Column By: STEPHEN DURHAM / RPW – DERRY, NH – The 2022 racing season has come and gone already, as the World of Outlaw Finals ended nearly two months ago. Now, the DIRTcar Nationals are nearly a month away.
Matt Sheppard grabbed another championship this year and will look to continue to defend it in 2023, barring any other plans. Mat Williamson and Max McLaughlin were both hungry for top spot as well this season. Other drivers like Britten and Phelps flexed muscle this year.
New full-time guys with Anthony Perrego and Marc Johnson on the tour this year showed what they got, and they could be contenders for the championship if they play their cards right next season.
Tidbit stats on the 2022 season before we wrap up the 2022 power rankings, from Volusia to Charlotte. The highest averaging spots gained for those that made at least 5 starts went to Alex Payne, who averaged 4.78 spots gained over 9 starts.
With his biggest gainers being at the World Finals, gaining 17 spots twice, and 15 spots on the other night. Highest averaging finish with at least 5 starts was Williamson, followed by Friesen, Phelps, McLaughlin, and Drellos. Most heat race winds went to Matt Sheppard, of course. Here are the final power rankings of 2022!
1: Matt Sheppard (Previous Rank: 1):
At no surprise, it is “Superman” Matt Sheppard finishing the season at the top of the power rankings, despite having a rough finish at the World Finals at Charlotte. Sheppard stats on the season since the green flag at Volusia has been impressive in 2022, racking up 7 wins, all regular season wins, 14 top 5’s, 15 top 10’s, and 11 heat race wins. His finishing average is skewed slightly from some rough finishes like at Charlotte, where he didn’t finish inside the top 25, but why would that matter, he won the championship, and everything else in 2022, expect similar results in 2023, but the rest of the Super DIRTcar Series competitors, like McLaughlin and company are hoping this guy just stays with the late models on dirt, and the modified stays home more often.
2: Mat Wiliamson (Previous Rank: 2):
Williamson had a stout 2022 campaign, coming home 2nd in the Super DIRTcar Series standings, 83 points behind Sheppard. I am sure if we take away a couple of the finishes that were outside of the top 10, the championship could have been decided at Charlotte, but it’s hard to keep up with the guy ahead who won nearly fifty percent of the regular season races. Williamson led the way in the average finishing category since Volusia, being at 7.29, he had two podium finishes as well in Florida, including a win. The regular season though, Williamson had 3 wins, 9 top 5s, 12 top 10s, and 10 heat race wins in 2022. Out of the 6 drivers who made all 24 starts in 2022, he averaged the most positions gained as well.
3: Max McLaughlin (Previous Rank: 3):
For “Mad-Max” McLaughlin, it was a standout year for him. He kicked off 2022 hot in Volusia, finishing on the podium three times, including a win. McLaughlin also picked up a regular season win at Land of Legends during the latter part of the season. Other big highlights for the young hot-shoe was a stellar top-5 finish at the 50th running of Super DIRT Week back in October, and finishing out at Charlotte with an additional three top 5 finishes, making it four consecutive. McLaughlin overall 2022 stats since Volusia, 2nd best finishing average of the 6 six drivers to start 24 races, just over 9th place, 10 top 5’s, and 13 top 10’s.
4: Peter Britten (Previous Rank: 5):
It was a solid and consistent season for “Batman” Peter Britten, he kicked 2022 off on the right foot, finishing on the podium in the first three races at Volusia, including a win on the second night. Britten came home 5th in the point standings, with 3 top 5’s, and 9 top 10’s to his credit during the regular season. Overall for 2022, Britten finished an average just over 11th place, and had a total of 6 top 5’s, and 13 top 10’s in 2022.
5: Jimmy Phelps (Previous Rank: 6):
For Phelps, he only missed one race, and it was for his daughter’s graduation, but still had a strong 2022 campaign, coming home in 3rd for the championship standings. Phelps found victory lane once at Volusia in February, and again at the track in his backyard at Weedsport. For the 2022 season overall, Phelps averaged a 8.5 finish, and had 7 top 5 finishes, 4 of them at Volusia, and 16 top 5’s, 2nd most behind Williamson.
6: Anthony Perrego (Previous Rank: 8):
It was Anthony Perrego edging out Marc Johnson for the Rookie of the Year on the Super DIRTcar Series, despite both drivers being far from rookies in a big block modified in general. Perrego finished 11 points ahead of fellow rookie Johnson in 6th place. On the season, Perrego had 5 top 5’s, 10 top 10’s on the season, with his best finish being 2nd at his hometrack of Orange County Fair Speedway.
7: Marc Johnson (Previous Rank: 4):
Marc John showed impressive growth and strength on the 2022 season, making all 24 starts from Volusia to Charlotte. He popped off a top 5 finish while running in Volusia on the third night of DIRTcar Nationals. Johnson came ever so close to wins at his home tracks of Lebanon Valley and Albany-Saratoga, coming home 2nd in both events. Overall on the 2022 season, Johnson had 5 top 5’s, 8 top 10’s, and an average finish of just over 12.5.
8: Billy Decker (Previous Rank: 5):
Decker ran a strong season, with strong finishes at former hometracks, such as Albany-Saratoga and Lebanon Valley. His best finish on the season was 2nd during the Malta Massive Weekend in September. For the season, Decker had 3 top 5’s, 11 top 10’s on the season.
9: Adam Pierson(Previous Rank: UR):
There were two drivers that when they showed up, they could be a dark horse, and get into the top 5 and top 10 for strong finishes. One of them being Adam Pierson, grabbing his first heat race wins on the Super DIRTcar Series. Pierson had 2 top 5’s and 7 top 10’s to his credit in 2022, with his best finish being 2nd at Land of Legends, behind the one and only Matt Sheppard.
10: Jack Lehner (Previous Rank: UR):
Lehner is now a regular on the tour each year as of late, and he continues to show strides of growth each season. Lehner’s best finish came at Volusia, coming home on the podium on the second night in third place. On the season, Lehner had that one top 5, and 7 top 10’s, as well with a few heat race wins. Expect Lehner to continue to grow and become a regular inside the top 10 and top 5 into 2023.
On the Radar:
Alex Yankowski:
Yankowski didn’t follow the full tour schedule in 2022, but when he did, he had some great strong runs. He drew the pole starting position in his first round on the tour at Bridgeport in May. His best finish on the season would be 4th at Big Diamond. Also to his credit, he had a top 10 at one of the harder tracks on the schedule, Lebanon Valley.
Tim Fuller:
Fuller didn’t chase the tour full-time in 2022, but had a few great runs when he did pull up to a track. He made a total of 9 starts, in which overall in 2022 including Volusia, had 2 top 5’s, and 5 top 10’s, one top 10 being at Volusia.
Tim Sears Jr:
Tim Sears Jr was another dark horse that I thought could be a sneaky top 5 or top 10 driver each race on the tour, heck I thought he could steal a win or two. Sears had a very strong start to the regular season. After a tough finish at Lebanon in May, Sears rebounded with a 4th place finish at Malta, a 6th at Land of Legend, a 14th at Big Diamond which was a first for the tour in over a decade, and a 10th place finish at the Hard Clay. Overall for 2022, Sears had 2 top 5’s, 6 top 10’s, and 2 heat race wins to his credit.
