Bell Leads Midget Power Rankings
The Wheatley Chronicles – Volume V, No. 16
Lonnie Wheatley, TULSA, Okla. (May 4, 2017) – In a selected slate of Midget events thus far in 2017, Norman, Oklahoma’s Christopher Bell has been nearly perfect.
So close to perfect in fact that he sits atop the www.midgetmadness.com Midget Power Rankings in the early stages of the season.
Now leading the Camping World NASCAR Truck series, Bell won both his Chili Bowl prelim along with the finale and then swept both nights of POWRi’s Turnpike Challenge in Oklahoma City aboard the Keith Kunz entry.
Bell, who finished atop the Midget Power Rankings in 2013 and 2014, also had March’s Shamrock Classic well in hand before running afoul of lapped traffic.
With the early success, Bell holds a 36 point advantage over eventual Shamrock winner Justin Grant with Zach Daum, and reigning and two-time Midget Power Rankings winner Tanner Thorson with and Cali reps Ronnie Gardner and Shane Golobic tied for fifth.
The balance of the current top ten includes Tyler Courtney, Jerry Coons, Jr., Spencer Bayston and Daryn Pittman. Kokomo “Grand Prix” sweeper Brady Bacon sits just one point outside of the top ten in 11th.
This year’s early top ten in Midget Power Rankings has a different look to it, as only Daum, Thorson and Bayston finished among last year’s top ten.
The current top 25 in www.midgetmadness.com Midget Power Rankings….
| Rank | Name | Hometown | Wins | Column1 | Column2 | Points | 2016 Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Christopher Bell | Norman, OK | 4 | 4 | 5 | 148 | 29 |
| 2 | Justin Grant | Ione, CA | 2 | 3 | 4 | 112 | 126 |
| 3 | Zach Daum | Pocahontas, IL | 0 | 2 | 4 | 87 | 4 |
| 4 | Tanner Thorson | Minden, NV | 0 | 3 | 3 | 82 | 1 |
| 5-tie | Ronnie Gardner | Corona, CA | 1 | 3 | 4 | 81 | 16 |
| 5-tie | Shane Golobic | Fremont, CA | 1 | 3 | 4 | 81 | 17 |
| 7 | Tyler Courtney | Indianapolis, IN | 1 | 2 | 3 | 81 | 80 |
| 8 | Jerry Coons, Jr. | Tucson, AZ | 0 | 2 | 4 | 77 | 19 |
| 9 | Spencer Bayston | Lafayette, IN | 0 | 2 | 4 | 75 | 2 |
| 10 | Daryn Pittman | Owasso, OK | 0 | 2 | 2 | 70 | 123 |
| 11 | Brady Bacon | Broken Arrow, OK | 2 | 3 | 3 | 69 | 5 |
| 12 | Ryan Robinson | Foresthill, CA | 0 | 2 | 5 | 66 | 9 |
| 13 | Jake Swanson | Anaheim, CA | 0 | 2 | 2 | 60 | 73 |
| 14 | Travis Berryhill | American Canyon, CA | 1 | 1 | 1 | 51 | 197 |
| 15 | Larry Wight | Phoenix, NY | 0 | 1 | 1 | 44 | NR |
| 16 | Alex Bright | Collegeville, PA | 1 | 3 | 3 | 42 | 15 |
| 17 | Tucker Klaasmeyer | Paola, KS | 0 | 2 | 2 | 41 | 12 |
| 18-tie | C.J. Leary | Greenfield, IN | 0 | 1 | 1 | 39 | 130 |
| 18-tie | Danny Stratton | Riverside, CA | 0 | 1 | 1 | 39 | 114 |
| 20 | Damion Gardner | Concord, CA | 0 | 0 | 2 | 39 | 52 |
| 21 | Rico Abreu | St. Helena, CA | 0 | 1 | 1 | 38 | 11 |
| 22 | Tyler Thomas | Collinsville, OK | 0 | 1 | 2 | 36 | 8 |
| 23 | Jonathan Beason | Broken Arrow, OK | 0 | 1 | 2 | 34 | 35 |
| 24 | Cory Elliott | Bakersfield, CA | 0 | 2 | 2 | 33 | 21 |
| 25-tie | Colby Copeland | Roseville, CA | 0 | 1 | 1 | 33 | NR |
| 25-tie | Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. | Olive Branch, MS | 0 | 1 | 1 | 33 | 77 |
Features Completed: 19
Number of Different Winners: 13
Number of Drivers to Earn Points: 119
Past Top Tens in www.midgetmadness.com Midget Power Rankings:
2016 – 1. Tanner Thorson (16) 795, 2. Spencer Bayston (3) 666, 3. Carson Macedo (3) 551, 4. Zach Daum (4) 469, 5. Brady Bacon (1) 356, 6. Bryan Clauson (5) 317, 7. Chad Boat (3) 310, 8. Tyler Thomas 294, 9. Ryan Robinson 282, 10. Justin Peck (1) 273.
2015 – 1. Tanner Thorson (7) 548, 2. Darren Hagen (5) 522, 3. Spencer Bayston (5) 500, 4. Rico Abreu (9) 488, 5. Christopher Bell (8) 438, 6. Bryan Clauson (6) 422, 7. Andrew Felker (3) 383, 8. Zach Daum (3) 379, 9. Kevin Thomas, Jr. (3) 373, 10. Tyler Thomas (2) 276.
2014 – 1. Christopher Bell (16) 659, 2. Zach Daum (4) 589, 3. Bryan Clauson (10) 555, 4. Rico Abreu (5) 449, 5. Darren Hagen (6) 421, 6. Tanner Thorson (2) 411, 7. Andrew Felker (3) 313, 8. Tracy Hines (2) 304, 9. Tyler Thomas (1) 283, 10. Alex Bright (5) 244.
2013 – 1. Christopher Bell (10) 543, 2. Zach Daum (8) 504, 3. Darren Hagen (8) 415, 4. Andrew Felker (2) 406, 5. Rico Abreu (7) 402, 6. Bryan Clauson (8) 397, 7. Brad Kuhn (1) 325, 8. Tracy Hines (2) 322, 9. Ronnie Gardner (13) 280, 10. Alex Bright (3) 231.
The www.midgetmadness.com Midget 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, Beaver Stripes Non-Wing 360s and 305s presented by Dodge City Raceway Park.
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 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.
