Steve Carlin has excelled in the second half of the season

One of my favorite tools to track driver dominance and/or take a glimpse into the future are second-half points, or the points a driver scores in races following the midseason championship.

Why are these so telling? Two reasons.

– More than anything else, they will often provide an indication to what drivers to watch for the following season. It’s where names like Jason Perry and Jared Schlipman will show up the year before they win a championship or become a legitimate contender.

– Second-half points will also show the driver(s) in the championship hunt without having to look at the points standings. To win a title, you have to score big when it counts, and there is no more important time to be gathering points than the closing weeks of the season.

Today’s focus is on the hobby stocks. We started tracking second-half points in 2007, and in that four-year span there is one name that sticks out in this class: Steve Carlin, who has led (or tied for the lead) each season but one. See, it’s no accident he will be trying for his fifth track title in 2011.

SECOND-HALF POINTS LEADERS

2010: Steve Carlin, Bobby Anders (tie), 233
2009: Steve Carlin, Adam Scott (tie), 261
2008: Wes Mayfield, 353
2007: Steve Carlin, 359

CAREER LEADERS (since 2007)

Steve Carlin, 1,193
Jim Powell, 806
Mike Wiley, 748
Wes Mayfield, 579
Nathan Anders, 560
Justin Bartz, 557
Bobby Anders, 544
Adam Scott, 529
Jake Powers, 526
James Leffew, 481

Terry Gallaher holds the track record of 21 consecutive years of finishing in the top five in (late model) points, a streak that ended in 2001.

Two-time defending hobby stock champion Steve Carlin will open the 2011 season with the longest active streak of top-five points finishes in any series. Carlin has finished in the top five eight straight years.

Carlin took over the top active streak when modified driver Tony Dunker’s skein of 10 ended whe he finished seventh in points in 2010.

The all-time track record for consecutive top-five points finishes belongs to Terry Gallaher (21) and Steve Fraise (13)  in the late model class. Gallaher’s streak ended in 2001.

MOST CONSECUTIVE TOP 5 POINTS FINISHES HEADING INTO 2011
Minimum 2

Steve Carlin, hobby stocks, 8
Justin Reed, late models, 4
Steven DeLonjay, modifieds, 3
Jim Powell, hobby stocks, 3
Jason Perry,late models, 2
Terry Houston, stock cars, 2
Abe Huls, stock cars, 2
Andrrew Griffin, stock cars, 2
Justin Reed, modifieds, 2

STREAKS THAT ENDED IN 2010

Tony Dunker, modifieds, 10 (finished 7th)
Mark Burgtorf, late models, 5 (finished 20th)
Lonnie Bailey, late models, 3 (finished 12th)

Remember in Talladega Nights how Will Ferrell’s Rick Bobby character insisted if you’re not first, you’re last? Or about how about the time-worn axiom of second place simply being the first loser?

Back in 2008 when I thought it would be interesting to start charting runner-up feature finishes the main reason was to see who was actually finishing second, at least most of the time. I had no idea what to expect, but after three years I think it’s clearly been illustrated the guys who win a lot of races also finish second quite often, too. That’s why they’re the best. That’s why they win championships, or at least contend.

Feature winners are the ones always remembered, but all of those runner-up finishes mean a lot of points, too. Look at the list of 11 drivers below (Justin Reed is on there twice). Nine of them have won at least one tarck championship in their careers.

Finishing second might not earn the glory of one spot higher, but it’s obviously not the same as finishing last. Ricky Bobby had it all wrong.

SECOND-PLACE FEATURE FINISHES SINCE 2008
Drivers in blue have won at least one track championship
Abe Huls, stock cars, 10
Steve Carlin, hobby stocks, 10
x-Justin Reed, late models, 9
Jim Powell, hobby stocks, 8
Mark Burgtorf, late models, 8
Steven DeLonjay, modifieds, 7
x-Justin Reed, modifieds, 7
Jason Frankel, late models, 6
Dave Wietholder, modifieds, 6
Jared Schlipman, modifieds, 6
Vance Wilson, modifieds, 6
xx-Wes Mayfield, hobby stocks, 6

x-Reed has a combined 16 between late models, modifieds
xx-Mayfield has a combined 8 between hobby stocks, stock cars

Steve Carlin

Steve Carlin will be chasing all sorts of history in 2011 at Quincy Raceways, but the three most intriguing accomplishments to me could be these:

– The Hannibal hotshoe could become the first driver to win three straight hobby stock/bomber championships. His back-to-back titles in 2010 and 2009 have not only placed him No. 1 in our countdown of most dominant drivers over the past two seasons, but also means he has finished no lower than third in points since 2007.

– Carlin could also become the No. 1 driver in our all-time hobby stock/bomber rankings, finally surpassing the legendary Eddie Dieker. A first- or second-place in the final points standings would elevate Carlin past Dieker.

– And finally, only four other drivers in track history (for any series) have won three or more consecutive class championships: Mark Burgtorf, Steve Fraise and Hank DeLonjay. That, my friends, is some pretty exclusive company. (And in case you’re interested, only two other hobby stock/bomber drivers have won back-to-back championships: Dieker and Jim Gillenwater.)

Carlin’s would-be historical accomplishments will not come easy. The hobby stock class should again be a big-time struggle between Carlin, Bobby Anders and Jimbo Powell. Both Anders and Powell are seeking their first titles and both are more than capable. Anders and Powell each have the equipment to run up front — Anders had a new ride in 2010 and Powell will have one this season — so Carlin’s hoped-for journey to history will be no Sunday drive in the park.

Hats off, however, to Carlin, who has been a picture of consistency in recent years. Rarely is there a week he does not finish somewhere near the front. More so than any other current driver at the track, No. 9 has learned to finish first in the points — everyone say it all together … — first you have to finish.

CARLIN AT A GLANCE

2010: 1st in points
2009: 1st in points
1st in career hobby stock/bomber track points
1st in career hobby stock points (since the series became known by that name in 2007)
No. 2 in all-time hobby stock/bomber series rankings.
No. 1 hobby stock series rankings (since the series became known by that name in 2007)
Ranks 1st in average points finish (1.8) since 2007, when the series became known as hobby stocks
2nd in career total victories, trailing Eddie Dieker 91-85
1st in career total victories since series became known as hobby stocks in 2007
2nd in career feature victories to Dieker 39-30
1st in career feature victories since series became known as hobby stocks in 2007
1st in career heat victories, both all-time and since 2007
Has finished in the top five in points 8 straight years, tying Dieker’s series record
Has finished in top 10 in points 8 straight years, one shy of Dieker’s track record

Abe Huls has a track championship and runner-up points finish over the past two seasons.

Quincy Raceways fans will always be grateful to Abe Huls, one of only three drivers who has been with the stock car series full-time since its inception in 2008. The stock cars have struggled for bodies almost since day one, but Honest Abe could always be found in the pits on most Sunday nights.

And Huls did more than just show up, fashioning three solid seasons, but he was especially impressive the past two. The Carthage driver won the 2009 track championship (on the last week of the season) and then ran second to Terry Houston in 2010. Those accomplishments earned him the No. 2 spot in our countdown of most dominant drivers over the past campaigns.

Word is, however, Huls won’t be running at the Bullring full-time in 2011, and that’s a shame. That would mean both the 2010 champ and runner-up would be opting out of full-time commitments this year. Houston has already said he would not be running for points, although we’re counting on Dave Moore to change his mind about that. If both Huls and Houston follow through with their pledges that means Steve Steinkuhler, Jerry Jansen and Andrew Griffin — the next-highest points finishes — would be cast into the favorite’s role.

HULS BY THE GLANCE

2010: 2nd in points
2009: 1st in points
1st in career stock car track points
1st in career stock car driver rankings
Ranks 3rd in highest stock average (4.3) points finish in series’ three-year history
One of three drivers to finish in top 10 in points in each of the series’ first three seasons

2010:

Terry Houston won the 2010 stock car track championship. Will he -- or won't he -- defend his title?

There was no learning curve for Terry Houston when he entered the stock car class in 2009. He finished third in points that season and by the end of the year he was arguably the strongest car in the series, even though Abe Huls and Kevin Tomlinson finished one-two in points. Down the stretch that season, it was Houston who had emerged as the most consistent threat.

Houston never missed a beat once 2010 rolled around, driving to his first track championship. The Mount Sterling driver was one of the few beacons of light in a season that saw the stock cars struggle for numbers. The cars who there on a regular basis were front-of-the-pack rides, but there was rarely no more than eight of them.

The amount of entries in the stock car series, however, should not detract from Houston’s performance. When you run up front week after week, it doesn’t matter if there are eight cars or 18 – first place is first place.

Houston’s third place in 2009 and championship in 2010 earn him the No. 3 spot in our countdown of the top 10 drivers over that two-year period. What does Houston do for an encore in 2011? If he holds true to his word, he will not be running for points this summer, but there’s still time for him to change his mind. It would be great to see if No. 97 could be the first stock car driver to win back-to-back titles since the series was introduced in 2008.

HOUSTON AT A GLANCE

2010: 1st in points
2009: 3rd in points
7th in career stock track points, despite racing only two of three seasons since inception of series in 2008
No. 2 in stock career rankings
2nd in career stock car victories
2nd in career stock feature victories
2nd in career stock car heat victories
Ranks 1st in average points finish (2.0) in series history.
.

NASCAR just turned its world upside down — and all for the better, at least in my opinion. Here’s the scoop from The Associated Press:

NASCAR is replacing the complicated scoring system it has used since 1975 with a more straightforward format.

None of the changes for the 2011 season announced by chairman Brian France at the NASCAR Hall of Fame on Wednesday came as much of a surprise. NASCAR officials had been briefing teams for almost two weeks on the changes in an effort to give competitors feedback on the direction being taken.

A race winner will receive 43 points under the new system, and the points will decrease down to 1 for the 43rd-place driver. There will be three bonus points for the winner, one bonus point for every driver who leads a lap, and one bonus point to the driver that leads the most laps.

The maximum points available now will be 48.

“Now everyone will know, when a driver is down by 10 points, that he needs to pass 11 more cars to take the lead in the point standings,” France said. “We (had) a point system that’s hard to describe for ourselves. We just thought this was the perfect time … (to) simplify it so people can follow.”

“THE CHASE” ELIGIBILITY ALSO CHANGES

NASCAR also tweaked the eligibility requirements for the 12-driver Chase for the Sprint Cup championship field.

The top 10 in points after the 26th race of the season will make the Chase field, while the final two spots will be “wild cards” designated for the highest race winners not already eligible. The wild cards will only go to drivers ranked inside the top-20 in points.

If no driver outside the top 10 has any victories, the spots will go to the drivers ranked 11th and 12th in the standings.

Adding the wild card was designed to reward winning, which two-time champion Tony Stewart, the only driver in attendance at the announcement, applauded.

“I think that’s a twist that really makes sense,” Stewart said.

But what didn’t make sense to many, teams and fans alike, was why NASCAR felt the points system was its biggest problem heading into the new season.

1. Bone
2. Lori and Lisa
3. Lonnie Bailey
4. Mark Burgtorf, Steve Fraise, Terry Gallaher, Lonnie Bailey.
5. Rob Toland.
6. Wyatt Lantz
7. Sam Burgtorf
8. Jeff Mueller and Chris Wibbell
9. Kenny Williams
10. Hank DeLonjay

Get ready for points racing in 2011 through the end of September — except for the late models, that is.

For those who were not at the track banquet Saturday night, track officials announced points racing for modifieds, stock cars, hobby stocks and wild thigns would run through Sept. 25. Late models will end Aug. 28, per IMCA rules. The late models will likely run a series of specials in September.

The extended points season is the longest since the inception of the IMCA era at the track  in 1998. Most years in that period have seen all points racing end on the final Sunday in August, which is traditionally the last night for IMCA late model points.

Let’s have a little fun tonight and test your Bullring knowledge. Here’s what prizes you can look forward to if you get:

7 to 10 correct: A guided tour of the track with Dave Sapp Jr. driving. Just hold on tight in turn one. 

4 to 6 correct: A movie date with track announcer “Pretty Doug” Mealy.

3 or fewer correct: Tech man Doug Miller will read poetry to you before the first race of the season.

Gentlemen and gentlewomen, let’s go racin ….

1. Modified driver Tony Dunker is known by what nickname?

A. The American Dream
B. Nexxus
C. Bone
D. Tater Tot

2. What are the real first names of “The Blonde Girls,” who frequently contribute to this blog?

A. LaVerne and Shirley
B. Lori and Lisa
C. Pansy and Rose
D. Brat and Wurst

3. What late model driver has finished runner-up in points four times in the last 10 years?

A. Lonnie Bailey
B. Denny Woodworth
C. Mark Burgtorf
D. Boone McLaughlin

4. Four late model drivers have won two or more track titles. Name them.

5. Not counting the victory Boone McLaughlin was awarded in April 2007 when Mark Burgtorf was disqualified, who was the last non-Quincy regular to win a Deery Brorthers race at the Bullring?

A. Jeff Aikey
B. Rob Toland
C. Terry Neal
D. Dave Sapp Jr.

6. Which driver won the last “B” modified track title at Quincy in 2005?

A. Marty Hull Sr.
B. Kelly Bartz
C. Tony Dunker
D. Wyatt Lantz

7. Who is the only driver besides Hank DeLonjay to win more than two modified track titles at Quincy?

A. Greg Uppinghouse
B. Gary Dreyer
C. Michael Long
D. Sam Burgtorf

8. What two drivers tied for the stock car track championship in 2008? The title was ultimately decided by number of features won.

9. Who won the first bomber (now hobby stock) track title in 1987?

A. Jerry Poor
B. Harold Ketchum
C. Jack Walbring
D. Kenny Williams

10. Who was the last driver before Michael Long to lead the modified series in feature victories? He had eight in 2006.

A. Hank DeLonjay
B. Steven DeLonjay
C. Wyatt Lantz
D. Vance Wilson

ANSWERS WILL BE POSTED WEDNESDAY.