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| eKartingNews.com Driver Rankings - August 21, 2009 |
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While championships are certainly on the mind of many karters across the country, the staff at eKartingNews.com remains focused on the data compiled by the most recent release of the EKN Driver Rankings. Taking a look at the last 12 months of racing, the numbers are close to what we see on the race track each weekend. Getting into the final four months of the season, the rankings should see some tremendous change with a number of big, highly ranked events on tap - such regional season finales, the Rock Island Grand Prix, the CKI Grand Championship, and, of course, the SKUSA SuperNationals XIII.
The top rung of each of the three rankings have remained unchanged. Two-time national champion Gary Carlton holds onto the top spot in ICC with little change in the top-10. Same goes for TaG and Chris Wehrheim with nearly the same top-10 returning this month. Stock Moto, however, continues to shuffle around in its first year as part of the EKN Driver Rankings - although Jacob Neal still has a stranglehold on the #1 position in the rankings.
ICC
ICC Driver Rankings Top-10
| Pos | July. 17 | Plus/Minus | Driver | Races | Score| 1. | 1 | NC | Gary Carlton | 13 | 7444 | | 2. | 2 | NC | Alex Speed | 15 | 7339 | | 3. | 3 | NC | Ron White | 7 | 6994 | | 4. | 4 | NC | Fritz Leesmann | 12 | 6972 | | 5. | 5 | NC | Cody Jolly | 7 | 6810 | | 6. | 6 | NC | Jacob Neal | 16 | 6782 | | 7. | 7 | NC | Gregory Liefooghe | 8 | 6469 | | 8. | 9 | 1 | Cody Hodgson | 14 | 6330 | | 9. | 8 | -1 | Michael Vincec | 6 | 6312 | | 10. | 11 | 1 | Alex Conlin | 12 | 6271 | |
For the full ICC Driver Rankings, Click Here
 | Gary Carlton
(Photo: On Track Promotions - otp.ca) |
ICC Rankings Report
The numbers for the top category in North America are certainly not as high as we’ve seen in recent years however the talent pool is no doubt still there. The nearly unstoppable Gary Carlton (SSC East/PCH Motorsports/CRG) extended his Driver Rankings lead over Alex Speed (Wunder-Bar Racing/Tony Kart) by three points (102 to 105) following the recent CKI Grand Prix of California. Carlton gained 33 markers with his victory while Speed only 30 with a third place run. Despite not racing since April, Ron White continues to remain in the third position with solid results at the end of the 2008 season. Fritz Leesmann (PSL Karting) holds onto fourth with Cody Jolly - who contested the IAME Senior division at CalSpeed a few weeks ago - sitting fifth.
Jacob Neal (PCH Motorsports/CRG) and Gregory Liefooghe (Leading Edge Motorsports/Intrepid) gained more points with their second and fourth place performances in California however remain in the same positions as last month. Defending PKC North S1 champion Cody Hodgson (Tony Kart USA) gained one position with his third win this season, outrunning Neal last week in Sonoma, California. Reigning Stars of Karting national champion Michael Vincec (Pserra/Birel) has also made the switch to TaG competition and has stayed in Canada competing this season when not contesting the Skip Barber National program.
Making up most of the top-50 now in the ICC category is the bulk of the sport, the regional racers - the guys who race on Sunday, work (or school) on Monday. Leading that charge and making his first trip to the EKN Driver Rankings top-10 is Alex Conlin. The Birel privateer contested the inaugural CKI event at New Castle with a never quit attitude despite not have the support that the top drivers receive. Conlin has been a regular front runner in the Great Lakes Pro Series and should clinch the season championship later this month.
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ICC #1 - Gary Carlton
Marysville, California
Point Breakdown
| Race | Rank | Finish | Points| Stars of Karting ’08 - East #5 - Seattle | 9 | 1 | 1027 | | Stars of Karting ’08 - East #6 - Seattle | 9 | 1 | 1027 | | Stars National Finals 2008 #1 | 10 | 1 | 1130 | | Stars National Finals 2008 #2 | 10 | 1 | 1130 | | SKUSA SuperNationals 2008 | 10 | 3 | 1109 | | CKI GP of New Castle 2009 | 9 | 1 | 1008 | | CKI GP of California 2009 | 9 | 1 | 1018 | |
Inside the Stats
Average Finish: 1.29
Average Points: 1063.4
Total Points: 7444
TaG
TaG Driver Rankings Top-10
| Pos | July. 17 | Plus/Minus | Driver | Races | Score| 1. | 1 | NC | Chris Wehrheim | 10 | 7394 | | 2. | 2 | NC | Kyle Wiegand | 10 | 7235 | | 3. | 3 | NC | Joey Wimsett | 13 | 7190 | | 4. | 4 | NC | Neil Alberico | 16 | 7164 | | 5. | 5 | NC | Marco DiLeo | 12 | 7060 | | 6. | 6 | NC | Will Martindale | 20 | 7054 | | 7. | 7 | NC | David Sera | 8 | 7042 | | 8. | 12 | 4 | Neil McCoy | 9 | 7036 | | 9. | 9 | NC | Pat Iannucci | 12 | 6990 | | 10. | 10 | NC | Wes Phillips | 15 | 6971 | |
For the full TaG Driver Rankings, Click Here
 | Chris Wehrheim
(Photo: On Track Promotions - otp.ca) |
TaG Rankings Report
Despite losing a few points from races dropped of the rankings from 2008, Chris Wehrheim (Team Top Kart USA) remains at the top of the TaG Driver Rankings. A victory at last month’s WKA Zoom Zoom Nationals at Road America replaced a second place finish at New Castle one year ago. While Wehrheim only lost 19 points, teammate and second place Kyle Wiegand is 101 markers down from last month due to the same weekend lost in the rankings. Both will be at the upcoming WKA Manufacturer’s Cup Series event next weekend in Indiana for a showdown and a possible change in the order.
Behind them, nothing changed with the exception of losing Caleb Loniewski, another victim of dropped races, as he fell to 71st in the order after sitting eighth last month. Joey Wimsett (Champion Racing/Intrepid), Neil Alberico (Kartel Motorsports/Top Kart) and WKA Manufacturer’s Cup Series TaG point leader Marco DiLeo (Goodwood Kartway/Intrepid) round out the top-five. Will Martindale (Wunder-Bar Racing/Tony Kart) and Australian David Sera (BTK Motorsports/Arrow) remain sixth and seventh.
Jumping into the top-10 this month is the Championship Karting International IAME Senior point leader Neil McCoy (Team PKS). Jumping up four spots, solid top-five finishes have put him as the driver to beat going into the series finale in October. Rounding out the top-10 are Pat Iannucci and Wes Phillips (Andersen Racing/Birel) who continue to ride high off their performances during the Florida Winter Tour and Gatorz Challenge of the Americas.
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TaG #1 - Chris Wehrheim
Norcross, Georgia
Point Breakdown
| Race | Rank | Finish | Points| Rock Island Grand Prix ’08 - TaG SuperPro | 10 | 3 | 1069 | | Stars National Finals 2008 #1 | 10 | 4 | 1125 | | Stars National Finals 2008 #2 | 10 | 6 | 1102 | | SKUSA SuperNationals 2008 | 10 | 8 | 1073 | | WKA Man. Cup Series ’09 - South Bend #1 | 9 | 2 | 1014 | | WKA Man. Cup Series ’09 - South Bend #2 | 9 | 3 | 1006 | | WKA Man. Cup Series ’09 - Road America #1 | 9 | 1 | 1005 | |
Inside the Stats
Average Finish: 3.85
Average Points: 1056.3
Total Points: 7394
Stock Moto
Stock Moto Driver Rankings Top-10
| Pos | July. 17 | Plus/Minus | Driver | Races | Score| 1. | 1 | NC | Jacob Neal | 11 | 6032 | | 2. | 2 | NC | Patrick Cushenberry | 10 | 5954 | | 2. | 3 | NC | Tommy Thompson | 12 | 5954 | | 4. | 26 | 22 | Jordon Musser | 7 | 5909 | | 5. | 4 | -1 | Bobby Legate | 8 | 5903 | | 6. | 5 | -1 | Clinton Schoombee | 10 | 5855 | | 7. | 27 | 20 | Chris Jennings | 7 | 5831 | | 8. | 28 | 20 | Daniel Bray | 6 | 5830 | | 9. | 11 | 2 | Steven Reasoner | 8 | 5822 | | 10. | 30 | 20 | Tyler Bennett | 7 | 5808 | |
For the full Stock Moto Driver Rankings, Click Here
 | Jacob Neal
(Photo: On Track Promotions - otp.ca) |
Stock Moto Rankings Report
One thing is certain for the Stock Moto rankings, the same top-10 won’t be seen for a long time with the number of new drivers making headway in the growing racing package. The intense fire that is Jacob Neal (CRG) during the first half of 2009 has dwindled down a bit, however the 18-year old continues to lead the Stock Moto rankings. Winless in his last two outings, his rankings were unaffected however it could be a wake-up call as the season draws to a close. A tie for second as Tommy Thompson (Energy) gained some points in the last month to match Patrick Cushenberry’s (Arrow) score.
Four new names entered or reentered the top-10 this month, led by Jordon Musser (Intrepid). The former muli-time Rotax national champion has remounted a Stock Moto ride in 2009 and gained solid results thus far to move up to fourth, jumping ahead of Bobby Legate (Arrow) who falls to fifth. Clinton Schoombee (CRG) dropped one position as well with the ProKart Challenge South program taking a short break before its season finale later this month.
Joining Musser into the top-10 is Texas friend Chris Jennings (Birel). The defending S4 SuperNationals champion has been running on Musser’s bumper all season and it reflects that in the rankings. Fresh off his first S3 victory in the ProKart Challenge program, New Zealander Daniel Bray (GP) also jumped 20 spots into the top-10. Bray has spent most of the season in the States and is scheduled to return to the SuperNationals as he has done the past two seasons. Steven Reasoner (GP), Bray’s teammate, moves up two spots to ninth with Utah’s Tyler Bennett (PTK) breaking into the top-10 as the Utah Kart Championships program entered the rankings program in June.
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Stock Moto #1 - Jacob Neal
Wildomar, California
Point Breakdown
| Race | Rank | Finish | Points| ProKart Challenge South ’09 #2 | 9 | 1 | 998 | | ProKart Challenge South ’09 #3 | 9 | 1 | 998 | | ProKart Challenge North ’09 #2 | 9 | 1 | 997 | | ProKart Challenge South ’09 #4 | 9 | 1 | 1003 | | ProKart Challenge Shootout 2009 | 9 | 1 | 1022 | | ProKart Challenge South ’09 #6 | 9 | 1 | 1014 | |
Inside the Stats
Average Finish: 1
Average Points: 1005.3
Total Points: 6032
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 best seven finishes in ICC, Stock Moto (S3), 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 and Championship Karting International (CKI) 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, and the SKUSA SuperNationals.
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 2009, 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 and CKI 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 nine (9) or 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 (six for Stock Moto), we calculate each driver’s overall score and subsequent ranking. |
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