Short Track Weekly: A Summer Shuffle of Frontstretch’s 2024 CARS Tour Power Rankings

Take a breath.

After a spring filled with memorable races, the first half of the 2024 CARS Tour wrapped up last weekend. With its conclusion comes a well-earned break. The tour won’t see the track again until its July 3 trip to Caraway Speedway.

After the season’s first quarter, we issued our first power rankings for the series, with Carson Kvapil was sitting on top. Four races later, much has changed. A new driver has hit a hot streak and surged atop the rankings, with the top-five shuffled behind him.

Reminder, these are based on full-time/mostly full-time drivers with results only based on this series, not outside endeavors, though they can help. Now then, let’s take a look at the power rankings entering the summer break.

1. Brenden ‘Butterbean’ Queen

Previous Ranking: Eighth

Queen has set the series on fire for three of the last four races.

The fan-favorite kicked it off with a second-place finish at Ace Speedway then won two of the next three races. In doing so, Queen has moved up to second in the points standings and continued the tradition of visiting Waffle House after wins with increasing frequency. Away from the CARS Tour, Queen also elevated his stock with an impressive NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series debut at North Wilkesboro Speedway.

Bad news for the rest of the field – things could get even worse from here. Queen won in 2023 at two of the next four tracks on the schedule and finished second at another, Ace Speedway in that group. If he can repeat that success, Queen’s poised to maintain his hold on these rankings and challenge for a CARS Tour title.

2. Carson Kvapil

Previous Ranking: First

While he sits deeper in the standings in sixth, the results don’t indicate the speed Kvapil has shown through this four-race stretch. After missing the Hickory Speedway race, Kvapil’s scored a win at Ace Speedway, finished third at Langley Speedway and came home seventh at Dominion Raceway. His biggest blemish is a 22nd-place finish at Tri-County Speedway.

Kvapil’s overall consistency and solid results are enough to keep him high on the list, albeit one spot short the top. A repeat of his 2023 success at Ace could help Kvapil get back into the title hunt and lead these rankings.

3. Connor Hall

Previous Ranking: Second

This one’s tricky. Hall has a win, something that held him back in the first rankings. But he’s fallen a position because of the strength of the field around him

Hall is still as good as any on his best days, but he’s struggled at times. His recent runs have been a mixed back, with a win and runner-up finish offset by results of 12th and 19th.

That said, Hall is still in the championship lead. That and his recent win keeps him near the top of the rankings.

4. Ryan Millington

Previous Ranking: Seventh

In the last four races, Millington has had a worse finish of 17th. That’s the bad news.

But take away that one blemish and Millington has been a quiet threat to win and run well weekly. He finished third at Ace after starting on the pole, and finished a solid sixth in the final two races before the break.

Millington sits seventh in the points standings, but building momentum is key. If he can keep on his current trajectory, the next portion of the season could see Millington emerge as a dark horse contender for the championship.

5. Brent Crews

Previous Ranking: Fourth

Sliding one spot down from his fourth place in the first release is Crews. He sits a comfortable third in the championship standings, but hasn’t been able to make his way back to the victory lane after the Orange County Speedway triumph early in the year.

That said, he’s been close. Crews finished second at Langley Speedway. Statistically he isn’t far removed from the drivers below, but Crews gets the edge based on his consistency in the standings.

The Best Of The Rest:

6. Treyten Lapcevich (Previously Third): Points-Fourth, Best Finish in This Quarter-Third, Worst Finish: 18th

7. Chad McCumbee (Previously Unranked): Points-Ninth, Best Finish in This Quarter-Fifth, Worst Finish: 25th

8. Mini Tyrrell (Previously Ranked 6th): Points-Fifth, Best Finish in This Quarter-Fifth, Worst Finish: 13th

9. Andrew Grady (Previously Unranked): Points-10th, Best Finish in This Quarter-Fourth, Worst Finish: 19th

10. Bobby McCarty (Previously Ranked 5th): Points-Eighth, Best Finish in This Quarter-Fourth, Worst Finish: 25th

Up Next: The CARS Tour venture to Caraway Speedway on July 3. Coverage will be available via FloRacing.