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Speed51.com's Top 51 Short Track

Drivers of the Decade Past - Group Three

Who Defined Short Track Racing From 2000 Through 2009?

Story by MIke Twist / Research Assistance From Elgin "Stat Boy" Traylor

As the calendar turned from 2009 to 2010, it marked more than the change of a year. It also marked the change of a decade. While the period from 2000 through 2009 didn't have a flashy name like the Roaring Twenties or the Fabulous Fifties, it was still an important decade - especially for short track racing. During the 00's, there were heroes made and careers launched. It was an important one for us too as it marked when Speed51.com was born.

And as a ton of media outlets have put together “Best Of” lists for the 00's, and we're sure that VH-1 is already hard at work throwing together an hour-long show to talk about all of the pop culture of the decade, we went to work writing about what we know best - short track racing. After plenty of reminiscing, a ton of research and a little bit of debate, we gathered a list of our 51 Best Short Track Drivers of the Past Decade. The list is limited to asphalt short track drivers and excludes types of racing that we don't regularly cover at Speed51.com - such as Midget, Sprint Car and Supermodified Racing (although we do have to give a shout out to Chris Perley for his utter dominance in ISMA Supermodified competition).

Love them or hate them, agree or disagree, here is the list put together by the writers of this story. It's in alphabetical order because we couldn't possibly begin to rank this celebrated class of champions.

The 51 nominees are going to be divided into three batches of 17 drivers. Here is the third, and final, group:

Gary Lewis - Way out in the Pacific Northwest, Gary Lewis has been the man to beat on the short tracks in the past decade. He has scored three Montana 200 wins and three Idaho 200 victories. He also won the 2006 NASCAR NW title and four ASA Northwest championships.

Donny Lia - It was late in the decade before Donny Lia really came into his own, but his accomplishments in such a short period of time were sufficient to get him included in some fast company on this list.

When he took over the Mystic Missile Modified in 2007, Lia had already proven the he could win on the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour and in big shows like the North South Shootout and those that make up the World Series of Asphalt Stock Car Racing at New Smyrna Speedway (FL). But in 2007, he showed that he had the right stuff to become a Modified champion - winning the Tour crown. In 2008, he went off to the NASCAR Truck Series and won a race there, but the next year he was back to the Modifieds and back at the champion's table again.

Joey Logano - Before he won in the NASCAR Nationwide Series and in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, Joey Logano honed his skills on the short tracks of America. He started turning heads as a young teen on the old ASA National Tour, but really hit his stride once he buckled into the heavier cars of short track racing.

Logano won within his first month of competition in the USAR Pro Cup Series. At the time, this was a mind-boggling accomplishment. But Logano flattened his learning curve even more just a few years later when he managed to win races in his first ever starts in the NASCAR Camping World East Series, NASCAR Camping World West Series and the ARCA RE/MAX Series.

In only one full season of East Series competition, Logano would win five points races and the title. He also won the 2007 NASCAR All-Star Showdown at Irwindale.

Matt McCall - It's hard to win in UARA-Stars competition, but lately nobody has done that better than Matt McCall. In 2005, he won the series title. Four years later, he used two different cars from two different teams to win a second title.

Junior Miller - When the NASCAR Southern Modified Tour was formed, it was Junior Miller who immediately took the keys to the series and ran. He won the first Tour championship in 2005 and then the second one in 2006. He's won the most races ever in the young series, 10, even though he hasn't raced regularly on the Tour in three years. Now, he's racing in the rough and tumble world of Bowman Gray Modifieds - for which he is one of the featured drivers on the History Channel program, Madhouse.

Phillip Morris - Hundreds of NASCAR weekly racing series competitors dream of winning the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series championship every season. In 2006, 2008 and 2009, none of them could top Virginia Late Model Stock Car racer Phillip Morris - who was the national champion three-times in the past decade.

Morris isn't just a Johnny-Come-Lately when it comes to racing success. He started off the decade by winning the 2000 Bailey's 300 at Martinsville Speedway.

Mike Olsen - In addition to being one of the nicest guys in Northeastern short track racing, Mike Olsen was also one of the most accomplished drivers what is now going to known as the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East Series. Olsen won the tour title in 2001 and 2006 - bookending the four-time title dynasty of Andy Santerre.

Jim Pettit, III - When it comes to winning out West, Jim Pettit, III is a master at visiting victory lane. He's also pretty good at taking down championships as well. Pettit is the 2008 SRL Series champion. That is a series where he has raced in for the past three years and won races in each of those seasons.

Before touring with the SRL, Pettit competed on the now defunct NASCAR Southwest Tour, where he was the 2004 and 2005 champion.

Bubba Pollard - This Georgia boy came on so strong late in the decade, that he muscled in way onto the win. Twelve big victories in 2008, five in 2008, three in 2007 and four in 2006 turned some heads in the deep south in the Viper Series, Blizzard Series, Mobile's Miller Lite Super Late Model Series and in brief running of the CRA South Series. Bubba has won races in all of those places.

Clay Rogers - You might know Clay Rogers from winning what might be the biggest short track race of them all, the Snowball Derby, in 2006. You might know Rogers from his brief, but very impressive run in the NASCAR Truck Series, but it's most likely that you know Rogers from his adventures in Pro Cup Racing.

That is where Rogers has won 23 races - all between 2000 and 2009. He also won the series title in 2004, 2006 and 2009.

Ben Rowe - There isn't much that Ben Rowe hasn't done in fendered racecars in the Northeast over the past decade.

Rowe started out the decade as the 2000 NEPSA champion. He ended it as the 2009 PASS South champion.

In between, there have been four PASS North titles with plenty of victories in PASS Super Late Models and ACT Late Models too.

Rowe has won the TD Banknorth 250 in 2003 and 2004. He won the 2002 and 2003 Atlantic CAT 250. He won the PASS 300 and the Easter Bunny 150 too. He's even won the Mason-Dixon Meltdown!

Mike Rowe - It's amazing that Mike Rowe doesn't have a championship in PASS North racing yet as he has been one of the drivers who has defined the series in its first decade of existence. Rowe does have a boatload of victories on the tour though - 15 at last count.

The elder Rowe also won the first-ever PASS South championship - back in 2006.

When it comes to winning big races, Rowe has that down pat. In the past decade, he won the TD Banknorth Oxford 250, the Atlantic CAT 250 and the PASS 300.

Rowe ended the decade by winning his first career track championship at Beech Ridge Motor Speedway (ME) and taking the checkered flag in the 2009 PASS 300 at Beech Ridge.

Tim Russell - Over the second half of the 00's, Tim Russell became one of the most prolific winners in the tough Super Late Model ranks of Florida. He amassed two Sunbelt Championships, two Triple Crown titles, won the Clyde Hart Memorial twice, won during Smyrna Speedweeks and won the Florida Governor's Cup.

Tim Schendel - In the ultra-competitive world of Midwestern Late Model racing, Tim Schendel has been one of those guys of the 00's who you had to beat every time, everywhere.

In 2003 and 2006, Schendel won Oktoberfest at LaCrosse. On the old NASCAR Midwest Tour, he was the 200 Rookie of the Year and the 2006 champion - winning five races along the way. He also won 2006 NASCAR All-Star Showdown Elite Series race at Irwindale.

Andy Santerre - From 2002 through 2005, nobody but Andy Santerre won a championship in what is now known as the NASCAR Camping World East Series. Truth be told, nobody was really that close either. Santerre retired from driving while he was on top too, walking away from a full-time ride to become a winning team owner in the series after the 2005 champion's banquet.

Gary St. Amant - The decade that was started off for Gary St. Amant with a victory in the 2000 Snowball Derby and the 2000 Winchester 400. He scored another Winchester 400 victory in 2002.

St. Amant was also one of the most consistent winners in the final years of the ASA National Tour, where he was the 2000 tour champion, before switching over to the USAR Pro Cup Series, where he won races in 2004 and 2007. Additionally, he won the 2007 Pro Cup Northern Series championship.

Mike Stefanik - Although the 1990's is though to have been the golden decade of Mike Stefanik's career, he did the unthinkable and won both the NASCAR Modified Tour and Busch North championships consecutively in 1997 and 1998, the 00's weren't a bad decade for him either.

From 2001 through 2003, Stefanik won three straight NASCAR Modified Tour titles. That wasn't enough either. He came back to win yet another won in 2006. There were plenty of feature victories on the Tour during that timeframe as well.

In non-Modified activities, Stefanik finished as the runner-up to Andy Santerre in the race for the 2005 Busch North title and also won in indoor midget racing.