The topic of an MVP or a Most Outstanding Driver for the year has come up in conversation a number of time with different people involved with the league.  And with it always comes a debate.

The situation tends to unfold in a similar manner.  Someone will ask me who I think the MVP is.  I’ll say, “Steve Gursky Jr.”  My partner in conversation will scrunch up his nose at this response and drawl, “Welllllllll, yeahhhhhhh.  Buttttttttt…”  And then another name will come flying out.  Like Ryan Decker or Ryan Bleuer or Pete Ryan or Gerritt “Big Kahuna” Vanderbilt.*

* The suggestions offered on the TDA facebook page are what I will charitably call slightly more out of leftfield than these.

I am shocked and flabbergasted at the number of times these conversations have taken place.  Frankly, I’m shocked and flabbergasted that one ever took place at all.  To me, Gursky Jr. isn’t simply the MVP or Most Outstanding Driver, he is the only viable candidate.

He was the best driver on the league’s best team.  He collected more checkered flags this year than any of the second place teams; he also collected more checkered flags than Stranglehold, Bad Company, Seek-N-Destroy and Damage, Inc… combined!  In 2011, Gursky Jr. had more victories himself than Bad Company had total races.  He was taken out one time on the year (courtesy of Bad Company’s Jason Ritacco) and never had any mechanical issues with his cars.  Gursky Jr. practically won the Third Night finals race against Stranglehold himself and ran as clean, as enthusiastic and beautifully driven a season as one could imagine.  There’s a reason that when you look at the celebration photo for Reckoning’s Fifth Night victory, it’s Gursky Jr. who is holding onto the championship trophy.

Several people have heard this and countered that simply being on a good team doesn’t automatically make a driver ‘outstanding’ or ‘valuable’.  However, I beg to differ.  If the TDA were a sport where every team raced the same number of races, that might be true.  (Emphasis on ‘might’).  But that isn’t true with the round-robin nature of the TDA’s schedule.

Winning propels a driver’s team forward to race again, and then again, uh, again.  The very reason that Reckoning participated in 14 races this season (and Damage, Inc only six) is because Reckoning won.  A lot.  Yes, Gursky Jr.’s three teammates (Brian Anderson, Chris McGuire and “Speedy” Steve Vollbrecht) certainly played a major role in the team’s continued success, but none did so to the degree that Gursky Jr. did.

Winning brings with it championships, more on-track experience and greater paydays.  What could possibly trump that?

Whether you look at team wins, individual wins or any other statistic associated with the league, it’s hard to find a standing where Gursky Jr. isn’t well ahead of the crowd.