Quick Starts

The start of the 2021 racing season here in the mid-section of the country has been somewhat "stop and go" as the month of April has seen a shift to the colder side over the past two decades. While watching the morning weather on KCRG channel 9 out of Cedar Rapids last week.....by the way, I still can't watch an ABC station on high definition since Mediacom continues to fight with Tegna over channel 8. For crying out loud, just cut them loose and give me channel 9 in HD! But I digress....so the morning meteorologist pointed out that the last time a record high was registered during April in Cedar Rapids was back in 2003, but there have been twelve record lows established during the month since then.

That should come as no surprise to race fans and promoters who continue to see those cherished April race dates fall to the wayside due to cold and, or wet conditions. And it is no surprise to see several tracks now hold off until May to get the season going with more and more special events scheduled into the seemingly nicer Fall season.

Still, if you catch some good weather in March or April you usually see a full pit area and an eager crowd and that has been the case at several of the eight events that I have been able to attend thus far. The early season has also been good for several drivers who are getting out of the gate quickly and looking for that success to continue throughout 2021. Let's take a top ten or so look at six of the nine All Iowa Points divisions to see who is off to a quick start and I will highlight a few out of state drivers having early season success as well.

It should come as no surprise that one of the hottest drivers thus far is Dallon Murty. The defending All Iowa Points Stock Car champion kicked off the 2021 campaign in style taking the big money at Bristol and here in Iowa he has already won five times and finished second twice.

All Iowa Points

Stock Car Iowa

Pos. Driver Hometown Points

1 . Dallon Murty Chelsea 37

2 . Jay Schmidt Laurel 18

3 . Chanse Hollatz Clear Lake 16

4 . Devin Smith Lake City 16

5 . Travis Barker Sioux City 14

6 . Jeff Mueller Albion 13

7 . Damon Murty Chelsea 12

8 . John Oliver Jr. Danville 12

9 . Jason See Albia 11

10 . Jesse Owen Colona IL 11

Another driver with five wins already in 2021 is Jeff Larson. After placing in the top five of the All Iowa Modified Points each of the last two years could this be the season where "Bone" breaks through? Tim Ward was a surprise entry at Davenport a couple of weeks ago, so he is hitting the road early on and a nod also to Sioux City's Cody Thompson as the former Limited Modified champ has already posted three wins in his rookie season with the Mods.

All Iowa Points

Modified

Pos. Driver Hometown Points

1 . Jeff Larson Freeport IL 28

2 . Tim Ward Gilbert AZ 27

3 . Cayden Carter Oskaloosa 24

4 . Cody Thompson Sioux City 20

5 . Spencer Diercks Davenport 19

6 . Derrick Stewart Ainsworth 18

7 . Shane Demey Denison 17

8 . Troy Cordes Raymond 16

9 . Jacob Hobscheidt Plattsmouth NE 15

10 . Jordan Grabouski Beatrice NE 15

11 . Kyle Brown Kellogg 15

Young Kaden Reynolds has scored six Hobby Stock feature wins to start the season and may be headed toward an epic 2021 campaign. Just think, it was only a few short years ago when Kaden was battling with Dallon in the Micro Mods in Vinton every Sunday night.

All Iowa Points

Hobby Stock Iowa

Pos. Driver Hometown Points

1 . Kaden Reynolds Cedar Rapids 30

2 . Daniel Wauters Tipton 23

3 . Randy Lamar Buffalo 22

4 . Eric Knutson Slater 18

5 . Solomon Bennett Perry 18

6 . Luke Ramsey Bedford 17

7 . Tyler Schlumbohm Sioux Falls SD 15

8 . Dustin Gulbrandson Hartford SD 14

9 . Aaron Martin Richland 12

10 . Nathan Ballard Marengo 11

It's like old home week at the top of the Limited Modified standings where former champions Tony Olson and Tyler Soppe are currently tied for the lead. Twenty of Soppe's twenty-four points come from four feature wins.

All Iowa Points

Limited Modified Iowa

Pos. Driver Hometown Points

1 . Tony Olson Cedar Rapids 24

2 . Tyler Soppe Sherrill 24

3 . Jonathan Logue Logansport 22

4 . Brayton Carter Oskaloosa 20

5 . Austen Becerra Carthage IL 19

6 . Shane Paris Muscatine 17

7 . Ty Griffith Webster City 17

8 . Dan Hovden Decorah 15

9 . Austin Schrage Cresco 13

10 . Cam Reimers Kelley 13

11 . Jake Sachau Denison 13

His father Chris was the champion in 2020 and now Bryan Vannausdle is at the top of the early list of Four Cylinder drivers. He is joined by pavement convert Logan Clausen.

All Iowa Points

Four Cylinder Iowa

Pos. Driver Hometown Points

1 . Bryan Vannausdale Villisca 16

2 . Logan Clausen Atkins 16

3 . Chance Bailey Quincy IL 11

4 . Chris Vannausdle Villisca 10

5 . Cyle Hawkins Blue Grass 10

6 . Tyler Fiebelkorn Creston 10

7 . Jake Benischek Durant 9

8 . Zeke Wheeler Vinton 9

9 . Drake Bohlmeyer Beatrice NE 8

10 . Nick Proehl Milan IL 8

11 . Zach Bohlmeyer Beatrice NE 8

Two wins this past weekend has put Matt Ryan in a familiar position at the top of the All Iowa Late Model Points. Ryan is looking for his third straight and fourth overall title.

All Iowa Points

Late Model Iowa

Pos. Driver Hometown Points

1 . Matt Ryan Davenport 12

2 . Billy Moyer Batesville AR 11

3 . Eric Pollard Dubuque 11

4 . Jesse Sobbing Malvern 11

5 . Josh Leonard Gibbon NE 11

6 . Tony Jackson Jr. Lebanon MO 11

7 . Justin Kay Wheatland 10

8 . Sean Johnson Independence 10

9 . Jason Papich Arroyo Grande CA 9

10 . Andrew Kosiski Omaha NE 8

11 . Brian Shirley Chatham IL 8

12 . Denny Woodworth Mendon IL 8

13 . Jake Bridge Waverly NE 8

14 . Tad Pospisil Norfolk NE 8

Don't forget that you can always get the updated and full All Iowa Points for all nine divisions on the Points page at Positively Racing.

The driver who has scored the most points in our standardized system thus far is 305 Racesaver Sprint Car ace Marcus Thomas of Corsicana, Texas. Seven of his ten top-five finishes have been victories and his 42 points would have already ranked him in the top 30 in last year's Best of the Midwest standings.

Texas Points

Winged Sprint Cars

Pos. Driver Hometown Points

1 . Marcus Thomas Corsicana 42

2 . Austin Mundie Crandall 16

3 . J.J. Hickle Quilcene WA 14

4 . Jeff Emerson Millsap 12

5 . Channin Tankersley Highlands 10

6 . Blake Mallory Joshua 9

7 . Chad Wilson North Richland Hills 9

8 . Martin Edwards Forney 9

9 . Brad Sweet Grass Valley CA 8

10 . John Ricketts Burleson 8

11 . Kevin Ramey Fort Worth 8

Staying in Texas, Jared Maupin has been making a habit of posting two top-five finishes in the same night as he leads the Limited Mod standings and is third in the Modifieds.

Texas Points

Limited Modifieds

Pos. Driver Hometown Points

1 . Jared Maupin Collge Station 35

2 . G.W. Egbert IV Salado 22

3 . Jake Upchurch Grand Prairie 20

4 . Marcus Mikulencak Corpus Christi 19

5 . James Hanusch Belton 18

6 . Brandon Geurin Robinson 17

7 . Damon Hammond Burleson 17

8 . J.J. Jennings Corpus Christi 17

9 . Steven Ashcraft Forney 17

10 . Edward Oakes Cuero 16

Texas Points

Modified

Pos. Driver Hometown Points

1 . Chris Morris Taylor 32

2 . Jon White Red Oak 30

3 . Jared Maupin College Station 26

4 . William Gould Calera OK 22

5 . Kevin Green Waco 19

6 . Cody Leonard Sinton 17

7 . Jack Sartain Terrell 16

8 . Kale Westover Blair OK 16

9 . Clyde Dunn Jr. Rockwall 15

10 . Cody Tidwell Round Rock 15

Modified driver Jake Davis of Hackett, Arkansas, holds the early lead in Oklahoma where he has won three times and he has a win in his home state as well.

Oklahoma Points

Modified

Pos. Driver Hometown Points

1 . Jake Davis Hackett AR 19

2 . Brandon Dean Tulsa 13

3 . Jared Russell Wagoner 12

4 . Ho Dean Tulsa 10

5 . Jared Baird Norman 10

6 . Kale Westover Blair 10

7 . Collin Wiseley Bixby 8

8 . Ethan Braaksma Newton IA 8

9 . Brendon Gemmill Ponca City 7

10 . Brett Hansen Fort Gibson 7

11 . Chad Davis Tulsa 7

12 . David Tanner Wichita Falls TX 7

13 . Tim Ward Chandler AZ 7

Jordan Grabouski appears headed to another Nebraska State Points Modified championship after posting five early season victories. "Grabo" also has a win, a second and a third in the Stock Cars.

Nebraska Points

Modified

Pos. Driver Hometown Points

1 . Jordan Grabouski Beatrice 25

2 . Austin Svoboda David City 10

3 . Ryan Jenkins Omaha 8

4 . Cody Thompson Sioux City 7

5 . Dan Nelson Holmesville 7

6 . Justin Gregg Hastings 7

7 . Dillon Schultz 5

8 . Dylan Sillman Alvo 5

9 . Jacob Hobscheidt Plattsmouth NE 5

10 . Trey Duensing Byron 5

Temperatures have been in the 80's the past two days, perfect weather for racing but nothing on the schedule for a Monday or Tuesday in April. Hopefully the cold front and its scattered showers will miss the season opener at the Southern Iowa Speedway in Oskaloosa tomorrow night as that is my next destination. For the upcoming weekend I originally thought about a trip into Wisconsin to take in a couple of "new to me" tracks, but a change in my wife's plans will keep me closer to home and hopefully I can get to a show at one of the many great tracks around my southeast Iowa base.

The weather is bound to shape up soon, get out to a track of your choice!