"WIZARD" Computer Driver Rankings Announced

(January 28, 2014) John Blankenship announced today his intent to provide a computerized ranking of super late model drivers in 2014. As a prelude to that, you can view the “WIZARD’S” magical rankings for the Winter Extreme and the Battle on the Border below. Drivers that participated in four or more of these races are included. The Arizona/Texas rankings are shown here to provide fans with an idea of how the computer judged individual driver performances out west, and to show how the 2014 rankings will appear. These western races will not be considered in the 2014 Wizard rankings because there was not an adequate number of highly rated drivers participating.

We will also be posting an abbreviated 2013 ranking based on the best information we have available within the next week.

The “WIZARD’S” rankings will be available on this site at the end of each month during the 2014 season. The rankings will reflect the results of races between February 1st and November 30th. In other words, January and December races will not be included in the 2014 rankings.

The “WIZARD’S” formulas for determining driver rankings for a full season are too complex to fully explain here. However, the computer considers the strength of an individual driver’s schedule, it qualifies and disqualifies races, it categorizes each qualified race as to difficulty, it penalizes drivers that fail to participate in highly competitive races, it considers each events car count, and it awards points to a driver even if he does not qualify for the feature race if the driver attempted to do so. Also, if a driver misses races as a result of an injury he/she is not penalized by the “WIZARD.”

A driver will be shown in the rankings only if he/she participates in 40 or more qualified races per season. Fans are encouraged to keep in mind that these rankings, as opposed to a poll, will not be based on recent driver success or future expectations, but rather on performance results year to date. In the future, the “WIZARD” may also produce monthly rankings.

John hopes you enjoy the “WIZARDS” rankings and that they create additional fan interest in Super Late Model Dirt racing. We are certain that at a minimum they will cause lots of blog debating. Please feel free to have at it including criticizing the “WIZARD” himself - after all he’s not human and you can’t hurt his feelings.

View the Arizona/Texas rankings at www.johnblankenship23.com/wizard.html