Edwin Evers is not giving up his No. 1 ranking without a fight, though he may be fighting a losing battle.

For the briefest of moments last week, Andy Morgan took over the top spot. The 2010 Elite Series event on the California Delta dropped off, and with it, Evers’ 25th-place finish. That was enough to dip his average just below Morgan’s.

Then Evers went and replaced the event with a 14th at the St. Johns River over the weekend. So much for that. Evers now holds a 4-point lead over Morgan for the top spot. Plus, the 2010 Clear Lake event will drop off this week (Evers finished 23rd), so his average will only improve. That’s how good Evers has been over the last two years. A 23rd finish actually hurts his average.

Before we talk more about the St. Johns River event, we should probably touch more on the dropping of the California Delta event. Particularly, that it signals the start of Kevin VanDam’s surge toward the top.