CONCORD, N.C. — The National 410 Sprint Car Rankings have been calculated since 2009, ranking sprint car drivers across the country based on their on-track success.

SPEED SPORT will begin publishing these rankings on a weekly basis. Click here for this week’s rankings.

But first, a little history on why the rankings were developed and how they are tabulated.

The concept was developed during a stakeholders meeting at Iowa’s Knoxville Raceway in 2008. After considerable discussion and fine-tuning, the group put the regional and national ranking system into place for the 2009 season.

Money and trophies are not on the line, but the rankings system provides a way to measure drivers in different regions against one another.

Regional Rankings are broken up into seven regions: Eastern (Includes tracks from Maine to Florida), Great Lakes (Michigan, Indiana, Western Ohio, Kentucky and Tennessee), Great Plains (North and South Dakota, Wisconsin, Minnesota and Iowa), Mid America (Illinois, Missouri, Arkansas, Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma, Louisiana, Alabama, Mississippi), Ohio-Pennsylvania (Eastern Ohio, Western Pennsylvania and West Virginia), The Northwest ( Washington, Alaska, Oregon, Montana, Idaho, Wyoming, Hawaii), and the Western region (Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, Colorado, Utah, Nevada, California).

A driver earns points on all races within each region — whether it’s a World of Outlaws race, another national touring series event, or weekly racing at a local dirt track. Drivers receive 60 points for a win, 56 points for second, and so on, decreasing by two points through the field. Champions in the geographical regions are ranked according to these points standings.

The National Rankings are based on drivers’ best 50 finishes. Drivers must have a minimum of 20 starts to qualify. And drivers who have over 50 starts can toss out a maximum of 15 starts. The driver with the lowest average finish at the end of the season is your National King of 410 Sprint Car Racing.

Of the eight years that the program has been around, eight-time and reigning World of Outlaws Craftsman Sprint Car Champion Donny Schatz has taken home the Top-Ranked National King of 410 Sprint Car Racing title four times.