(Photo: EKN)

The 2017 season is shaping up to be one exciting year of karting. The first quarter of the year has seen a number of events taking place, including those listed on the eKartingNews.com Driver Rankings Powered by Bell Racing USA. The Stock Honda category is seeing change in format and those at the top of the standings. For the TaG division, it appears to be a battle of those who finished 2016 among the best fighting it out all year long to end 2017 as the #1 driver, taking home the Bell Racing USA helmet prize.

No stranger to the #1 spot is Jake Craig. The 2016 SuperNationals winner and 2014 SKUSA Pro Tour champion etched his name in the history books as the inaugural winner at the WinterNationals earlier this month. The Tony Kart driver used that, along with his big wins in 2016 to jump to the overall lead in the Driver Rankings. The current and defending SKUSA Pro Tour champion Ryan Norberg (PSL / Birel ART) moves up to the second spot after a busy winter season of racing, placing top-five in both main events at the WinterNationals. Falling to third is former #1 Brandon Lemke. The 2016 USPKS champion is running a limited 2017 season in karts – now aboard a Top Kart, focused on moving up the motorsports ladder, which could see him fall more as the season moves on.

Holding strong in fourth is KartSport North America’s Brandon Jarsocrak. It was exactly 365 days between wins for the Praga driver, who won Daytona KartWeek Day 2 in 2015 and once again in 2016, racking up a number of podium finishes in between at SKUSA, WKA and USPKS. ‘Money’ put in a performance Saturday at the WinterNats after his engine failed to start for the Prefinal. Starting 43rd, he drove up to 14th and then knifed his way to third in the Final. Moving up to fifth is the other WinterNationals winner Zach Holden. Karting is second in pecking order for 2017, with a focus on developing his talents in a single-seater car. The Comet Racing Engines / Tony Kart driver scored the victory Sunday in NOLA, and has put himself in contention for the SKUSA Pro Tour championship.

Braden Eves put in a drive of his own at the WinterNationals, coming back from a DQ in Saturday’s Prefinal to end up 10th in the Final, passing 32 karts. The MDD / Kosmic driver improved his score for the standings, however, was jumped over to slip down one spot to sixth. CompKart’s Austin Garrison has been busy this winter, nearly racing every weekend. The Florida native has yet to improve his Driver Rankings score, remaining in seventh.

Current SKUSA Pro Tour point leader Christian Brooks did improve his score, thanks to the two runner-up results in New Orleans, taking home the $1,000 payday. The Nash / FA Kart driver is also leading the Challenge of the Americas standings in a four-driver fight for the Rotax Grand Finals ticket, to be decided next weekend in Sonoma.

The ‘semi-retired’ TJ Koyen moves up one position to ninth with the fall of Kyle Kirkwood in the Driver Rankings. Koyen (Innovative / Exprit) is scheduled to compete in KA100 races this season, and thus will fall down the order as the season moves on. Rounding out the top-10 is 2016 California ProKart Challenge champion Nicky Hays. The 15-year-old had a solid campaign last year, yet he has not been able to transition that success onto the SKUSA Pro Tour to date.

Upcoming EKN TaG Driver Rankings Schedule

NEW TaG #1 – Jake Craig
Mission Viejo, California

(Photo: EKN)

From August 2016 to now, Jake Craig has won some major hardware. A second US Rotax Grand Nationals in August was followed up by an amazing triumph for his first SKUSA SuperNationals victory. Craig added another notch to his CV with the inaugural WinterNationals win. Those three wins have promoted the 2014 SKUSA Pro Tour champion to the #1 position in the Driver Rankings. Craig continues to put in the hard work and effort in his karting program, while still trying to advance up the motorsports ladder. Craig has positioned himself as a top contender once again for the SKUSA Pro Tour title, and holder of the #1 position in the EKN Driver Rankings for 2017.

Point Breakdown

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TaG #2 – Ryan Norberg
Orlando, Florida

(Photo: EKN)

It was a remarkable 2016 for Ryan Norberg. In just three years, the Florida native has developed himself from a Senior rookie to a national champion. Three victories over the SpringNats and SummerNats secured his foot in the door for the title. He completed the feat with a solid drive to eight in Las Vegas, earning the SKUSA #1 plate for 2017. Norberg has been quick to add to it, earning the Florida Winter Tour Rok Cup AND Rotax titles. While Norberg was not a clear contender at the WinterNationals, the PSL / Birel ART pilot kept himself close the battle and came away with two top-five finishes to help establish a solid footing for a title defense.

Point Breakdown

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TaG #3 – Brandon Lemke
Eagle, Wisconsin

(Photo: EKN)

2016 was a solid rookie campaign for the longtime Merlin driver Brandon Lemke. Winning throughout the year, Lemke ended as the fourth different IAME Pro champion at the United States Pro Kart Series. Before the 2016 season wrapped up, Lemke made his debut aboard the Top Kart brand at Daytona KartWeek. The event was not as he hoped, with issues each day to hamper his overall results. Lemke is scheduled to run Route 66 Sprint Series and WKA Manufacturers Cup Series events in 2017, with the possibility of keeping in the Driver Rankings hunt.

Point Breakdown

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TaG ‘On the Move’ – #18
Brenden Baker
Palmdale, California

(Photo: EKN)

CRG Nordam is going full force into the 2017 season, and leading the charge is Brenden Baker. The California native, now residing in Texas, is working as the lead driver for the team, putting in the time and effort to help develop the new products while serving as the backbone for the race team. Baker spent time in his Junior career as a CRG driver, and  in his most recent results, has scored solid results at the California ProKart Challenge program in his home race of Lancaster and runner-up to open up 2017 – running under the Ron White Racing banner. There is no doubt Baker will continue to climb the rankings with a full SKUSA Pro Tour schedule, along with expanding the CRG brand across North America.

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.

TaG Driver Rankings Powered by Bell Racing USA – as of March 29, 2017