|
 |
| Features |
| eKartingNews.com Driver Rankings - May 21, 2010 |
| |
It is now fair to say that the 2010 racing season is officially underway. With the cold temperatures behind us for good, tracks all over the country are open for racing. As the temperature rises, so does the action within the eKartingNews.com Driver Rankings. With the May release, the current lead drivers are coming under pressure of some early challengers, as they aim to take over the spots inside the top-20.
The TaG rankings have been invaded by a few new names, however, Canadian Marco DiLeo (Intrepid) remains at the top of the chart. Losing a few races off his calculations from early May of last year, DiLeo retains the lead with his current list of seven races, but not by much. On the charge is rookie Taylor Miinch (Top Kart), who is in his first full season of Senior racing. The Californian has recorded 14 driver ranking results already and moved up to the second spot following his strong performance at the WSK North American Series Phoenix event. With two solid weekends in May, Kyle Wiegand (Top Kart) moves up from seventh to third overall, while Victor Pedrosa (Arrow) jumps over Indy Racing League star Dan Wheldon (Arrow) thanks to two podium finishes at the Rotax Pan American Challenge opener in Houston.
WSK North American Series point leader Neil Alberico (Wild Kart) moves back into the top-10 thanks to three straight feature wins to begin the season. Michele Bumgarner (Margay) and Swede Kenneth Hildebrand (Arrow) fall a few spots each as they both have been absent from the track since the winter months. Thanks to a solid April and May, New York’s Michael Politis jumped into the top-10, now working with the Merlin USA/Franklin Motorsports outfit. Rounding out the top-10 is Team Top Kart USA driver Chris Wehrheim. With his VW Jetta TDI Cup schedule taking up much of his summer driver, the Georgia driver is looking to run a few races to keep in the hunt in the rankings.
Similar to what is being seen in TaG, the Stock Moto leader remains unchanged with Tyler Bennett (PTK) standing at the top once again. The young Utah pilot is coming under fire by a number of drivers looking to dethrone him, as he hangs on with the results that he logged in 2009. Former number one Jason Toft (GP) is riding off a solid performance at the SKUSA SpringNationals in April - two podium finishes - jumping up to the second in the order. One driver Toft was chasing in Sonoma was Clinton Schoombee (CRG), as the SoCal driver made an unbelievable pass to score the headline S1 victory on day two. The triumph has vaulted Schoombee up in the order, putting him in position to take over the #1 this summer. Still looking to gain ground is Tommy Thompson (Energy), who remains fourth, looking to improve his spot in the next few months. Capping off the top-five is former number one Jacob Neal (CRG), who is expected to return to the track soon after an extended layoff from competition.
Derek Crockett (GP) drops out of the top-five, so he will be looking to score his first win of the season as he sits just one spot head of his 2009 rival and Central States Challenge champion Matt Zeis (Wild Kart). Thanks to the fall of two others, Colby Yardley (Birel) advances two spots to sit eighth without recording a race yet in 2010. The same goes for Keenan Schmitke (CRG), the 2009 SKUSA SuperNationals S3 vice-champion, moving up from 12th into ninth. Rounding out the top-10 is SoCal driver Brad Dunford (CRG), who continues to show speed in the ProKart Challenge programs.
TaG
TaG Driver Rankings Top-10
| Pos. | Apr. 5 | Plus/Minus | Driver | Races | Score| 1. | 1 | NC | Marco DiLeo | 15 | 6961 | | 2. | 16 | 14 | Taylor Miinch | 14 | 6916 | | 3. | 7 | 4 | Kyle Wiegand | 11 | 6914 | | 4. | 5 | 1 | Victor Pedrosa | 17 | 6871 | | 5. | 4 | -1 | Dan Wheldon | 13 | 6843 | | 6. | 20 | 14 | Neil Alberico | 15 | 6815 | | 7. | 3 | -4 | Michele Bumgarner | 9 | 6812 | | 8. | 6 | -2 | Kenneth Hildebrand | 14 | 6792 | | 9. | 22 | 13 | Michael Politis | 12 | 6775 | | 10. | 2 | -8 | Chris Wehrheim | 8 | 6742 | |
For the full TaG Driver Rankings, Click Here
 | Marco DiLeo
(Photo: Autosports Media) |
**************
TaG #1 - Marco DiLeo
Markham, Ontario, Canada
Still at the top of the TaG Driver Rankings is 2009 EKN Driver of the Year Marco DiLeo (Intrepid). The 2009 WKA Manufacturer’s Cup Series TaG champion saw his lead cut in half after losing two victories from May 2009, dropped from his calculations as EKN uses only the results from the last 12 months. With the Canadian focusing on competition at home with the rest of his Goodwood Karting/Intrepid Canada squad this year, rather than in the States, his rankings total will continue to fall as the season progresses. His results will help him move up the 2010 eKartingNews.ca Rotax Senior rankings as he pursues a return to the Rotax Grand Finals and represent Canada once again.
Point Breakdown
| Race | Rank | Finish | Points| WKA Man. Cup Series ’09 - Road America #1 | 9 | 3 | 985 | | WKA Man. Cup Series ’09 - Road America #2 | 9 | 2 | 995 | | WKA Man. Cup Series ’09 - New Castle #1 | 9 | 1 | 1006 | | WKA Man. Cup Series ’09 - Lowe’s #1 | 9 | 1 | 999 | | WKA Man. Cup Series ’09 - Lowe’s #2 | 9 | 2 | 989 | | Florida Winter Tour ’10 - Rotax #2 | 9 | 4 | 984 | | Florida Winter Tour ’10 - Rotax #5 | 9 | 3 | 1003 | |
Inside the Stats
Average Finish: 2.29
Average Points: 994.4
Total Points: 6961
**************
 | TJ Koyen
(Photo: Go Racing Magazine) |
ON THE MOVE: TJ Koyen - Ranked #25
Sun Prairie, Wisconsin
The TaG Driver Rankings 'On The Move' driver for the month of May is Wisconsin’s TJ Koyen. The Merlin USA/Franklin Motorsports/KartLift pilot is entering his third season in the Senior ranks and going for a full season in the TaG category. Thus far, Koyen is making steady progress and currently sits fifth in the WKA Manufacturer’s Cup Series TaG standings. Koyen also competed at the first round of the WSK North American Series as a first-time CKI entrant, which will now support his season in the WKA series. Watch for Koyen to move up further as the season progresses.
Point Breakdown
| Race | Rank | Finish | Points| WKA Man. Cup Series ’09 - Lowe’s #1 | 9 | 6 | 949 | | WKA Man. Cup Series ’09 - Lowe’s #2 | 9 | 11 | 899 | | WKA Man. Cup Series ’10 - Daytona Rotax | 9 | 8 | 882 | | WSK No. Amer. Series ’10 - New Castle #1 | 9 | 9 | 895 | | WSK No. Amer. Series ’10 - New Castle #2 | 9 | 8 | 913 | | WKA Man. Cup Series ’10 - South Bend | 9 | 8 | 958 | | WKA Man. Cup Series ’10 - South Bend IAME | 9 | 5 | 945 | |
Inside the Stats
Average Finish: 7.86
Average Points: 920.1
Total Points: 6441
Stock Moto
Stock Moto Driver Rankings Top-10
| Pos | Apr. 5 | Plus/Minus | Driver | Races | Score| 1. | 1 | NC | Tyler Bennett | 11 | 6195 | | 2. | 13 | 11 | Jason Toft | 8 | 6148 | | 3. | 8 | 5 | Clinton Schoombee | 9 | 6107 | | 4. | 4 | NC | Tommy Thompson | 14 | 5992 | | 5. | 2 | -3 | Jacob Neal | 7 | 5991 | | 6. | 5 | -1 | Derek Crockett | 11 | 5966 | | 7. | 6 | -1 | Matt Zeis | 6 | 5915 | | 8. | 10 | 2 | Colby Yardley | 11 | 5912 | | 9. | 12 | 3 | Keenan Schmitke | 10 | 5899 | | 10. | 7 | -3 | Brad Dunford | 15 | 5879 | |
For the full Stock Moto Driver Rankings, Click Here
 | Tyler Bennett
(Photo: On Track Promotions - otp.ca) |
**************
Stock Moto #1 - Tyler Bennett
Layton, Utah
Holding strong at the top of the Stock Moto Driver Rankings is 2009 eKartingNews.com Rising Star Tyler Bennett. The 2009 champ of the Utah State Championships Stock Moto program had his lead cut into last month and may be in jeopardy of losing the spot after the next SKUSA Pro Tour event in July. Bennett will not be competing in Shawano, but he plans to defend his Utah championship, racing with Msquared Karting team. These races, along with a few one-offs at ProKart Challenge and the goal of winning the SKUSA SuperNationals could give him the points needed to hang on in the top-10.
Point Breakdown
| Race | Rank | Finish | Points| Utah State Champ. ’09 #6 | 9 | 3 | 993 | | Utah State Champ. ’09 #7 | 9 | 2 | 1009 | | Utah State Champ. ’09 #8 | 9 | 1 | 1027 | | Utah State Champ. ’09 #9 | 9 | 2 | 1008 | | Utah State Champ. ’09 #10 | 9 | 1 | 1014 | | SKUSA SuperNationals 2009 | 10 | 3 | 1144 | |
Inside the Stats
Average Finish: 2
Average Points: 1032.5
Total Points: 6195
**************
 | Lukas Johnson
(Photo: battmotorsports.com) |
ON THE MOVE: Lukas Johnson - Ranked #48
Farmington, Minnesota
Breaking into the Top 50 in the Stock Moto Driver Rankings is Lukas Johnson, this month’s 'On the Move' driver. The Minnesota driver is making the step up the SKUSA Stock Moto ladder after honing his skills in the S5 category, and he is now excelling in his debut season in the new S2 class. Scoring the Central States Challenge S5 title last year, Johnson is making strides already by nearly scoring a victory at the SKUSA SpringNationals and running to first and second place results at his regional opener. The impressive part of his feat was competing on two different chassis brands, a GP for the first time in Sonoma and back aboard his Monza in New Castle.
Point Breakdown
| Race | Rank | Finish | Points| SKUSA SpringNationals #1 | 9 | 4 | 944 | | SKUSA SpringNationals #2 | 9 | 8 | 913 | | Central States Chall. - New Castle #1 | 8 | 1 | 838 | | Central States Chall. - New Castle #2 | 8 | 2 | 829 | |
Inside the Stats
Average Finish: 3.75
Average Points: 881
Total Points: 3524
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 TaG and six in Stock Moto to determine their overall current point total. With each new release, results posted from more than one year ago are discarded. To deliver our ranking list, we tabulate the results of all the WSK North American Series, Superkarts! USA Pro Tour, Rotax Pan American Challenge and other national programs and events, as well as other regional programs. We have also included the results for the major one-off events such as the SKUSA SuperNationals, the Rock Island Grand Prix and the US Rotax Max Challenge Grand Nationals.
Each race is 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 2010, the SKUSA SuperNationals, US Rotax Max Challenge Grand Nationals and the Rock Island Grand Prix receive a score of 10 in their initial weighting in the TaG category while the SuperNats is the lone event in the Stock Moto division. The WSK North American Series, SKUSA Pro Tour, and Rotax Pan American Challenge national series events draw a base ranking of nine (9), while the WKA Manufacturer’s Cup, Florida Winter Tour, Challenge of the Americas, IKF 2-Cycle Sprint Grand Nationals and other regional program races were given a base ranking of either eight (8) or nine (9).
The EKN staff reserves the right to adjust the rankings of each event throughout the year. New for 2010 is a minimum entry total for any events considered for the Driver Rankings program. If an event does not have at least five (5) drivers starting the race, those results will not be tabulated toward the Driver Rankings.
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 in TaG, six for Stock Moto, we calculate each driver’s overall score and subsequent ranking.
For the complete 2010 EKN Driver Rankings schedule, click HERE. |
|
|
Go Top
|
|
|
|
|
