Pavement sprint car statistician and “Pavement Pounders” manager David Sink announced the launch of the National Pavement Sprint Car Rankings.
The first edition of the rankings will be announced within the next 10 days.
Sink’s intention is to update the rankings every one to two weeks throughout the summer months, while providing monthly updates during the winter.
“Earlier in the year I got a call from Davey Hamilton Jr.,” explained Sink. “He said, ‘You know what pavement sprint car racing really needs? It needs a ranking system just like the dirt guys have.’ I got to thinking about it and he was right. The only problem is how hard it would be. It would have to be a system that incorporates every race into one ranking system.
“There were only 111 pavement sprint car races in 2023. This includes every 410 winged and non-winged, every 360 winged, USAC Silver Crown pavement, winged and non-winged crate, Little 500 and Open Wheel Showdown,” Sink added. “How do you create a ranking system with such a variety of pavement sprint car types I asked myself.
“After mulling over several options, I decided the best way to create a rankings system would be based on points and not averages. Pavement sprint car events that feature traveling series don’t get the numbers dirt sprint car events do. For instance, the 500 Sprint Car Tour leads the country in car count at 19. I base this average on cars that start the feature, not cars in the pits. Sadly, no series is averaging 20 or more cars. A few special events such as the Little 500, Open Wheel Showdown and Pink Lady Classic are the exceptions.”
Sink devised a system to rank the drivers.
“I came up with a system I think is fair and takes everything into consideration including car counts, quality of cars, schedule length, driver experience, and quality of the field,” he noted. “A driver who wins a race with only four cars shouldn’t get the same points as a driver who wins a race with 20 cars. Entry level classes shouldn’t be awarded as manty points as a field with top-notch 410 drivers.
“My formula awards drivers points who finish in the top three at most races regardless of what series it is. Each track, series, or event will be placed in one of five groups.”
Group One will be the top group and includes the premier races in our sport. The Little 500, Open Wheel Showdown, and Pink Lady Classic. The top three drivers will receive 8-5-3 points.
Group Two will include USAC Silver Crown pavement, Must See Racing, 500 Sprint Car Tour, Colorado National Sprints, War of the Wings event, Children’s Dream Fund 50 event, and both Dave Steele championship events. This top three in this group will receive 5-4-3.
Group Three will include the Granite Super Sprints, Southern Sprint Car Shootout Series, Northwest Sprint Tour, Speed Tour, and Empire Super Sprints. The top three in this group will receive 2-1-1/2.
Group Four will include Inland Winged Sprints, NCMA, MSR Lights, CAN-AM Sprints, Tri-State Sprints, Pepsi Crates, and Virginia Sprint Series. The top three in this series will receive 1-1/2-1/2.
Group Five will include Showtime Sprints, Agassz Sprints, and Saratoga Speedway Sprints. The top three in this group will receive ½-0-0.
“I realize you can’t make everybody happy, but this formula seems to be good for what we’re working with,” Sink said. “I will release the rankings over Labor Day weekend with every driver who accumulated points this season. After that it will only be the top 15 for the rest of the year. The series that has been placed in a group could be placed in another group in future years based on if a series gains more cars/events or loses cars/events.
“This is just a fun way to see where the top guys stack up against one another. Obviously, the more races you run per year the better chance you have to accumulate points. I’d like to eventually have a public ceremony where we award the top drivers and have awards for different categories within the sport like rookie of the year, best series, best event, and so on. But this is the start.”