RJ Johnson Leads Mid-Season Beaver Stripes Power Rankings
The Wheatley Chronicles – Volume III, No. 53
Lonnie Wheatley, TULSA, Okla. (June 30, 2015) – With the crossed flags displayed for the 2015 racing season, it’s time for a deeper look into this year’s Open Wheel Power Rankings. We’ll kick it off with a look at the top 50 in Beaver Stripes Non-Wing 360 Sprint Car Power Rankings.
Gunning for the top spot in Beaver Stripes Non-Wing 360 Power Rankings, Arizona’s R.J. Johnson is once again atop the point charts.
With seven wins to his credit thus far, reigning USAC Southwest champ Johnson has built up a 49-point advantage over Ryan Bernal. Mixing in USAC West Coast starts with a heavy slate of winged events, Bernal has posted six Non-Wing 360 wins thus far.
Bernal breaks up an otherwise all USAC Southwest top five that also includes Charles Davis, Jr., Stevie Sussex and Matt Rossi.
Others among the top ten through the first half of the season include Danny Faria, Jr., Josh Pelkey, Michael Colegrove, Richard Vander Weerd and Terry Schank, Jr.
| Rank | Name | Hometown | Wins | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | R.J. Johnson | Phoenix, AZ | 7 | 183 |
| 2 | Ryan Bernal | Hollister, CA | 6 | 134 |
| 3 | Charles Davis, Jr. | Buckeye, AZ | 1 | 121 |
| 4 | Stevie Sussex | Tempe, AZ | 2 | 113 |
| 5 | Matt Rossi | Peoria, AZ | 1 | 112 |
| 6 | Danny Faria, Jr. | Tipton, CA | 1 | 112 |
| 7 | Josh Pelkey | Peoria, AZ | 0 | 105 |
| 8 | Michael Colegrove | Peoria, AZ | 0 | 69 |
| 9 | Richard Vander Weerd | Visalia, CA | 2 | 63 |
| 10 | Terry Schank, Jr. | Santa Rosa, CA | 6 | 61 |
| 11 | Jace Vander Weerd | Visalia, CA | 0 | 58 |
| 12 | Guy Woodward | Santa Clarita, CA | 2 | 53 |
| 13 | Bud Kaeding | Campbell, CA | 1 | 53 |
| 14 | D.J. Johnson | Stockton, CA | 0 | 53 |
| 15-tie | Landon Hurst | Riverdale, CA | 0 | 48 |
| 15-tie | Mike Martin | Yuma, AZ | 0 | 48 |
| 17 | Rob Caho, Jr. | Wyoming, MN | 2 | 44 |
| 18 | Trey Marcham | Newcastle, OK | 0 | 44 |
| 19 | Tim Alberding | Salem, OR | 2 | 43 |
| 20 | Brody Roa | Buena Park, CA | 1 | 43 |
| 21 | Tristan Guardino | Fremont, CA | 1 | 41 |
| 22 | Troy Rutherford | Ojai, CA | 1 | 41 |
| 23 | Colby Copeland | Roseville, CA | 0 | 41 |
| 24 | Chase Viebrock | New Richmond, WI | 3 | 40 |
| 25 | Jake Swanson | Anaheim, CA | 0 | 40 |
| 26 | Kyle Smith | Moorpark, CA | 2 | 36 |
| 27 | Jimmy Kouba | Byron, MN | 2 | 35 |
| 28 | Colton Slack | Brentwood, CA | 1 | 34 |
| 29 | Joe Stornetta | Napa, CA | 2 | 32 |
| 30 | Greg Taylor | Ojai, CA | 1 | 32 |
| 31 | Shon Deskins | Waddell, AZ | 0 | 32 |
| 32 | Brian Hosford | Gilbert, AZ | 0 | 31 |
| 33 | Gary Nelson, Jr. | San Jose, CA | 0 | 30 |
| 34 | Shelby Byrd | Oklahoma City, OK | 3 | 28 |
| 35 | Klint Simpson | Santa Rosa, CA | 1 | 28 |
| 36 | Austin Liggett | Tracy, CA | 1 | 28 |
| 37 | Chris Bonneau | Peoria, AZ | 0 | 28 |
| 38 | Koby Barksdale | Norman, OK | 1 | 27 |
| 39 | Luis Espinoza | Castaic, CA | 2 | 25 |
| 40 | Guy Weedman | Moro, OR | 0 | 25 |
| 41 | Dave Darland | Lincoln, IN | 0 | 25 |
| 42 | Matt Mitchell | Yorba Linda, CA | 0 | 25 |
| 43 | Jake Kouba | Minneapolis, MN | 0 | 24 |
| 44 | Andrew Reinbold | Chandler, AZ | 0 | 24 |
| 45 | Bruce St. James | Phoenix, AZ | 0 | 23 |
| 46 | Brady Bacon | Broken Arrow, OK | 1 | 22 |
| 47 | Jimmy Crawford | Ventura, CA | 0 | 21 |
| 48 | Josh Shipley | Peoria, AZ | 0 | 21 |
| 49 | Shane Myhre | Tuolumne, CA | 1 | 20 |
| 50 | Shawn Jones | San Jose, CA | 1 | 20 |
Features Completed: 74
Number of Different Winners: 44
Number of Drivers to Earn Points: 137
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.
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 2015 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.
