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| eKartingNews.com Driver Rankings - v09.24.08 |
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EKN is happy to release the September edition of the eKartingNews.com Driver Rankings for the Intercontinental C (ICC) and Touch and Go (TaG) divisions. With a full month of events during the past month of August, the EKN staff was busy on the road for most of the 31 days and was unable to keep up with all the karting events throughout the country. Exactly two months after the last edition, EKN is back with the latest release of the driver rankings.
Over the past two months, a number of races from 2007 fell off the rankings calculations and others were added in. After hitting the equal button on the formula, Alex Speed found himself on the top of the ICC rankings for the first time since April 2006 while Victor Cabrera continues to hold on to the number one spot in the TaG rankings.
ICC Driver Rankings Top-10
| Pos | July.24 | Plus/Minus | Driver | Races | Score| 1. | 6 | 5 | Alex Speed | 17 | 7641 | | 2. | 1 | -1 | Gary Carlton | 15 | 7622 | | 3. | 2 | -1 | Michael Vincec | 17 | 7582 | | 4. | 4 | NC | Fritz Leesmann | 18 | 7425 | | 5. | 3 | -2 | David Jurca | 9 | 7363 | | 6. | 5 | -1 | Jordy Vorrath | 19 | 7302 | | 7. | 7 | NC | Ryan Yop | 13 | 7290 | | 8. | 11 | 3 | Clayton Snow | 10 | 7236 | | 9. | 9 | NC | Cody Jolly | 19 | 7156 | | 10. | 13 | 3 | Josh Schreiber | 16 | 7033 | |
For the full ICC Driver Rankings, Click Here
 | NEW ICC number one Alex Speed
(Photo: EKN) |
ICC Rankings Report
Since April 2006, only three drivers have held the top position in the ICC Driver Rankings - Wesley Boswell, David Jurca, and Gary Carlton. Boswell and Jurca had brief stints at number one until Carlton made himself at home beginning in December 2006. Since then, only a few drivers have been able to challenge but still came up short, until now.
Two-time Stars of Karting ICC National Champion Alex Speed has returned to the number one position on the ICC Driver Rankings. The newly crowned Superkarts! USA King of the Streets champion used that performance and strong runs at the end of 2006 to put himself on top. One unique fact regarding Speed’s results is that he ran three different chassis brands over the past 12 months to score his leading total. He ran Birel at the Stars National Finals in October 2007, began Trackmagic’s new era at the Stars of Karting Utah and Race of the Americas events, and ran the Rock Island Grand Prix aboard an Energy. The now Tony Kart pilot returns to the green machine for his fourth chassis in the past year with his last race on a TK chassis at the end of 2003.
Demoted back to second, one event clearly stands out as the reasoning Gary Carlton’s one year-nine month streak at number one came to an end - Stars of Karting Race of the Americas in May. Carlton was well on his way to another dominate weekend after sweeping the heat races leading up to the finals. Unfortunately we all found that he and his CRG/Maxtor machine was not bullet proof with DNFs in both races. With the event a 10-base ranking in the EKN Driver Rankings, numerous rankings points and national championship points were lost. In two weeks however, the PCH Motorsports/SSC East pilot will go for something that Speed does not have on his CV, a third straight Stars national championship.
Carlton will be chasing the top driver in 2008, Michael Vincec. The Canadian driver for Cameron Motorsports and CRG has been up front all year, earning the Stars of Karting East and West Divisional Championships with a string of podium finishes. Both he and Carlton spent half the season racing in Europe as well, both gaining valuable experience and proving their skills against the best in the world.
Sitting fourth in the rankings is Californian Fritz Leesmann. The first half of the season saw a Florida Winter Tour championship and a contender for the national crown. However a tough beginning to the second half of the year has seen Leesmann absent from the podium with the exception of the Canadian National Championships victory while racing with his Canadian squad PSL Karting north of the border. Falling to fifth was Washington’s David Jurca. Doing both car and karting this season, the Italian Motors driver has been busy but continues to challenge at the front of the karting grid but was disappointed in his performance in front of his home crowd at the Stars Seattle Grand Prix, just minutes from his home. Both he and Leesmann will continue to among the favorites to close out the year at the Stars National Finals and SKUSA SuperNationals in Las Vegas.
Dropping out of the top five is Jordy Vorrath, the Stars Western Division runner-up. Though he lost the tie-breaker with Vincec for the official crown, Vorrath and his Champion Racing/Intrepid machine are still in the national championship hunt to become the first driver to win both the ICC and ICA crowns. G-Phactory/Sodi Racing USA’s Ryan Yop remains in seventh, with Syar Motorsport’s Clayton Snow moving up to eighth after a podium run at the Stars Seattle GP ahead of Vorrath’s teammate Cody Jolly and Pennsylvania’s Josh Schreiber of PSL Karting.
NEW ICC #1 - Alex Speed
Manteca, California
Point Breakdown
| Race | Rank | Finish | Points| Stars National Finals 2007 #1 | 10 | 1 | 1156 | | Stars National Finals 2007 #2 | 10 | 3 | 1145 | | Stars of Karting ’08 - West #1 - Utah | 9 | 4 | 999 | | Stars Race of the Americas 2008 #1 | 10 | 3 | 1148 | | Stars Race of the Americas 2008 #2 | 10 | 2 | 1159 | | RIGP King of the Streets 2008 | 10 | 1 | 1071 | | RIGP ICC World Champs. 2008 | 10 | 2 | 963 | |
Inside the Stats
Average Finish: 2.14
Average Points: 1091.6
Total Points: 7641
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 | Ron White
(Photo: EKN) |
‘On the Move’
ICC #16 - Ron White
Santa Clara, CA
The past few ‘On the Move’ drivers have seen rookies or up and comers in the ICC division. This month, our focus driver is a veteran that many take note of on the pit fence. 2002 EKN Driver of the Year Ron White has return to his karting roots after two years racing in the Star Mazda Championship. Returning with KLS Racing aboard a GP Kart, White is steadily getting adjusted to the karting scene again. White is a character you don’t see to much anymore in the karting community - a driver willing to do what is needed for that extra tenth of a second, competing for every position on the track no matter if it’s for second or 12th, and always one to bring some excitement. Like those mentioned above, White will be a driver to watch in the closing events of the season, especially the SuperNats where he will return to the site of his victory in 2002, the RIO.
Point Breakdown
| Race | Rank | Finish | Points| SKUSA SuperNationals 2007 | 10 | 5 | 1104 | | Stars of Karting ’08 - West #1 - Utah | 9 | 14 | 896 | | Stars of Karting ’08 - West #2 - Utah | 9 | 8 | 958 | | Stars Race of the Americas 2008 | 10 | 28 | 855 | | Stars Race of the Americas 2008 | 10 | 9 | 1071 | | Stars of Karting ’08 - West #5 - Seattle | 9 | 6 | 976 | | Stars of Karting ’08 - West #6 - Seattle | 9 | 12 | 914 | |
Inside the Stats
Average Finish: 11.71
Average Points: 968.6
Total Points: 6780
TaG Driver Rankings Top-10
| Pos | July.24 | Plus/Minus | Driver | Races | Score| 1. | 1 | NC | Victor Cabrera Jr. | 13 | 7490 | | 2. | 2 | NC | Joey Wimsett | 16 | 7482 | | 3. | 3 | NC | Chris Scribner | 13 | 7424 | | 4. | 4 | NC | Jason Toft | 14 | 7325 | | 5. | 5 | NC | Kyle Wiegand | 8 | 7259 | | 6. | 7 | 1 | Chris Wehrheim | 17 | 7235 | | 7. | 10 | 3 | Caleb Loniewski | 12 | 7163 | | 8. | 6 | -2 | Andy Lee | 9 | 7154 | | 9. | 9 | NC | Chris Larson | 18 | 7097 | | 10. | 11 | 1 | Sean Meier | 13 | 7035 | |
For the full TaG Driver Rankings, Click Here
 | TaG number one Victor Cabrera
(Photo: On Track Promotions - otp.ca) |
TaG Rankings Report
Despite many events throughout the event, the order a top the TaG Driver Rankings remains nearly unchanged. Victor Cabrera Jr. moved to the number one position in July and remains there by only a mere eight points over Joey Wimsett. Though Cabrera and his J3 Competition/Kosmic entry will have 40 points over Wimsett and his Champion Racing/Intrepid entry heading into the Stars of Karting National Finals, one position could mean a change in at the top of the rankings.
One driver who put on show at the Stars Seattle Grand Prix is the reigning Western Division Champion Chris Scribner. A three-wide pass on the final lap of the final race will be etched into the memory of those who stood along the fence that day. The Team Top Kart USA pilot sits third in both the rankings and the Stars standings heading into the National Finals. GP Kart driver Jason Toft sits fourth in the rankings, just getting edged out of the ProKart Challenge North TaG Senior championship this month by guess who…Alex Speed. Toft will look to earn his first Stars victory in Vegas in two weeks. Completing the top five is Team Top Kart USA’s Kyle Wiegand. A busy work schedule put Wiegand on a limited racing schedule but when his on track, he’s been fast.
Sixth in the rankings, moving up one spot is Wiegand’s teammate, Chris Wehrheim. A rough Race of the Americas put the Stars Ocala double winner out of contention for the national championship however a good finish on the year could put him into the top-five in the rankings. Caleb Loniewski is up three spots to seventh thanks to a victory at the WKA Manufacturer’s Cup Series finale at New Castle. Loniewski, the lead J3 Competition mechanic by day, racer by night as worked with Cabrera all year which goes to show he knows both sides of this karting deal. Andy Lee, the defending Florida Winter Tour champion sits eighth not having raced since March, thus should fall out of the top-ten next month. FirstKart.com’s Chris Larson, the WKA Manufacturer’s Cup Series TaG champion, remains ninth and Floridian Sean Meier moving up to tenth for his highest position in the rankings.
TaG #1 - Victor Cabrera Jr.
San Juan, Puerto Rico
Point Breakdown
| Race | Rank | Finish | Points| SKUSA SuperNationals 2007 | 10 | 3 | 1105 | | Florida Winter Tour ’08 - Moroso #1 | 8 | 1 | 1016 | | Florida Winter Tour ’08 - Moroso #2 | 8 | 1 | 1016 | | Stars Race of the Americas 2008 #1 | 10 | 4 | 1120 | | Stars Race of the Americas 2008 #2 | 10 | 1 | 1155 | | Stars of Karting ’08 - East #5 - Shawano | 9 | 1 | 1039 | | Stars of Karting ’08 - East #6 - Shawano | 9 | 1 | 1039 | |
Inside the Stats
Average Finish: 1.71
Average Points: 1070
Total Points: 7490
**************
 | Travis Firing
(Photo: Go Racing Magazine) |
‘On the Move’
TaG #13 - Travis Firing
Whitehall, Pennsylvania
It has been an exciting year for this month’s TaG ‘On the Move’. Travis Firing, a former WKA Triple Crown Gold Cup driver, was brought on board to Margay’s WKA Manufacturer’s Cup Series roster and won in his first weekend, continuing to run up front since. Firing has recorded two wins, two runner-up finishes on the WKA schedule and also took home the Ironman 150 victory at the New Castle Motorsports Park in June on the last lap (a non-rankings point event). Firing will look for his second endurance victory this weekend at the Mazda RoboPong 200 presented by Bridgestone.
Point Breakdown
| Race | Rank | Finish | Points| WKA Man. Cup ’08 - Lowe’s #1 | 9 | 1 | 1020 | | WKA Man. Cup ’08 - Lowe’s #2 | 9 | 5 | 979 | | WKA Man. Cup ’08 - Dousman #1 | 9 | 2 | 1013 | | WKA Man. Cup ’08 - Dousman #2 | 9 | 1 | 1023 | | WKA Man. Cup ’08 - Norway #1 | 9 | 2 | 1020 | | WKA Man. Cup ’08 - New Castle #1 | 9 | 18 | 858 | | Rock Island GP 2008 - TaG SuperPro | 10 | 5 | 1048 | |
Inside the Stats
Average Finish: 4.86
Average Points: 994.4
Total Points: 6961
EKN Driver Rankings Calculation Process
The EKN Driver Rankings are calculated using a driver’s best finishes in major North American races. Assembled using events from the previous 12 months from the current date, we use a driver’s top seven finishes in ICC and TaG to determine their overall current point total. With each new release, results posted from more than one year ago are discarded. To deliver this current ranking list, we tabulated the results of all the Snap-on Stars of Karting national events, as well as other regional programs. We have also included the results for the major one-off events such as the Rock Island Grand Prix, SKUSA King of the Streets, the SKUSA SuperNationals, and the KartSport Grand Prix.
Each race was initially weighted based on the prestige and history of the event or series with a score of ten (10) being the highest attainable base ranking. For 2008, the Stars of Karting Race of the Americas and National Finals, the SKUSA SuperNationals and the Rock Island Grand Prix are the only events to receive a score of 10 in their initial weighting. The Stars of Karting national series events draw a base ranking of nine (9), while the WKA Manufacturer’s Cup, Florida Winter Tour, and other regional program races were given a base ranking of eight (8). The EKN staff reserves the right to adjust the rankings of each event throughout the year.
Added to these initial rankings are two variables that help confirm the true importance of an event to the ranking process – field size and field strength. A percentage of one weighting point is added for the size of the field, while the number of existing top 50 drivers entered offers another full point or fraction of a point. The sum of these numbers becomes the overall ranking for any race. Following a race, drivers receive points based on their finishing positions with 100 points earned for a win. Each subsequent position drops by one point with 99 points given to the second place driver and so on throughout the field. These points are then multiplied by the overall ranking to produce a driver’s final point total from each event. Using a driver’s best seven races, we calculate each driver’s overall score and subsequent ranking. |
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