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| eKartingNews.com Driver Rankings - August 24 |
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Heading into September of the 2007 season, some of the biggest races of the year are approaching and will certainly shake up the EKN Driver Rankings. Most drivers now have the necessary races to move up in the rankings, which are beginning to show who is having a good year and who is not. The ICC rankings have basically the same top ten. ICA rankings will not have another event added until after the Stars Moran race with the Rock Island Grand Prix removing the class from its program. And the TaG rankings is now up to 350 drivers, showing the format of the class rankings may need to be altered for 2008. This month rankings was calculated just before the weekend’s races, thus with a August 24 date.
 | 2006 Stars of Karting ICC National Champion Gary Carlton
(Photo: EKN) |
ICC
For ICC Rankings, Click Here
Gary Carlton (PCH Motorsports) continues to hold the number one spot despite losing one of his 2006 finishes but replacing it with one of his six wins in 2007. The defending ICC national champion saw his 2007 win streak end at six victories during the Shawano event where he finished sixth in Saturday’s Final. Though with the finish, he was able to clinch the ICC Eastern Division championship and will now focus on running the final round of the European Championships this upcoming weekend and then the Stars Western Division finale at Moran two weeks later.
Matt Jaskol (Team Top Kart USA) continues to run in the top five all year long and still sits second. With a victory at the Shawano event, Michael Vincec (Cameron Motorsports) moved up three spots to third with Shawano double podium finisher Jan Velez Walter moving up three spots as well to fourth in his best outing with Team Intrepid/Champion Racing. Falling two spots in the rankings to fifth is Italian Motors David Jurca.
Our spotlight driver this month is a driving earning great momentum heading into his favorite event of the year - the ageless Alan Rudolph. The FirstKart.com driver jumped from 11th to sixth in the driver rankings after finishing second at the Stars Shawano Saturday final. After starting in the tail of the field Sunday, he drove through the field into the top five before a broken shifter took him out of the race with two laps to go. Heading into the Rock Island Grand Prix, the defending King of the Streets champion is looking good at defending his crown.
ICC #1 - Gary Carlton
Point Breakdown
| Race | Rank | Finish | Points| Stars National Finals 2006 | 10 | 6 | 1125 | | SKUSA SuperNationals 2006 | 10 | 1 | 1153 | | Stars Race of the Americas 2007 #1 | 10 | 1 | 1182 | | Stars Race of the Americas 2007 #2 | 10 | 1 | 1182 | | Stars of Karting ’07 - East #3 - New Castle | 9 | 1 | 1067 | | Stars of Karting ’07 - East #4 - New Castle | 9 | 1 | 1068 | | Stars of Karting ’07 - West #3 - Miller | 9 | 1 | 1052 | |
 | 2006 RIGP King of the Streets winner Alan Rudolph
(Photo: EKN) |
Inside the Stats
Average Finish: 2
Average Points: 1118
Total Points: 7828
Driver Spotlight: Alan Rudolph
ICC Ranking: 6th
Point Breakdown
| Race | Rank | Finish | Points| RIGP King of the Streets 2006 | 10 | 1 | 1114 | | RIGP ICC 2006 | 9 | 3 | 994 | | SKUSA SuperNationals 2006 | 10 | 8 | 1072 | | Stars Race of the Americas 2007 #1 | 10 | 11 | 1063 | | Stars Race of the Americas 2007 #2 | 10 | 11 | 1063 | | Stars of Karting ’07 - East #3 - New Castle | 9 | 7 | 1004 | | Stars of Karting ’07 - East #5 - Shawano | 9 | 2 | 1060 | |
Inside the Stats
Average Finish: 6
Average Points: 1053
Total Points: 7370
 | 2006 Stars of Karting ICA National Champion Joel Miller
(Photo: EKN) |
ICA
For ICA Rankings, Click Here
Joel Miller (Tony Kart USA) continues his reign at the top of the ICA Driver Rankings still despite losing roughly 50 points this month. The defending ICA national champion is doing double duty this year, running the Skip Barber National series and Stars of Karting events when they do not conflict. Currently, he holds the number one spot in the Skip Barber standings with two events to go. Unfortunately, he was forced to miss the Stars Shawano event and the upcoming Stars Moran event.
Jake Rosenzweig (PSL Karting) and Cody Jolly (Cameron Motorsports) still sit second and third, unable to increase their score after Shawano. A Saturday third place finish at the Stars Wisconsin race boosted Tyler Dueck (Team Intrepid/Champion Racing) up to fourth in the rankings while a Sunday third for Jacob Neal (PCH Motorsports) moved him up to fifth.
This month’s ICA Driver Spotlight focuses on ICA rookie driver Victor Cabrera. The J3 Competition driver is having a stellar first year and has been able to move into the top ten in the Driver Rankings after the Stars Shawano weekend. Saturday was all Cabrera as he controlled all the on-track session. With weather mixing up Qualifying and trouble in the Prefinal, Cabrera drove from 23rd to second in the Sunday main event. If he can stay away from trouble the rest of the season, he may be able to finish the year inside the top five.
ICA #1 - Joel Miller
Point Breakdown
| Race | Rank | Finish | Points| Stars National Finals 2007 | 10 | 1 | 1139 | | Stars Race of the Americas 2007 #1 | 10 | 5 | 1096 | | Stars Race of the Americas 2007 #2 | 10 | 3 | 1119 | | Stars of Karting ’07 - East #4 - New Castle | 9 | 3 | 1033 | | Stars of Karting ’07 - West #3 - Miller | 9 | 7 | 967 | |
 | Victor Cabrera
(Photo: EKN) |
Inside the Stats
Average Finish: 4
Average Points: 1071
Total Points: 5354
Driver Spotlight: Victor Cabrera
ICA Ranking: 10th
Point Breakdown
| Race | Rank | Finish | Points| Florida Winter Tour ’07 - Homestead #2 | 8 | 1 | 918 | | Stars of Karting ’07 - East #3 - New Castle | 9 | 5 | 1012 | | Stars of Karting ’07 - West #3 - Miller | 9 | 8 | 956 | | Stars of Karting ’07 - East #5 - Shawano | 9 | 1 | 1043 | | Stars of Karting ’07 - East #6 - Shawano | 9 | 2 | 1018 | |
Inside the Stats
Average Finish: 3
Average Points: 989
Total Points: 4947
 | Will Martindale
(Photo: On Track Promotions - otp.ca) |
TaG
For TaG Rankings, Click Here
The TaG events continue to pile on to the Driver Rankings with no one still able to catch up to Will Martindale’s initial top score though his lead has been cut down to just 36 points. The Wunder-Bar Racing pilot is continues to add races to his total running the Stars West schedule and the ProKart Challenge regional program. Martindale still has room to increase his score with more podium runs at the upcoming Stars Moran event as the Californian’s total has zero wins counted toward his total.
A driver who racked up a win toward his Driver Rankings total is new Stars Eastern Division Spec Racer champion Conor Daly. The new Team Top Kart USA driver found the pace quickly with the kart, earning a Stars Shawano win along with a runner up finish. Initial TaG Driver Rankings #1 spot holder Brandon Jones fell to third with Daly’s improvement along with Zach Beard (FirstKart.com) and Kyle Wiegand (Team Top Kart USA) dropping to fourth and fifth.
Our driver in the spotlight for TaG was the other Stars Shawano Spec Racer winner, Adam Johnson. Running just four races in 2007 thus far, he has two wins, a second, and a fourth in a part-time effort for Team Top Kart USA. With his finishes, Johnson sits second in the Eastern standings and in the hunt for the national crown despite missing the Race of the Americas event. With three drivers in the top six, the Top Kart TaG program is on a roll.
TaG #1 - Will Martindale
Point Breakdown
| Race | Rank | Finish | Points| Stars National Finals 2006 | 10 | 2 | 1093 | | ProKart Challenge 2007 #4 | 8 | 4 | 953 | | Stars Race of the Americas 2007 #1 | 10 | 3 | 1099 | | Stars Race of the Americas 2007 #2 | 10 | 2 | 1110 | | ProKart Challenge 2007 #5 | 8 | 2 | 997 | |
Inside the Stats
Average Finish: 3
Average Points: 1050
Total Points: 5252
 | Adam Johnson
(Photo: EKN) |
Driver Spotlight: Adam Johnson
TaG Ranking: 6th
Point Breakdown
| Race | Rank | Finish | Points| TAG World Championships 2006 | 10 | 7 | 1042 | | Stars of Karting ’07 - East #3 - New Castle | 9 | 1 | 1026 | | Stars of Karting ’07 - East #4 - New Castle | 9 | 4 | 996 | | Stars of Karting ’07 - East #5 - Shawano | 9 | 2 | 1013 | | Stars of Karting ’07 - East #6 - Shawano | 9 | 1 | 1021 | |
Inside the Stats
Average Finish: 3
Average Points: 1020
Total Points: 5098
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 to determine their overall current point total. The top five are used for ICA due to the lower number of available events and in the TaG Driver Rankings for its first year in 2007. With each new release, results before one year ago at this date 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, the KartSport Grand Prix and the Greeley Grand Prix.
Each race was initially weighted based on the prestige and history of the event or series with a score of 10 being the highest attainable base ranking. For 2007, the Stars of Karting Race of the Americas and National Finals, the SKUSA SuperNationals, Rock Island Grand Prix, as well as the North American Karting Championships and TAG World Championships are the only events to receive a score of 10 in their initial weighting. For the ICC and ICA divisions, the Stars of Karting national series events draw a base ranking of 9 while the WKA Manufacturer’s Cup, Florida Winter Tour, and other regional program races were given a base ranking of 8. For TaG, most of the events have a base ranking of nine with the EKN staff to adjust the rankings of each event at the end of 2007 for the 2008 season.
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 (top 25 for ICA and TaG) entered offers another 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 for ICC and the best five for ICA and TaG, we calculate each driver’s overall score and subsequent ranking. |
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