Story By: KING OF DIRT – FAIR HAVEN, VT – In the Fastline Performance King Of Dirt Racing Overall point standings presented by Swagger Factory Apparel there are 34 wins among the top 10 drivers meaning it’s safe to say the all-time win list will be changing come seasons end.
Cody Mcpherson, Matt Janczuk, and Gary Smith earned their 4th wins of the year, while Jessica Power, Beau Ballard, and Payton Talbot also found their way to victory lane.
The trademark saying every race matters rings true for KOD competitors this season. As all drivers race towards their best 12 finishes and the leaderboard showing a drivers top nine finishes thus far, the intensity is growing for good consistent finishes. By August the leaderboard will reflect each drivers best 12 finishes in real time. Some are there already, and some just need races to be run at their home tracks. There is still plenty of time left in the 2022 racing season.
Matt Janczuk once again leads our trio of highlighted drivers, because he earned it. The Oneida, NY driver is on a tear right now at Utica Rome Speedway earning his 4th win of the year this past weekend and his third consecutive trip to victory lane. He has climbed to second on the leaderboard with his Billy Whittaker Cars & Trux – Ted’s Body Shop 33X Bicknell Racing Chassis.
Merrittville Speedway hot shoe Cody Mcpherson also earned his fourth win of the season this weekend. He has been hanging out in the top five all season long with consistent finishes and trips to victory lane. Mcpherson will surely be a contender for the crown driving his Willard Concrete & Trucking – Summertyme Spray Foam number 7 Bicknell Racing Chassis.
Our third and final highlighted driver is Harpursville, NY driver Gary Smith who calls Five Mile Point speedway home on Saturday nights. Smith earned his fourth win of the season Saturday night, and while he currently sits 36th on the leaderboard the expectation is he will climb the standings in his Matco Tools – Interstate Homes number 7UP Teo Pro Car once he has more races run.
OVERALL KOD CHAMPIONSHIP NOTES: As mentioned KOD is fast approaching the leaderboard showing a drivers best 12 finishes, which should be by August 1st. For those drivers who have not had 12 races yet, the message is keep racing. Every race matters on a driver’s home track schedule, so there is plenty of opportunity left to post finishes. On September 1st KOD will issue home track starting field size point bonuses so all drivers know exactly where they stand heading into the fall portion of the 2022 season.
Brockville Ontario Speedway competitor and title contender Jessica Power from Kingston, Ontario Canada scored her third win of the season this past weekend. She continues to be a front runner at the BOS driving her Greenshield Pest Control – Speedy Auto Service number 52 Bicknell Racing Chassis.
Fonda Speedway Pro Stock top competitor Beau Ballard finally reached victory lane at the track of champions in a big way Saturday night earning his first Hondo Classic victory. The race was extra distance going 29 laps in memory of full-fender racer Hondo Carpenter, which is promoted and organized by Kelly and Kaitlyn Keefe. Ballard drove his coil spring Pizza Plus – Kimble Mechanical number 15 to an impressive win.
Payton Talbot has been a house of fire at Utica Rome this season, but Saturday night he reached victory lane at Fonda Speedway for the second time this season. Few drivers hit the cushion like Talbot, but when he’s high wide and hauling nobody can contain him. He picked up the win driving his Precision Hydraulic – Ted’s Body Shop number 14T HigFab chassis.
CURRENT TOP 10 KING OF DIRT RACING OVERALL CHAMPIONSHIP POINT DRIVERS
Points Driver Car# Track
888 Chad Edwards (5) 10% FON
884 Matt Janczuk (4) 33X URS
882 Payton Talbot (5) 14T URS
881 Cody Mcpherson (4) 7 MTV
880 Beau Ballard (4) 15 URS
871 Chris Mackey (3) 3 FUL
871 Rob Yetman (3) 7 ALB
870 Joe Toth (3) 9 NES
870 Josh Coonradt (2) 00X URS
863 Luke Horning (1) 2H FON