Senior rookie Brandon Lemke has taken over the #1 position (Photo: EKN)

Now into the heart of the 2016 season, the EKN Driver Rankings shows a better picture of just who is emerging as the top drivers on the year. Over 115 events have taken place that are part of the TaG schedule for this year, with the first 10-ranked event completed this weekend with the running of the 2016 US Rotax Max Challenge Grand Nationals in Sonoma, California. Those results will be added to the next edition of the Driver Rankings, which could put a major impact on the top-10.

For now, the new top driver in the TaG Driver Rankings is Brandon Lemke. The Senior’s rookie season has been phenomenal, already earning a WKA Winter Cup championship and he now leads the United States Pro Kart Series by a healthy margin. Should Lemke come out with the title, it will be the second for Franklin Motorsports / Merlin in the four-year history of the program. Just two points separate Lemke and SKUSA Pro Tour championship leader Ryan Norberg. The Tony Kart driver from Florida has three victories on the year on the biggest stage in North America, and he’ll entes the SuperNationals this November with a shot at the $16,000 in cash and prizes that go to the champion. Last year, that pressure was on Brandon Jarsocrak (KartSport North America / Praga), who was the SKUSA Pro Tour championship leader a year ago. Last year’s #1 at the end of 2015 currently sits third, although there are still a bulk of races still left on the year.

Former #1 driver Jake Craig has fallen to fourth, losing 130 points. Craig is now racing under the ‘Jake Craig Racing’ banner aboard a FA Kart with support from Ryan Perry Motorsport. Craig was among the fast drivers at the SummerNationals, but was unable to break into the top-10 in the main events. In contrast, a strong performance in New Castle has promoted Kyle Kirkwood to the fifth spot in the rankings. The 2015 US Rotax Grand Nationals champion reached the checkered flag first in Sunday’s main event at the SummerNationals, but the PSL Karting / Birel ART driver was awarded a questionable blocking penalty, dropping him to third on the podium. Kirkwood is the lead challenger in the SKUSA Pro Tour standings, and he’ll need to stay at the front like he has in 2016 for a shot at the title.

Despite a stellar month of July, Braden Eves has fallen one position to sixth. Eves (MDD / Kosmic) gained a few points compared to last month, just not as many as those ahead of him. Like Lemke and Norberg, Eves recorded his own two-win performance at the WKA Manufacturers Cup Series at New Castle, making him the championship leader with two events remaining. Eves made it four wins by doubling up in the Yamaha Senior division, sweeping the Senior categories on the weekend. Austin Garrison has continued to climb up the order since joining the J3 Competition / CompKart operation. The Florida driver is up five spots to seventh, reaching the podium at the three major events in July (USPKS, WKA, SKUSA) once each weekend. Austin’s inaugural win with the operation is just around the corner.

Next to Lemke, Zach Holden is the top Senior rookie of 2016. The two have gone back and forth against each other since Cadet racing, and now are racing alongside the best in North America. Holden has held his own, with the Koene USA / Comet Kart Sales Tony Kart driver earning his third podium finish in USPKS competition and two top-five finishes at the WKA event at his home track of New Castle in back-to-back weekend. The SummerNationals was a struggle to get to the front, placing inside the top-15 both days. Challenge of the Americas champion Christian Brooks has been bouncing back and forth to karting from his new gig in the Red Bull Global RallyCross Lites ride. The SummerNats was his first major kart race since the SpringNats, with the Nash Motorsportz driver bouncing from CRG to OTK product during the weekend. With no strong results, Brooks has fallen to ninth in the order. Tenth is former top-three driver Elliot Finlayson. The 2015 USPKS champion will continue to fall down the order, as he has made the move to SCCA open wheel racing. Out of the top-10 are Andrick Zeen (Praga), and AJ Myers, who moved to the Stock Moto side at the SummerNationals, dominating the event in the S1 Pro category.

Upcoming EKN TaG Driver Rankings Events

NEW TaG #1 – Brandon Lemke
Eagle, Wisconsin

(Photo: uspks.com)

From Cadet, to Junior and now to Senior, Brandon Lemke is becoming one of the most decorated karters in recent years. The Franklin Motorsports / Merlin driver has a stranglehold on the USPKS championship chase heading to the finale weekend in September. A hard crash Sunday at the SummerNationals dropped him to the back of field prior to Heat #2. The 2015 SKUSA Pro Tour Junior champion went from 35th to 18th in the race, ending up 13th after the main event. The SKUSA title is out of reach, while the Wisconsin driver can still end up with a USPKS and WKA title, and maybe a podium at the SuperNationals. We will see what the new Generation Ganassi (Gen-G) driver will do in the closing months of his rookie Senior year.

Point Breakdown

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TaG #2 – Ryan Norberg
Orlando, Florida

(Photo: EKN)

It has been a great three years watching the development of Florida driver Ryan Norberg. In 2013, Norberg was added to the Team USA roster as a last fill-in at the first ever USA-hosted event. He did a great job against some of the best drivers in the world, working under the eyes of Checkered Motorsports’ Robert Bujdoso. Moving up to the Senior ranks last year, he gained his first USPKS victory in South Bend aboard the PCR. Back home in south, he worked with Ocala Gran Prix on the Rotax side, developing his skills even further. Now the lead driver for the Orlando Kart Center, Norberg is no longer the pupil, but the teacher after his three victories on the SKUSA Pro Tour. The championship is the next objective for the Tony Kart driver, looking to end the 2016 season on top.

Point Breakdown

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TaG #3 – Brandon Jarsocrak
Shillington, Pennsylvania

(Photo: EKN)

‘Money’ finished out the 2015 season not as a champion, but as the top ranked driver in North America. That same goal is in reach once again in 2016 as the KartSport North America / Praga driver continues to remain toward the top of the standings. There has been only two victories this year – WKA Daytona KartWeek and F-Series, with a continued string of podium finishes in WKA, USPKS, and SKUSA competition. The title in SKUSA and USPKS are out of reach, with the WKA still possible with two events left. That is plenty of time for Jarsocrak to jump back on top of the podium to finish off the season once again in the #1 spot.

Point Breakdown

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TaG ‘On the Move’ – #25
Nicky Hays
Huntington Beach, California

(Photo: dromophotos.com)

The west coast has a number young talent climbing up the ranks. Among them is Nicky Hays. A former Cadet champion, Hays continued his development through the Junior ranks in both TaG and Stock Moto. The Phil Giebler Racing / Ricciardo Kart driver is making strides in his Senior rookie, earning his first victory at the Sonoma round of the California ProKart Challenge. Hays fought his way through the stout field at the SummerNationals on Sunday, coming from 21st in qualifying to finish seventh in the main event. Nicky is also leading the X30 Pro category at the Los Angeles Karting Championship.

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, 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 2016, the SKUSA Pro Tour 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. A base ranking of nine (9) goes to the United States Pro Kart Series, Florida Winter Tour Rotax Max Challenge, Challenge of the Americas, Rock Island Grand Prix and California ProKart Challenge. Other national and 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.

EKN TaG Driver Rankings – as of August 5, 2016