At the halfway point of 2014, there is still a lot of racing to be completed in the remaining six months. A number of major events, including the Cold Stone US Rotax Grand Nationals, the Superkarts! USA SummerNationals and a host of others lurk in the coming weeks, and will have a major effect in how the EKN TaG Driver Rankings change for the August edition. As of now, the driver to beat remains Oliver Askew.

The Ocala Gran Prix/Tony Kart driver is the defending United States Rotax champion, along with a winner at the Pan-Am Rotax Max Challenge. The Florida driver began the season locking up a third straight trip to the Rotax Grand Finals with the Florida Winter Tour title in Senior Max. Now, he’s spending the summer months improving his status in the Stock Moto rankings, while also preparing to defend his US crown in two weeks.

Holding strong in second and third are his two closet challengers – Jake Craig and Roger Ralston Jr. Craig (2Wild Karting/Tony Kart) is working on becoming the fifth different SKUSA Pro Tour TaG Senior champion, earning a double-win weekend at the SpringNationals. He also leads the standings in the Rotax Can-Am ProKart Challenge – which awards the champion a ticket to the Rotax Grand Finals – and hosts the third stop this weekend at Pat’s Acres Racing Complex. Ralston (KartSport North America/FA Kart) opened up the United States Pro Kart Series season with a double-win weekend of his own at GoPro Motorplex in April. The recent series stop in South Bend was a tough outing for the young 17-year old, losing the championship lead but remains a factor the rest of the season.

Moving up one position each are three others looking to claim glory of their own. Derek Dignan (KartSport North America/FA Kart) is among the championship contenders in the USPKS this season, improving his score slightly to hold fourth. Former EKN #1 driver Louie Pagano (Dallas Karting Complex/Sodi Kart USA) remains a threat at every event he attends, including the SKUSA Pro Tour and the upcoming US Rotax Grand Nationals where he will be among the favorites in his return to the event after missing out last year. Florida privateer Tony Kart driver Dustin Stross is at the race track nearly every weekend, and his driver and determination has helped him to some strong results over the last 12 months.

Jumping into the top-10 for possible the first time ever is Florida driver AJ Myers. The Checkered Motorsports/PCR USA driver notched his first USPKS feature win in South Bend, helping to promote his position in the Driver Rankings to seventh. SoCal driver Travis Lowe (Nash Motorsports/Kosmic) drops to eighth, losing some results from last year but his strong performances at the SpringNationals keeps him among the top-10. Down one spot to ninth is Austin Elliott, who won his first California ProKart Challenge feature, recently moving over to the Rolison Performance Group stable aboard a Kosmic. Rounding out the top-10 is reigning USPKS champion Kyle Kalish. The Franklin Motorsports/Merlin driver is another impressive young talent, that has stayed with the same team/chassis from his Cadet years through the Junior rank and into the Senior division – something not seen in modern karting.

Dropping out of the top-10 is veteran Matt Johnson along with Florida driver Daniel Roeper, who is currently racing in the BRDC Formula 4 championship, but is returning to compete in karting events in the United States.

Oliver Askew
(Photo: Studio52.us)

TaG #1 – Oliver Askew
Jupiter, Florida

If there is one driver that is working toward the complete package, it’s Oliver Askew. The current US Rotax Grand Nationals champion is continuing to add to his driver profile with wins and championships, including a podium finish at the 2013 Rotax Grand Finals in the Senior Max division. The 17-year old is now progressing in the Stock Moto ranks as well, performing well at the recent SKUSA SpringNationals in the S1 division, going head-to-heat with three of the world’s top shifterkart drivers. A killer website, and gaining a strong sponsorship program, Askew is primed to be future American motorsports star.

Point Breakdown

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Andrick Zeen
(Photo: Praga North America)

TaG ‘On the Move’ – #29
Andrick Zeen
Huntington Beach, California

Racing is very much like a chess game. At speeds reaching 70-80 mph at most sprint tracks, drivers need to strategize their future advancement rather then just the current move. With that comes maturity, and as a driver grows older, it becomes clear what is smart and what is not. At 21 years old, Andrick Zeen has reached a point in his career that he has the skills and the maturity to become a threat in the TaG scene. Teaming up with Praga North America, the Californian is ready for a strong comeback behind the wheel after focusing on wrenching the last few seasons. His time in Europe, and working with some distinguish names in the sport have helped to groom him as a better drivers. Jumping back into the seat this season, he was strong in his Pro Tour debut at the SpringNationals with some amazing drives into the top-10, nearly pulling off some podium results. Now reach the seven race minimum, Zeen is looking to continue climbing up the Driver Rankings as the season moves on.

Point Breakdown

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.

TaG Driver Rankings – as of July 1, 2014

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