The 2014 season is well underway throughout the country and around the world. This year’s shaping up to be another historic season in the sport, with a number of major events filling out the 12-month calendar. Four months are already in the books, which have helped to shape up the first release of the eKartingNews.com Driver Rankings for the TaG category. Moving up to the number one position is Florida driver Oliver Askew.

It was a near perfect season for the Ocala Gran Prix/Tony Kart driver in 2013, as he concentrated on Rotax Max Challenge competition. It was his first season at the Senior level, picking up his first major win at the Florida Winter Tour. All his time was spent on gaining a Team USA bid to the Rotax Grand Finals, which he did by claiming the United States Rotax Grand Nationals championship. He followed that with a victory at the Pan American Challenge event, warming up for the Rotax Grand Finals at NOLA Motorsports Park in New Orleans. It was a stellar performance on the world stage, earning the third position in a come-back driver, becoming the first American to earn a spot on the Senior Max podium. The momentum continued into this season, earning the Florida Winter Tour championship and already a spot on Team USA.

Jake Craig is gaining some momentum, and is challenging for the top spot thanks to his last few months. The 2Wild Karting/Tony Kart driver has put himself into the driver’s seat in the Superkarts! USA Pro Tour championship following his two wins at the Dallas Karting Complex. Add in the three wins at the Rotax Challenge of the Americas program, coming just two points short of the championship, and Craig is among the best drivers in the USA.

Jumping his way into the top-10 for the first time is Florida driver Roger Ralston Jr. Joining the KartSport North America operation late in the 2013, he’s been racking up podiums at WKA events. He kicked off the United States Pro Kart Series with a double win weekend, taking home $2,500 check and moving up the order in the Driver Rankings. Travis Lowe (Nash Motorsportz/Kosmic) has been a consistent front runner over the past few seasons, and his recent double podium weekend at the SpringNationals helped to move him back into the top-five. Up two positions is Derek Dignan, adding a second KartSport North America driver into the top-five. Dignan had the most races in 2013, and recently is gaining stronger results.

The #1 driver in 2013 – Louie Pagano – has seen himself fall down to the sixth position to start off the 2014 season. Pagano nearly won the Rotax Challenge of the Americas title this winter, however, the results were not strong enough to keep him at the top of the Driver Rankings. The Dallas Karting Complex/SodiKart USA pilot stood on the podium at the SpringNationals, and is gunning for a shot at the Pro Tour title along with other major wins this summer.

A great story within the top-10 is Dustin Stross. The Tony Kart pilot has broken away from any team, running as a privateer in 2014. He’s been all over the east coast and right now has the most races in the last 12 months at 35 Driver Rankings races, holding onto the seventh position. West coast racers Austin Elliott (Rolison Performance Group/Kosmic) and Matt Johnson (Smokin Fast Motorsports) move up to eighth and ninth, with Florida driver Daniel Roeper (Birel) also reaching the top-10 after a solid Florida Winter Tour campaign.

NEW TaG #1 – Oliver Askew
Jupiter, Florida

At just 17 years old, Oliver Askew has positioned himself as one of the best karters in the United States. The 2013 US Rotax Grand Nationals and Pan-American champion scored a third place finish at the Rotax Grand Finals in New Orleans this past November. The result was the best performance by an American driver in the Senior category. Askew is primed for a run at the world championship this year, earning the Florida Winter Tour championship and a ticket to this year’s event in Spain. Of the eight races counting toward the EKN Driver Rankings, his worst finish is a second place (twice). Askew is also working on moving up the Stock Moto rankings, performing in the top-five at the SKUSA SpringNationals in S1, making him a double threat.

Point Breakdown

Inside the Stats
Average Finish: 1.14
Average Points: 1042.6
Total Points: 7298

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TaG ‘On the Move’ – #3
Roger Ralston Jr.
Boca Raton, Florida

Another 17-year old making noise is fellow Florida driver Roger Ralston Jr. The last 12-months have seen him gel well with the KartSport North America squad. Three podiums at the WKA Manufacturers Cup Series led to a solid finish to the 2013 season. The team built more connection during the winter months, and his time at the GoPro Motorplex paid off with two wins at the United States Pro Kart Series opener, earning a $2,500 pay day. He backed it up with a top-five performance at the challenging conditions the Dallas Karting Complex presented for the SKUSA SpringNationals, pushing him into the top-10 of the Driver Rankings for the first time.

Point Breakdown

Inside the Stats
Average Finish: 3.29
Average Points: 1024
Total Points: 7168

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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, the Lone Star 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 2014, 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 SuperNationals is the lone event in the Stock Moto division. The SKUSA Pro Tour series events draw a base ranking of nine (9), as does the United States Pro Kart Series, Florida Winter Tour Rotax Max Challenge, Rotax Challenge of the Americas, Rotax Pan American Challenge. Other regional program races were given a base ranking of either 8.5 or 8.

The EKN staff reserves the right to adjust the rankings of each event throughout the year. A minimum entry total for any events considered for the Driver Rankings program is five (5). 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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TaG Driver Rankings – as of May 23, 2014