R.J. Johnson Tops Beaver Stripes Non-Wing 360 Power Rankings for Fifth Time in a Row
The Wheatley Chronicles – Volume V, No. 41
Lonnie Wheatley, TULSA, Okla. (December 19, 2017) – Arizona’s R.J. Johnson put together yet another championship campaign in 2017 to top the Beaver Stripes Non-Wing 360 Sprint Car Power Rankings for a fifth consecutive year.
Johnson posted 13 overall wins in Non-Wing 360 action, including seven USAC Southwest scores en route to a fifth series title as he topped the Beaver Stripes Non-Wing 360 Power Rankings by a 97-point margin. It was Johnson’s fifth consecutive year of double-digit feature wins.
Johnson took the top spot ahead of fellow Arizona racer Shon Deskins, who scored eight wins to capture New Mexico’s NMMRA championship and landed a Beaver Stripes Power Rankings best of second after a previous best of sixth in 2014.
Charles Davis, Jr., accumulated seven wins to rank third, marking his fifth year in a row among the top three in Beaver Stripes Power Rankings.
California’s Austin Liggett racked up ten wins to rank fourth with USAC West Coast Sprint Car champ Jake Swanson rounding out the top five. The balance of the top ten in Beaver Stripes Non-Wing 360 Power Rankings includes Stevie Sussex, Ryan Bernal, Brady Bacon, Mike Martin and Danny Faria, Jr.
Johnson, Davis, Jr., and Martin have ranked among the top ten in Beaver Stripes Non-Wing 360 Sprint Car Power Rankings over each of the past five years while Liggett and Swanson both cracked the top ten for the first time this year.
Title sponsor of the Non-Wing 360 Sprint Car Power Rankings, Beaver Stripes Custom Graphics and Molding Supply is an Arizona supplier of automotive graphics, moldings and custom accessories. In business for more than 30 years, Beaver Stripes is actively involved in keeping the local racing action alive in the Phoenix and Arizona area with a strong interest in local car clubs, car shows and other vehicle related activity involving the community.
A sponsor of Canyon Speedway Park and Arizona Speedway, Beaver Stripes is located at 2389 W. McDowell Road in Phoenix for all your graphics needs and may be contacted at 602-289-8000 or 800-257-7835. More information is available at www.beaverstripes.com.
The Beaver Stripes Non-Wing 360 Sprint Car Power Rankings are a part of the Open Wheel Power Rankings that also includes STIDA Winged 410s, Momentum Racing Suspensions Non-Wing 410s, Rod End Supply Winged 360s, www.midgetmadness.com Midgets and 305s presented by Dodge City Raceway Park.
(Patrick Shaw photo)
A look at this year’s Top 50 in Beaver Stripes Non-Wing 360 Sprint Car Power Rankings is as follows:
| Rank | Name | Hometown | Wins | Points | 2016 Rank | 2015 Rank | 2014 Rank | 2013 Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | R.J. Johnson | Phoenix, AZ | 13 | 406 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| 2 | Shon Deskins | Waddell, AZ | 8 | 309 | 11 | 20 | 6 | 9 |
| 3 | Charles Davis, Jr. | Buckeye, AZ | 7 | 302 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 2 |
| 4 | Austin Liggett | Tracy, CA | 10 | 256 | 35 | 29 | 29 | 23 |
| 5 | Jake Swanson | Anaheim, CA | 2 | 195 | 55 | 24 | 27 | NR |
| 6 | Stevie Sussex | Tempe, AZ | 3 | 175 | 3 | 6 | 13 | 27 |
| 7 | Ryan Bernal | Hollister, CA | 6 | 173 | 29 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
| 8 | Brady Bacon | Broken Arrow, OK | 2 | 140 | 30 | 7 | 8 | 32 |
| 9 | Mike Martin | Yuma, AZ | 0 | 137 | 8 | 5 | 7 | 7 |
| 10 | Danny Faria, Jr. | Tipton, CA | 1 | 132 | 25 | 4 | 21 | 6 |
| 11 | Tye Mihocko | Peoria, AZ | 0 | 131 | 13 | 54 | 12 | 66 |
| 12 | Geoff Ensign | Sebastopol, CA | 1 | 127 | 34 | 79 | 42 | 54 |
| 13 | Max Adams | Loomis, CA | 1 | 126 | 44 | 86 | 71 | 76 |
| 14 | Tristan Guardino | Fremont, CA | 2 | 125 | 23 | 19 | NR | NR |
| 15 | Klint Simpson | Melbourne, AUS | 7 | 119 | 18 | 25 | NR | NR |
| 16 | Chris Bonneau | Phoenix, AZ | 0 | 95 | 54 | 28 | 72 | 30 |
| 17 | Nick Aiuto | Camp Verde, AZ | 0 | 90 | 31 | 21 | 54 | 79 |
| 18 | Rob Lindsey | Sherwood, OR | 3 | 86 | 16 | 129 | NR | 24 |
| 19 | Jace Vander Weerd | Visalia, CA | 0 | 84 | 10 | 15 | 20 | 19 |
| 20 | Caleb Saiz | Albuquerque, NM | 3 | 83 | 112 | NR | NR | NR |
| 21 | Jason Grady | Flora Vista, NM | 2 | 71 | 15 | 157 | 108 | 87 |
| 22 | Micheal Fanelli | Rio Rancho, NM | 0 | 71 | 36 | NR | NR | NR |
| 23 | Richard Vander Weerd | Visalia, CA | 0 | 71 | 19 | 13 | 9 | 3 |
| 24 | Michael Curtis | Cottonwood, AZ | 0 | 70 | 79 | 152 | 68 | 100 |
| 25 | Matt Rossi | Peoria, AZ | 1 | 69 | 5 | 8 | 5 | 85 |
| 26 | Cody Majors | Simi Valley, CA | 0 | 68 | 50 | 64 | 55 | NR |
| 27 | Doug Schenck | Cotttage Grove, WI | 7 | 67 | 129 | NR | NR | NR |
| 28 | Landon Cling | Tempe, AZ | 0 | 67 | 62 | NR | NR | NR |
| 29 | Lindsay Barney | Eagle Creek, OR | 2 | 64 | 49 | 144 | NR | NR |
| 30 | Kyle Smith | Moorpark, CA | 3 | 63 | 22 | 16 | 18 | 44 |
| 31 | Tim Cox | Park City, IL | 4 | 62 | NR | NR | NR | NR |
| 32 | J.R. Bonesteel | Albuquerque, NM | 0 | 62 | 99 | NR | NR | NR |
| 33 | Terry Schank, Jr. | Santa Rosa, CA | 6 | 55 | 17 | 14 | 87 | NR |
| 34 | Dave Darland | Lincoln, IN | 1 | 53 | 126 | 50 | 16 | 43 |
| 35 | Kevin Thomas, Jr. | Cullman, AL | 1 | 49 | NR | 45 | 34 | 48 |
| 36 | Tyler Courtney | Indianapolis, IN | 1 | 49 | NR | NR | NR | NR |
| 37 | Brandon Wiley | Santa Maria, CA | 0 | 49 | 204 | NR | NR | NR |
| 38 | Jimmy Kouba | Byron, MN | 3 | 48 | 38 | 33 | NR | NR |
| 39 | Matt Lundy | Peoria, AZ | 1 | 47 | 71 | NR | NR | 80 |
| 40 | Cory Elliott | Bakersfield, CA | 0 | 46 | NR | NR | NR | NR |
| 41 | Tim Alberding | Salem, OR | 0 | 45 | 39 | 32 | NR | 110 |
| 42 | Jeremy Kerzman | Gray Eagle, MN | 5 | 44 | 43 | 184 | NR | NR |
| 43 | Mike Mueller | Stacy, MN | 4 | 44 | 66 | 57 | NR | NR |
| 44 | Jake Kouba | Minneapolis, MN | 2 | 43 | 45 | 48 | NR | NR |
| 45 | Jordan Mattson | Milwaukee, WI | 2 | 43 | NR | NR | NR | NR |
| 46 | Ryan Timmons | Pleasant Hill, CA | 1 | 41 | 65 | 161 | NR | NR |
| 47 | Brody Roa | Buena Park, CA | 0 | 40 | 4 | 10 | 47 | 51 |
| 48 | Kalib Henry | Sacramento, CA | 5 | 39 | NR | NR | NR | NR |
| 49 | Dennis Gile | Phoenix, AZ | 0 | 39 | 6 | 104 | NR | NR |
| 50 | Lance Hallmark | McMinnville, OR | 2 | 38 | 47 | NR | NR | NR |
Features Completed: 187
Number of Different Winners: 77
Number of Drivers to Earn Points: 259
Past Top Tens in Beaver Stripes Non-Wing 360 Sprint Car Power Rankings:
2016 – 1. R.J. Johnson (12) 453, 2. Charles Davis, Jr. (1) 298, 3. Stevie Sussex (6) 207, 4. Brody Roa (3) 172, 5. Matt Rossi 168, 6. Dennis Gile 145, 7. Josh Hodges (3) 144, 8. Mike Martin 144, 9. D.J. Johnson (3) 134, 10. Jace Vander Weerd (2) 129.
2015 – 1. R.J. Johnson (10) 377, 2. Charles Davis, Jr. (3) 317, 3. Ryan Bernal (7) 231, 4. Danny Faria, Jr. (3) 199, 5. Mike Martin (3) 198, 6. Stevie Sussex (3) 196, 7. Brady Bacon (1) 178, 8. Matt Rossi (1) 170, 9. Josh Pelkey 145, 10. Brody Roa (3) 142.
2014 – 1. R.J. Johnson (11) 480, 2. Josh Pelkey (4) 366, 3. Charles Davis, Jr. (4) 361, 4. Ryan Bernal (12) 329, 5. Matt Rossi (1) 251, 6. Shon Deskins (1) 226, 7. Mike Martin (1) 212, 8. Brady Bacon (2) 160, 9. Richard Vander Weerd (1) 158, 10. Matt Mitchell (1) 150.
2013 – 1. R.J. Johnson (11) 387, 2. Charles Davis, Jr. (6) 260, 3. Richard Vander Weerd (7) 280, 4. Josh Pelkey (3) 236, 5. Ryan Bernal (5) 191, 6. Danny Faria, Jr. (4) 184, 7. Mike Martin (1) 184, 8. Bud Kaeding 166, 9. Shon Deskins 143, 10. Bryan Clauson (6) 138.
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 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. Please send any comments, questions or advertising inquiries regarding The Wheatley Chronicles at www.sprintcarmania.com to Lonnie Wheatley at lonniewheatley@gmail.com.
