Lonnie Wheatley, BROKEN ARROW, Okla. (December 6, 2022) – C.J. Leary emerged atop a spirited battle the number one position in the 2022 edition of the Non-Wing Sprint Car Power Rankings.
Leary earned the top ranking for the second time in four years after earning the top spot as well in 2019, this time edging Justin Grant by 32 points with Robert Ballou and Brady Bacon both within another 14 points.
The 46-point differential among the top four marked the closest battle for the top ranking since only 30 points separated the top five in 2019.
Leary is the fourth driver to top the Non-Wing Power Rankings on multiple occasions since 2013 joining the likes of Kevin Thomas, Jr. (2016, 2017 and 2018), Brady Bacon (2020 and 2021) and Robert Ballou (2014 and 2015) while Dave Darland earned the number one ranking in 2013.
A look at this year’s top ten:
1. C.J. Leary (Greenfield, IN – 720 points) – Leary’s nine 2022 triumphs came at nine different tracks including three USAC scores at Terre Haute, Putnamville and Circle City as he ranked third in USAC National points. Leary also topped a pair of Xtreme Outlaw events including the inaugural event at Volusia Speedway Park, a BOSS win and an MSCS triumph along with a pair of weekly wins at Paragon and Kokomo. It is Leary’s eighth consecutive year among the top ten in Non-Wing Sprint Car Power Rankings and fifth straight year among the top five.
2. Justin Grant (Ione, CA – 688 points) – The California native raced to the USAC National Sprint Car championship in 2022 with six series wins among his eight triumphs with his 50th career USAC win occurring at Eldora’s Four Crown Nationals. The 2022 Indiana Sprint Week champ also added weekly wins at Lawrenceburg and Kokomo along the way. Finishing among the top ten in Non-Wing Sprint Car Power Rankings seven times since 2014, Grant has been painfully close to the number one ranking with five finishes among the top three including previous runner-up showings in 2021, 2019 and 2017.
3. Robert Ballou (Rocklin, CA – 681 points) – “The Mad Man” posted his best ranking since topping the Non-Wing Power Rankings in both 2014 and 2015 and cracked the top five for the first time since 2017. Ballou racked up eight wins on the season including six along the USAC trail in which he finished fourth in points.
4. Brady Bacon (Broken Arrow, OK – 674 points) – After topping the Non-Wing Sprint Car Power Rankings over each of the previous two years, Bacon slips to fourth as he finishes among the top five for the sixth year since 2015. Bacon ranked second in USAC points where he posted six of his seven wins including the season-ending Oval Nationals at Cali’s Perris Auto Speedway.
5. Jake Swanson (Anaheim, CA – 611 points) – The Cali transplant along with PA’s Briggs Danner led the way with 11 wins, including a $10K Western World triumph at Cocopah that secured a ranking of eighth in USAC points along with a third in Xtreme Outlaw points. Swanson added a pair of Xtreme wins and an MSCS win to another half-dozen weekly wins in Indiana competition. It is Swanson’s second year among the top five in Non-Wing Sprint Car Power Rankings after claiming fourth in 2021.
6. Emerson Axsom (Franklin, IN – 536 points) – The young shoe made the most of his first full year in Non-Wing Sprint Car action by finishing fifth in points with three of his four feature wins on the year taking place in USAC battles.
7. Kyle Cummins (Princeton, IN – 534 points) – Long considered a Haubstadt ace, Cummins spread the wealth in 2022 with eight of his nine wins coming at sites other than Tri-State Speedway. None were larger than his $35,000 score in the Kokomo Smackdown finale, one of his five USAC scores to go along with three MSCS wins and a BOSS triumph. It’s Cummins third time among the Non-Wing Sprint Car Power Rankings top ten over the past four years.
8. Chase Stockon (Fort Branch, IN – 477 points) – Stockon’s lone win of the season came in Tri-State’s Harvest Cup MSCS finale that netted a third consecutive series title along with a ranking of tenth in USAC points. After finishing 12th in Non-Wing Power Rankings in 2021, Stockon broke back into the top ten after seven top-ten rankings from 2013 to 2020.
9. Jason McDougal (Broken Arrow, OK – 371 points) – Back to a full schedule in 2022, McDougal ranked second in MSCS points with a Haubstadt win in June along the way. It’s McDougal’s top ranking since finishing out 2019 tenth in the Non-Wing Power Rankings.
10. Logan Seavey (Sutter, CA – 370 points) – Sixth in USAC points, Seavey picked off series wins at Bridgeport and Port Royal during Eastern Storm en route to the Eastern Storm title. Seavey finished among the top ten in Non-Wing Power Rankings for the second year in a row after capturing eighth in 2021.
The Non-Wing Sprint Car Power Rankings are a part of the Open Wheel Power Rankings that also includes STIDA Winged 410 Sprint Cars, Rod End Supply Winged 360 Sprint Cars and Midgets.
Title sponsorship to continue the Non-Wing Sprint Car Power Rankings for 2023 is necessary. Anyone interested in doing so may contact lonniewheatley@gmail.com.
Separated into Non-Wing 410 and Non-Wing 360 Power Rankings through 2018, those were consolidated into a single Non-Wing Sprint Car Power Ranking for 2019 and beyond with all Non-Wing 410 and injected Non-Wing 360 events included in the Rankings.
A look at the final Top 50 in 2022 Non-Wing Sprint Car Power Rankings is as follows:
| Rank | Name | Wins | Pts | 2021 Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | C.J. Leary | 9 | 720 | 5 |
| 2 | Justin Grant | 8 | 688 | 2 |
| 3 | Robert Ballou | 8 | 681 | 9 |
| 4 | Brady Bacon | 7 | 674 | 1 |
| 5 | Jake Swanson | 11 | 611 | 4 |
| 6 | Emerson Axsom | 4 | 536 | 65 |
| 7 | Kyle Cummins | 9 | 534 | 11 |
| 8 | Chase Stockon | 1 | 477 | 12 |
| 9 | Jason McDougal | 1 | 371 | 20 |
| 10 | Logan Seavey | 2 | 370 | 8 |
| 11 | Matt Westfall | 5 | 369 | 26 |
| 12 | Jadon Rogers | 3 | 351 | 10 |
| 13 | Kevin Thomas, Jr. | 6 | 331 | 3 |
| 14 | Mitchel Moles | 3 | 303 | NR |
| 15 | Thomas Meseraull | 6 | 301 | 17 |
| 16 | Tye Mihocko | 2 | 244 | 15 |
| 17 | Alex Bright | 9 | 238 | 22 |
| 18 | Shane Cottle | 1 | 234 | 13 |
| 19 | Geoff Ensign | 6 | 232 | 136 |
| 20 | Damion Gardner | 6 | 220 | 16 |
| 21 | Briggs Danner | 11 | 197 | 30 |
| 22 | Shane Cockrum | 3 | 188 | 19 |
| 23 | Matt Mitchell | 1 | 179 | 75 |
| 24 | Charles Davis, Jr. | 1 | 173 | 23 |
| 25 | Brody Roa | 4 | 170 | 18 |
| 26 | Max Adams | 1 | 158 | 29 |
| 27 | Scotty Weir | 2 | 157 | 25 |
| 28 | Wesley Smith | 5 | 151 | 21 |
| 29 | Brent Beauchamp | 3 | 149 | 60 |
| 30 | Mario Clouser | 2 | 146 | 27 |
| 31 | Isaac Chapple | 1 | 136 | 33 |
| 32 | Wyatt Burks | 3 | 130 | 52 |
| 33 | Austin Williams | 0 | 129 | 24 |
| 34 | Cole Bodine | 0 | 114 | 35 |
| 35 | Eddie Tafoya, Jr. | 0 | 110 | 54 |
| 36 | Tommy Malcolm | 0 | 107 | 50 |
| 37 | R.J. Johnson | 7 | 103 | 38 |
| 38 | Cody Williams | 2 | 103 | 40 |
| 39 | A.J. Hopkins | 2 | 102 | 14 |
| 40 | Kory Schudy | 3 | 100 | 28 |
| 41 | Brayden Fox | 0 | 91 | 34 |
| 42 | Nick Bilbee | 1 | 90 | 31 |
| 43 | Brian Hayden | 1 | 89 | NR |
| 44 | Ricky Lewis | 2 | 88 | 58 |
| 45 | Xavier Doney | 3 | 85 | 42 |
| 46 | Anton Hernandez | 0 | 82 | 257 |
| 47 | Justin Zimmerman | 6 | 81 | 43 |
| 48 | Sterling Cling | 0 | 81 | 69 |
| 49 | Chase Johnson | 2 | 80 | 32 |
| 50 | Kyle Shipley | 1 | 79 | NR |
Breaking into the Top 50 from 2021: Emerson Axsom, Mitchel Moles, Geoff Ensign, Matt Mitchell, Brent Beauchamp, Wyatt Burks, Eddie Tafoya, Jr., Brian Hayden, Ricky Lewis, Kyle Shipley, Sterling Cling, Anton Hernandez.
Falling out of the Top 50 from 2021: Tanner Thorson (6), Chris Windom (7), Chris Gansen (36), Stevie Sussex (37), Tyler Courtney (39), Brady Short (41), Zach Daum (44), Critter Malone (45), Davey Ray (46), Tyler Kendall (47), Paul Nienhiser (48), Jake Scott (49).
Features Completed: 238 (284 in 2021, 153 in 2020, 243 in 2019, 197 in 2018, 225 in 2017, 206 in 2016, 218 in 2015, 224 in 2014, 235 in 2013)
Number of Different Winners: 90 (93 in 2021, 61 in 2020, 91 in 2019, 71 in 2018, 76 in 2017, 72 in 2016, 75 in 2015, 85 in 2014, 92 in 2013)
Number of Drivers to Earn Points: 243 (294 in 2021, 203 in 2020, 267 in 2019, 204 in 2018, 226 in 2017, 231 in 2016, 268 in 2015, 293 in 2013, 336 in 2013)
Note: Prior to 2019, Non-Wing Power Rankings were broken into 410-ci and 360-ci categories instead of combined into one overall ranking.
Past Top Tens in Non-Wing Sprint Car Power Rankings:
2021 – 1. Brady Bacon (8) 863, 2. Justin Grant (10) 772, 3. Kevin Thomas, Jr. (11) 771, 4. Jake Swanson (8) 635, 5. C.J. Leary (7) 614, 6. Tanner Thorson (5) 556, 7. Chris Windom (2) 500, 8. Logan Seavey (8) 474, 9. Robert Ballou (2) 428, 10. Jadon Rogers (8) 389.
2020 – 1. Brady Bacon (11) 618, 2. Chris Windom (7) 557, 3. Justin Grant (7) 530, 4. C.J. Leary (4) 503, 5. Chase Stockon (3) 503, 6. Kevin Thomas, Jr. (3) 466, 7. Kyle Cummins (7) 383, 8. Dave Darland (1) 340, 9. Shane Cottle (3) 313, 10. Robert Ballou 312.
2019 – 1. C.J. Leary (4) 701, 2. Justin Grant (8) 697, 3. Kevin Thomas, Jr. (7) 689, 4. Tyler Courtney (9) 678, 5. Brady Bacon (8) 671, 6. Chris Windom (8) 632, 7. Thomas Meseraull (12) 492, 8. Chase Stockon (1) 486, 9. Kyle Cummins (14) 468, 10. Jason McDougal (1) 354.
2018 – 1. Kevin Thomas, Jr. (15) 917, 2. Chris Windom (9) 863, 3. Tyler Courtney (12) 785, 4. C.J. Leary (6) 664, 5. Justin Grant (10) 655, 6. Dave Darland (4) 642, 7. Brady Bacon (5) 578, 8. Robert Ballou (5) 553, 9. Chase Stockon (2) 529, 10. Thomas Meseraull (7) 384.
2017 – 1. Kevin Thomas, Jr. (18) 928, 2. Justin Grant (9) 682, 3. Chris Windom (10) 667, 4. Tyler Courtney (7) 616, 5. Robert Ballou (4) 599, 6. C.J. Leary (8) 479, 7. Brady Short (7) 465, 8. Thomas Meseraull (6) 454, 9. Chad Boespflug (2) 437, 10. Brady Bacon (3) 436.
2016 – 1. Kevin Thomas, Jr. (13) 782, 2. Brady Bacon (3) 742, 3. Chris Windom (5) 661, 4. Thomas Meseraull (8) 658, 5. Dave Darland (2) 632, 6. Chad Boespflug (6) 555, 7. Robert Ballou (4) 503, 8. Chase Stockon (3) 497, 9. Shane Cottle (4) 451, 10. C.J. Leary (3) 446.
2015 – 1. Robert Ballou (18) 959, 2. Dave Darland (6) 895, 3. Kevin Thomas, Jr. (6) 649, 4. Chase Stockon (5) 607, 5. Brady Bacon (9) 601, 6. Jon Stanbrough (2) 577, 7. Brady Short (16) 561, 8. C.J. Leary (4) 517, 9. Thomas Meseraull (9) 466, 10. Shane Cottle (5) 419.
2014 – 1. Robert Ballou (11) 822, 2. Dave Darland (11) 750, 3. Jon Stanbrough (8) 705, 4. Bryan Clauson (9) 671, 5. Justin Grant (8) 625, 6. Brady Short (12) 605, 7. Chase Stockon (4) 532, 8. Brady Bacon (4) 477, 9. Chad Boespflug (7) 438, 10. Shane Cottle (3) 410.
2013 – 1. Dave Darland (9) 631, 2. Bryan Clauson (11) 627, 3. Brady Short (10) 531, 4. Jon Stanbrough (3) 509, 5. Chase Stockon (3) 507, 6. Kevin Thomas, Jr. (10) 496, 7. Robert Ballou (5) 474, 8. Chris Windom (6) 414, 9. Chad Boespflug (6) 390, 10. Brady Bacon (2) 389.
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.