You know the old saying about how the cream always rises to the top? A quick scan of the players still around for the final day of eliminations for the 54th annual Mac Tools U.S. Nationals certainly seems to confirm that as the remaining sportsman drivers include at least a dozen drivers who are former national champions or past U.S. Nationals winners.

 In Comp, 2007 Indy winner Jason Coan is still in the hunt as is David Rampy, who is both a national champion and an Indy winner. The rest of the survivors in the round of eight as all heavyweights including Brian Browell, Rick Brown, Al Ackerman, Joey Tanksley, John Frech, and Shane Gray, whose father, Johnny, cemented his spot in the Countdown to One in Pro Stock yesterday when Warren Johnson failed to qualify.

 As a side note, every driver who is left has faced a Competition Index Control adjustment although Brown, Gray and Rampy have barely been nicked while Coan has lost more than a tenth off the G/Econo Altered index and Tanksley and Ackerman are down by five-hundredths going into the quarter finals.

 There are also eight drivers remaining in Super Stock including Jimmy DeFrank, Larry Stewart Jr., and Frank Aragona, who are all former national champions. At least one champion will make it to the semifinals as Stewart is scheduled to face DeFrank later this afternoon when sportsman action resumes after the second round of the pros. Another Super Stock survivor is Jeff Niceswanger, who has appeared in numerous finals, but it still looking for his first NHRA national event victory.

 You want talent? Check out the eight drivers who are left in Stock Eliminator. Included among the Monday survivors are three former national champs, Michael Iacono, Jeff Taylor and Edmond Richardson. Taylor is already a three time Indy winner in Stock, Super Stock and Comp. Taylor’s Stock victory came in 1981, the same year that he and older brother, Charlie won respective championships in Super Stock and Stock.

 Speaking of Edmond Richardson, the sure-fire Hall of Famer has never won Indy and he has often stated that he’s going to return to O’Reilly Raceway Park until he does. Richardson is in an excellent position to achieve his goal as he’s also one of the five remaining drivers left in Super Comp. Richardson will be paired with another former Indy winner, Doug Doll Jr., in the quarterfinals while Division 1 ace Franklin DiBartolomeo will square off against Jim Perry, the Division 2 Jegs Allstars champ and a former E.T. finals winner. Greg Kamplain will receive the bye run into the semi’s.