnson | Eunice, LA | 2 | 161 | 7 |
| 5 | Tim Shaffer | Aliquippa, PA | 0 | 157 | 5 |
| 6 | Rico Abreu | St. Helena, CA | 1 | 145 | 8 |
| 7 | Daryn Pittman | Owasso, OK | 0 | 143 | 4 |
| 8 | Shane Stewart | Bixby, OK | 0 | 136 | 6 |
| 9 | Brian Brown | Grain Valley, MO | 1 | 133 | 10 |
| 10 | Chad Kemenah | Alvada, OH | 1 | 132 | 11 |
| 11 | Danny Dietrich | Gettysburg, PA | 2 | 126 | 14 |
| 12 | Ian Madsen | Sydney, NSW | 0 | 125 | 12 |
| 13 | Sheldon Haudenschild | Wooster, OH | 0 | 114 | 16 |
| 14 | Greg Hodnett | Thomasville, PA | 1 | 113 | 17 |
| 15 | Logan Schuchart | Hanover, PA | 1 | 113 | 13 |
| 16 | Lucas Wolfe | Mechanicsburg, PA | 1 | 99 | 19 |
| 17 | Kerry Madsen | St. Marys, NSW | 1 | 99 | 9 |
| 18 | Paul McMahan | Elk Grove, CA | 0 | 94 | 18 |
| 19 | Cole Duncan | Lockbourne, OH | 0 | 89 | 26 |
| 20 | Doug Esh | Lancaster, PA | 2 | 86 | 44 |
| 21 | Jason Sides | Bartlett, TN | 0 | 82 | 58 |
| 22 | Kraig Kinser | Bloomington, IN | 0 | 81 | 15 |
| 23 | Joey Saldana | Brownsburg, IN | 0 | 80 | 20 |
| 24 | Brian Montieth | Phoenixville, PA | 1 | 79 | 30 |
| 25 | Dale Blaney | Hartford, OH | 0 | 78 | 24 |
| 26 | Spencer Bayston | Lafayette, IN | 1 | 60 | NR |
| 27 | Christopher Bell | Norman, OK | 0 | 58 | 22 |
| 28-tie | Kyle Hirst | Loomis, CA | 1 | 56 | 28 |
| 28-tie | Brock Zearfoss | Jonestown, PA | 1 | 56 | 37 |
| 30 | Caleb Helms | Findlay, OH | 2 | 55 | 21 |
| 31 | Alan Krimes | Denver, PA | 0 | 54 | 56 |
| 32 | Carson Macedo | Lemoore, CA | 0 | 51 | 40 |
| 33 | Freddie Rahmer | Salfordville, PA | 0 | 49 | 34 |
| 34 | Caleb Armstrong | New Castle, IN | 0 | 48 | 23 |
| 35 | Brent Marks | Myerstown, PA | 0 | 46 | 25 |
| 36 | Byron Reed | Monclova, OH | 0 | 45 | 38 |
| 37 | Gerard McIntyre, Jr. | New Oxford, PA | 1 | 42 | 48 |
| 38 | D.J. Foos | Fremont, OH | 1 | 42 | 39 |
| 39 | Lance Dewease | Fayetteville, PA | 1 | 40 | NR |
| 40 | Greg Wilson | Benton Ridge, OH | 0 | 40 | 61 |
| 41 | Brad Loyet | Sunset Hills, MO | 1 | 38 | NR |
| 42 | Rick Lafferty | Pennington, NJ | 0 | 38 | 63 |
| 43 | Aaron Ott | East Berlin, PA | 0 | 38 | NR |
| 44 | Paul Nienhiser | Chapin, IL | 1 | 36 | NR |
| 45 | Tim Kaeding | San Jose, CA | 0 | 35 | 36 |
| 46 | Ryan Smith | Kunkletown, PA | 0 | 35 | 70 |
| 47 | T.J. Stutts | Liverpool, PA | 0 | 33 | 64 |
| 48 | Travis Philo | Waterville, OH | 0 | 32 | 55 |
| 49 | Lynton Jeffrey | Prairie City, IA | 1 | 31 | 29 |
| 50 | Steve Buckwalter | Royersford, PA | 0 | 31 | NR |
Features Completed: 47
Number of Different Winners: 30
Number of Drivers to Earn Points: 144
Formed in 1998, STIDA (Short Track Independent Drivers and Associates) is an international company serving the safety and insurance needs of drivers competing in any country. Get covered now by calling 1-800-378-4608 or get more information by checking online at www.stida.com.
A part of the recurring “The Wheatley Chronicles” series of articles on www.sprintcarmania.com, the Open Wheel Power Rankings are determined by cumulative points based on a sliding scale dependent upon car count at Sprint Car and Midget events across all sanctions and non-sanctions throughout North America.
The Open Wheel Power Rankings also include Non-Wing 410 Power Rankings, the Rod End Supply Winged 360 Power Rankings, the Beaver Stripes Non-Wing 360 Power Rankings, the www.midgetmadness.com Midget Power Rankings and 305 Power Rankings presented by Dodge City Raceway Park.
Past Top Tens in STIDA Winged 410 Sprint Car Power Rankings:
2016 – 1. Donny Schatz (26) 1,516, 2. Daryn Pittman (9) 1,292, 3. Greg Hodnett (19) 1,283, 4. Shane Stewart (12) 1,172, 5. David Gravel (9) 1,172, 6. Brad Sweet (8) 1,114, 7. Joey Saldana (5) 966, 8. Dale Blaney (8) 877, 9. Danny Dietrich (9) 816, 10. Chad Kemenah (2) 784.
2015 – 1. Donny Schatz (31) 1,480, 2. Greg Hodnett (17) 1,089, 3. Shane Stewart (11) 1,033, 4. Danny Dietrich (16) 961, 5. Dale Blaney (16) 931, 6. Joey Saldana (3) 923, 7. Kerry Madsen (4) 920, 8. Danny Lasoski (14) 903, 9. Daryn Pittman (6) 876, 10. Brad Sweet (6) 874.
2014 – 1. Donny Schatz (26) 1,476, 2. Daryn Pittman (14) 1,219, 3. Kerry Madsen (7) 1,083, 4. Paul McMahan (5) 1,040, 5. Dale Blaney (21) 975, 6. Joey Saldana (8) 895, 7. Greg Hodnett (11) 871, 8. Brad Sweet (5) 783, 9. David Gravel (5) 715, 10. Danny Dietrich (10) 624.
2013 – 1. Donny Schatz (26) 1,089, 2. Daryn Pittman (8) 925, 3. Fred Rahmer (7) 764, 4. Paul McMahan (4) 728, 5. Lance Dewease (3) 673, 6. Greg Hodnett (8) 668, 7. Tim Kaeding (12) 624, 8. Dale Blaney (7) 591, 9. Tim Shaffer (3) 549, 10. Brian Montieth (9) 545.
The Wheatley Chronicles brings insight and highlights from all variety of racing series throughout the nation in 2017 and beyond along with the Open Wheel Power Rankings on a regular basis. Please send any comments, questions or advertising inquiries regarding The Wheatley Chronicles at www.sprintcarmania.com to Lonnie Wheatley at lonniewheatley@gmail.com.
