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| eKartingNews.com Driver Rankings – 2011 Final Standings – Stock Moto |
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The 2011 season has come to a close and so does the updates for the eKartingNews.com Driver Rankings. The past year was full of great races throughout the 12 months, all over the country no matter what the organization or sanctioning body that was hosting the event. As we saw last year, a lot of young and talented drivers are making their way up the karting ranks. Reviewing the Stock Moto category first, the top-five drivers are all 20 years or young, with the elder Nicky Freytag coming through as the #1 driver for 2011.
Freytag (Intrepid) shined when the spotlights were on, coming through with strong performances on the Pro Tour main events. What helped propel Freytag to the top in the Driver Rankings were his feature results on the year. With the Pro Tour handing out points in all sessions, Freytag struggled in the heat races but shined when it was main event time. Freytag’s three trips to the podium were mostly come-from-behind finishes after tough breaks in the heat races. Breaking down the finishing results of the drivers in the S2 category, Freytag had the best average finish of fourth with no DNF’s to his credit.
The same can be said for Minnesota’s Lukas Johnson (GP). A rookie in the S1 Pro Stock Moto class this season, Johnson stepped up his game against the best in shifterkarts. Johnson had an average finish of fifth on the Pro Tour, helping to boost his position in the Driver Rankings. Also jumping up five positions is newly-crown SKUSA S2 champion Kyle Hathcox (GP). A remarkable season and SuperNationals come-back performance by the Arizona driver helped him secure the series title and propel him up the standings. Up two spots to fourth is SummerNationals S2 double-winner Cory Milne. The Coloradoan jumped up the standings with his home-state performance and backed it up with a podium run at the SuperNationals. Completing the top-five is 15-year old Jake French (Birel). Moving to the Senior level last season, the Texan has shined and advanced toward the top of the rankings, now making the move to the S1 category with a top-10 finish at the SuperNationals. With the outlook for Freytag, Hathcox and Milne likely making the jump to S1, the 2012 could be busy near the top of the Driver Rankings.
Dropping to sixth is Californian Clinton Schoombee (CRG), who challenged for the #1 position a year ago. 2011 was not kind to the 2010 S1 ProKart Challenge champ, but is more than capable to bounce back in 2012. Down from second, Ryon Beachner (Tony Kart) completed a strong first season in the S1 category. Competing in KZ2 rather than S1 at the SuperNationals, Beachner lost points and fell in the rankings. Also down the order is the 2011 ProKart Challenge South S1 champ Brad Dunford (GP). Continuing to improve his skill-set behind the wheel, Dunford is shaping up to be a regular national contender in shifterkarts. Remaining ninth is Texan Connor Wagner (Intrepid). Like French, both young drivers are experiencing promising starts to their Senior karting careers. Wagner had two top-10 finishes at the SummerNationals and capped off the year 15th at the SuperNats. Rounding out the top-10 is Stock Moto vet Patrick Cushenberry (CRG). The ‘Cush’ finished fourth in the Pro Tour standings, completed his return to karting with a seventh at the SuperNationals.
Coming December 23 will be the release of the final TaG Driver Rankings for 2011.
Stock Moto
Stock Moto Driver Rankings Top-10
| Pos | Sept. 26 | Plus/Minus | Driver | Races | Score| 1. | 1 | NC | Nicky Freytag | 12 | 6029 | | 2. | 7 | 5 | Lukas Johnson | 11 | 5973 | | 3. | 8 | 5 | Kyle Hathcox | 8 | 5902 | | 4. | 6 | 2 | Cory Milne | 13 | 5900 | | 5. | 5 | NC | Jake French | 14 | 5898 | | 6. | 4 | -2 | Clinton Schoombee | 10 | 5868 | | 7. | 2 | -5 | Ryon Beachner | 8 | 5823 | | 8. | 3 | -5 | Brad Dunford | 9 | 5792 | | 9. | 9 | NC | Connor Wagner | 14 | 5708 | | 10. | 19 | 9 | Patrick Cushenberry | 8 | 5645 | |
For the full Stock Moto Driver Rankings, Click Here
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 | Nicky Freytag
(Photo: On Track Promotions - otp.ca) |
Stock Moto #1 - Nicky Freytag
Paradise Valley, Arizona
Ending the year #1 is Innovative Karting’s Nicky Freytag. In 2011, Nicky was a championship driver in the S2 Semi-Pro Stock Moto category in Superkarts! USA competition. The ProKart Challenge South champ was a contender on the Pro Tour as well, finishing the year in third. A runner-up at the Streets of Lancaster Grand Prix and top-10 in the SuperNationals in November locked up the number one position for the 20-year old. Uncharacteristic to have a S2 driver at the top of the rankings, his feature results speak for themselves with a third place average finish in his six EKN DR races.
Point Breakdown
| Race | Rank | Finish | Points| SKUSA SpringNationals ’11 #1 - S2 | 9 | 1 | 1033 | | SKUSA SpringNationals ’11 #2 - S2 | 9 | 3 | 1012 | | SKUSA SummerNationals ’11 #1 - S2 | 9 | 4 | 1007 | | SKUSA SummerNationals ’11 #2 - S2 | 9 | 3 | 1017 | | Streets of Lancaster GP ’11 - Pro | 8.5 | 2 | 946 | | SKUSA SuperNationals 2011 - S2 | 9.5 | 9 | 1014 | |
Inside the Stats
Average Finish: 3.67
Average Points: 1004.8
Total Points: 6029
**************
 | Lukas Johnson
(Photo: On Track Promotions - otp.ca) |
Stock Moto #2 - Lukas Johnson
Farmington, Minnesota
One of the first drivers to take advantage of the SKUSA Stock Moto ladder system, GP West driver Lukas Johnson has developed quickly over the past few seasons. A regional champ in S5 Junior, Johnson ran just one year in S2 before making the jump to S1 this season. Showing maturity above his age, Johnson drove to two podium finishes at the SpringNationals. Capping off the year with a eighth place run in his first SuperNationals S1 start, Johnson ended the season third in the Pro Tour standings to carry the #3 plate for 2012.
Point Breakdown
| Race | Rank | Finish | Points| SKUSA SpringNationals ’11 #1 - S1 | 9.5 | 3 | 1020 | | SKUSA SpringNationals ’11 #2 - S1 | 9.5 | 2 | 1031 | | SKUSA SummerNationals ’11 #1 - S1 | 9.5 | 3 | 1018 | | SKUSA SummerNationals ’11 #2 - S1 | 9.5 | 7 | 969 | | Rock Island GP King of the Streets ’11 | 9.5 | 19 | 892 | | SKUSA SuperNationals 2011 - S1 | 10 | 8 | 1043 | |
Inside the Stats
Average Finish: 7.00
Average Points: 995.5
Total Points: 5973
**************
 | Kyle Hathcox
(Photo: On Track Promotions - otp.ca) |
Stock Moto #3 - Kyle Hathcox
Phoenix, Arizona
The 2011 season was a break-out year for Aluminos driver Kyle Hathcox. Leaving the SpringNationals with his first Pro Tour win and the championship lead, Hathcox continued on to the SuperNationals with the slight advantage. Overcoming a poor qualifying performance to open up in Vegas, Hathcox muscled his way forward in the heat races to secure a top-10 starting position. A tenth place finish on SuperSunday secured the championship for the GP kart driver. A DNF at the SummerNationals was the only blemish on his season, costing him possible the #1 spot in the EKN Driver Rankings.
Point Breakdown
| Race | Rank | Finish | Points| SKUSA SpringNationals ’11 #1 - S2 | 9 | 2 | 1023 | | SKUSA SpringNationals ’11 #2 - S2 | 9 | 1 | 1032 | | SKUSA Mountain Region ’11 #2 - S2 | 8 | 1 | 880 | | SKUSA SummerNationals ’11 #1 - S2 | 9 | 2 | 1028 | | Streets of Lancaster GP ’11 - Pro | 8.5 | 3 | 936 | | SKUSA SuperNationals 2011 - S2 | 9.5 | 10 | 1003 | |
Inside the Stats
Average Finish: 3.2
Average Points: 983.7
Total Points: 5902
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 national programs and selected regional programs. We have included the results for the major one-off events such as the SKUSA SuperNationals, the US Rotax Max Challenge Grand Nationals, the Rock Island Grand Prix and the Streets of Lancaster Grand Prix.
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 2011, the SKUSA SuperNationals and US Rotax Max Challenge Grand Nationals 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 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. Continuing for 2011 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.
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