(Photo: EKN)

The 2017 season is nearing the end, as is this year’s edition of the eKartingNews.com Stock Honda Driver Rankings powered by Bell Racing USA. As we have seen throughout the year, there has been one driver that has been in the mix at the Superkarts! USA Pro Tour, and has the ability to earn the highest score ever in Stock Honda standing history. Currently leading the standings is Texan Jake French. One of the first drivers to take advantage of the SKUSA ladder system (S5 – S2 – S1), the DKC / Sodi Kart driver has the strong advantage to finish the year in the #1 spot and earn that brand new Bell Helmet.

French’s total will be a new record thanks to the EKN Driver Rankings program expanding to include the best seven results for the Stock Honda category. Not only will it be one additional result included, French’s seven straight podiums is best over the last 12 months and could be improved on depending on his SuperNationals results. Chasing the 2017 SKUSA Pro Tour S1 champion is Billy Musgrave (MRC / Aluminos). Now a four-time California ProKart Challenge champion, Musgrave will carry the SKUSA #2 plate for a second time in his career in 2018. Musgrave has recorded at least one win on the SKUSA Pro Tour over the last three years. The 199-point gap to French can only be cut in to it by a victory or a big difference in their finishing positions on SuperSunday.

Moving up to third is the top S1 rookie in 2017 – Mathias Ramirez. The Andersen Racing / Birel ART driver saved the best for last, recording his first podium at the final round of the SKUSA Pro Tour. Ramirez, the SKUSA SuperNationals S2 winner in 2016, has the speed to contend in Las Vegas for the podium and the victory in a few weeks. Last year’s SKUSA Pro Tour S2 champion Austin Wilkins (DKC / Sodi Kart) held his spot in fourth, improving slightly from the SummerNationals. The improvement was not enough to stay as the top S1 rookie in the Driver Rankings, needing a strong finish at the SuperNats.

Dropping out of the top-three is WinterNationals winner Hunter Pickett (Aluminos). His score improved however, Pickett fell from third to fifth to put three S1 rookies into the top-five. The top S2 driver thus far are Kyle Wick (RPG / Kosmic) and Riley Dickinson (DKC / Sodi Kart). Wick improved his score to match that set by Dickinson, the 2017 SKUSA Pro Tour S2 champion. The two will not be going head-to-head, as Wick is making the move to S1 for the SuperNationals while Riley is staying in S2.

Brian Keck matches the advancement of Ramirez, moving 28 spots up to eighth on the Driver Rankings. Keck (CRG) had a best finish of sixth in his four starts on the SKUSA Pro Tour, placing fourth at the recent Streets of Lancaster Grand Prix to help boost his score. Dropping two spots to ninth is Hunter Kelly (Italcorse). The former SKUSA Pro Tour TaG Cadet champion (2012) has not shown the speed to contest for podiums like he did in S2, however, remains inside the top-10. Skyler Finley (DKC / Sodi Kart) jumped 19 positions to 10th. Finley finished the season third in the SKUSA Pro Tour S2 championship standings.

Dropping out of the top-10 is Matias Podboj (Mad-Croc), who scored his first California ProKart Challenge victory this year, veteran Ron White (CRG) and new California PKC S2 champion Jason Pettit (Aluminos).

Upcoming EKN Stock Honda Driver Rankings Schedule
[table]Date,Series,Class,Track,Location,Rank
11/4,Sanzaru Games Karting Championship #9,Pro Stock Honda,Simraceway Performance Karting Center,”Sonoma, CA”,8
11/19,SKUSA SuperNationals XIX,S1,Las Vegas Convention Center,”Las Vegas, NV”,10
11/19,SKUSA SuperNationals XIX,S2,Las Vegas Convention Center,”Las Vegas, NV”,9.5
[/table]

Stock Moto #1 – Jake French
Sachse, Texas

(Photo: EKN)

It has been a near perfect season for Jake French. The Dallas Karting Complex / Sodi Kart driver has eight straight podium finishes at the SKUSA Pro Tour dating back to New Castle 2016. His third place finish at the SuperNationals last year really triggered his momentum into the 2017 season. Winning half of the races in 2017, French locked up SKUSA Pro Tour title and is now after his next item on the bucket list – a SuperNationals victory. French has yet to win in Las Vegas, losing one in 2008 in S5. It would be fitting to see him come away with the victory at SuperNationals 21 to close out a strong 2017 season.

Point Breakdown
[table width=”350″]Race,Rank,Finish,Points
SKUSA SuperNationals 2016 – S1,10,3,1142
SKUSA WinterNationals ’17 #1 – S1,9.5,1,1084
SKUSA WinterNationals ’17 #2 – S1,9.5,2,1073
SKUSA SpringNationals ’17 #1 – S1,9.5,3,1063
SKUSA SpringNationals ’17 #2 – S1,9.5,2,1073
SKUSA SummerNationals ’17 #1 – S1,9.5,1,1069
SKUSA SummerNationals ’17 #2 – S1,9.5,1,1069
[/table]
Inside the Stats
Average Finish: 1.86
Average Points: 1081.9
Total Points: 7573

**************************************

Stock Moto #2 – Billy Musgrave
Norco, California

(Photo: EKN)

The King of California – Billy Musgrave. Four titles in five years at the California ProKart Challenge along with the vice champion position at the SKUSA Pro Tour puts Musgrave as one of the top shifterkart drivers in the country. The MRC / Aluminos driver can set some blistering lap times at the different tracks on the schedule. At least one victory in the last three years of the SKUSA Pro Tour is unmatched. One difference from French to Musgrave, a SuperNationals victory. Musgrave blazed the field at the 2012 SuperNationals in S2. Quick early on at last year’s SuperNationals, Musgrave will need to maintain the speed into SuperSunday for a chance to end 2017 as the #1.

Point Breakdown
[table width=”350″]Race,Rank,Finish,Points
SKUSA SuperNationals 2016 – S1,10,7,1095
SKUSA WinterNationals ’17 #1 – S1,9.5,2,1073
SKUSA WinterNationals ’17 #2 – S1,9.5,9,997
SKUSA SpringNationals ’17 #1 – S1,9.5,5,1041
SKUSA SpringNationals ’17 #2 – S1,9.5,1,1084
SKUSA SummerNationals ’17 #1 – S1,9.5,5,1026
SKUSA SummerNationals ’17 #2 – S1,9.5,2,1058
[/table]
Inside the Stats
Average Finish: 4.43
Average Points: 1053.4
Total Points: 7374

**************************************

Stock Moto #3 – Mathias Ramirez
Bradenton, California

(Photo: On Track Promotions – otp.ca)

2015 in Portugal, Mathias Ramirez stood on the podium at the Rotax Grand Finals in the second position. From that moment, he was targeted as a rising star in the sport. Ramirez – racing under the Andersen Racing / Birel ART banner – made a return to the Stock Honda last year, with a successful year of S5 Junior under his belt in 2014. His return was at the SuperNationals, dominating the final to earn the victory. Now into the S1 division, Ramriez has ended the season as the top rookie in the category, poised to battle for a podium at the SuperNationals and end the year as one of the top drivers in the country.

Point Breakdown
[table width=”350″]Race,Rank,Finish,Points
SKUSA SuperNationals 2016 – S2,10,1,1138
SKUSA WinterNationals ’17 #1 – S1,9.5,4,1052
SKUSA WinterNationals ’17 #2 – S1,9.5,4,1052
SKUSA SpringNationals ’17 #1 – S1,9.5,4,1052
SKUSA SpringNationals ’17 #2 – S1,9.5,12,965
SKUSA SummerNationals ’17 #1 – S1,9.5,8,994
SKUSA SummerNationals ’17 #2 – S1,9.5,3,1047
[/table]
Inside the Stats
Average Finish: 5.14
Average Points: 1042.9
Total Points: 7300

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 Stock Honda 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 2017, the SKUSA SuperNationals will receive a score of 10 in its initial weighting in the TaG and Stock Honda categories. A base ranking of 9.5 is set for the US Rotax Max Challenge Grand Nationals and the SKUSA Pro Tour, while a base ranking of 9 goes to the United States Pro Kart Series, Florida Winter Tour Rotax Max Challenge and Rok Cup, 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 8.0.

The EKN staff reserves the right to adjust the rankings of each event throughout the year. A minimum entry total for any event to be 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, we calculate each driver’s overall score and subsequent ranking.

EKN Driver Rankings Powered by Bell Racing USA – Stock Honda – as of October 27, 2017
[table]Pos.,Jul. 31,Plus/Minus,Driver,Races,Score
1.,1,NC,Jake French,10,7573
2.,2,NC,Billy Musgrave,21,7374
3.,31,28,Mathias Ramirez,7,7300
4.,4,NC,Austin Wilkins,8,7189
5.,3,-2,Hunter Pickett,14,7168
6.,8,2,Kyle Wick,14,7081
7.,5,-2,Riley Dickinson,13,7081
8.,36,28,Brian Keck,8,6929
9.,7,-2,Hunter Kelly,12,6914
10.,29,19,Skyler Finley,8,6820
11.,6,-5,Matias Podboj,19,6789
12.,14,2,Collin Daley,9,6785
13.,9,-4,Ron White,7,6692
14.,10,-4,Jason Pettit,11,6682
15.,28,13,Graig Alvarez,8,6653
16.,13,-3,Rory van der Steur,11,6647
17.,15,-2,Kol Bailey,12,6625
18.,43,25,Harry Gottsacker,9,6623
19.,11,-8,Callum Smith,7,6578
20.,12,-8,Kolton Griffin,8,6571
21.,46,25,Nathan Adds,9,6553
22.,16,-6,Andretta Young,12,6486
23.,17,-6,Robert Heck Jr.,20,6440
24.,18,-6,Blair Hosie,13,6377
25.,45,20,Darin Marcus,7,6288
26.,20,-6,Garrett McKelvie,22,6191
27.,21,-6,Gianfranco Casadei,9,6150
28.,22,-6,Josh Early,20,6149
29.,53,24,Nic LeDuc,6,6119
30.,27,-3,Royal McKee,9,5919
31.,26,-5,Tyler Guilbeault,7,5885
32.,66,34,Vivek Tandon,7,5846
33.,40,7,Carlee Taylor,8,5817
34.,34,NC,Carson Mueller,7,5796
35.,68,33,Prescott Campbell,7,5750
36.,37,1,Antonio de Lis,8,5719
37.,52,15,Dean Heldt,7,5686
38.,30,-8,AJ Myers,5,5263
39.,19,-20,Ryan Pool,6,5154
40.,51,11,Daniel Formal,5,5138
41.,48,7,Chris Farrell,6,5033
42.,25,-17,Ayrton Little,6,5023
43.,63,20,Tyler Fling,6,4994
44.,35,-9,Ryan P. Lewis,6,4928
45.,50,5,Michael Korody,6,4902
46.,75,29,Mike Rivera,6,4860
47.,78,31,Anthony Freese,6,4795
48.,99,51,Blake Dunkleberger,6,4776
49.,59,10,Aaron Aguirre,5,4314
50.,175,125,Michael Ilavia,5,4312
51.,189,138,Nikita Lastochkin,5,4311
52.,58,6,Bonnier Moulton,5,4303
53.,62,9,Alexis Costa,5,4250
54.,130,76,Keawn Tandon,5,4206
55.,39,-16,Chris Matthew,5,4138
56.,49,-7,Kevin Janders,5,4101
57.,102,45,Gary Carlton,4,4068
58.,41,-17,Bryon Rothenhoefer,5,3995
59.,56,-3,Gianfranco Mazzaferro,4,3959
60.,143,83,Jacob Pope,5,3957
61.,57,-4,Sabre Cook,4,3947
62.,137,75,Trevor Sumner,5,3883
63.,23,-40,Josh Lane,4,3488
64.,61,-3,Jacob Boubel,4,3415
65.,87,22,Zach Pettinicchi,4,3408
66.,24,-42,Billy Drury,4,3382
67.,-,-,Reilly Cann,4,3347
68.,124,56,Tony Malito,4,3342
69.,67,-2,Matthew Morgan,4,3320
70.,71,1,Cody Hodgson,4,3240
71.,74,3,Travis Henson,4,3197
72.,76,4,Jon Karagounis,4,3181
73.,42,-31,Frank Rapisarda,4,3115
74.,140,66,Quintin Bineau,4,3115
75.,155,80,Kyle Kalish,3,3085
76.,152,76,Garrett Boone,3,2994
77.,182,105,Jimmy Simpson,3,2892
78.,44,-34,Tyler Bennett,3,2755
79.,83,4,KC Cook,3,2686
80.,85,5,Richard Stock,3,2662
81.,181,100,Cody Elliott,3,2630
82.,64,-18,Brian Davies,3,2529
83.,122,39,Evan Batt,3,2526
84.,89,5,Brad Dunford,3,2525
85.,90,5,Alex Manglass,3,2506
86.,73,-13,Patrick Cecilian,3,2479
87.,92,5,Kyle Knecht,3,2474
88.,93,5,Devon Smith-Harden,3,2441
89.,95,6,Justin Taylor,3,2426
90.,38,-52,Paul Makarucha,3,2407
91.,70,-21,Matthew O’Donnell,3,2405
92.,131,39,Kent Hatada,3,2402
93.,96,3,Mike Schneider,3,2395
94.,77,-17,Evan Polisky,3,2393
95.,139,44,Tyler DeGraff,3,2351
96.,-,-,Emon Fazlollahi,3,2320
97.,101,4,Matt Hamilton,2,2071
98.,103,5,Fritz Leesmann,2,2006
99.,80,-19,Jake Craig,2,2001
100.,-,-,Antonio Serravalle,2,1967
101.,105,4,Bryce Cornet,2,1940
102.,106,4,Nick Neri,2,1923
103.,81,-22,Carter Williams,2,1897
104.,107,3,Jeff Kingsley,2,1886
105.,108,3,Harrison Mills,2,1846
106.,164,58,Clinton Schoombee,2,1826
107.,110,3,Joe Ruch,2,1814
108.,82,-26,Jordon Musser,2,1798
109.,111,2,CJ Cramm,2,1794
110.,112,2,Tase Flores,2,1782
111.,-,-,Nathan Ratton,2,1780
112.,-,-,Ryan Kinnear,2,1771
113.,115,2,Christian Bird,2,1747
114.,-,-,Kyle Kennedy,2,1735
115.,109,-6,Jason Campbell,2,1734
116.,116,NC,Conner Wick,2,1729
117.,126,9,Erin Sims,2,1715
118.,-,-,Sebastian Alvarez,2,1714
119.,119,NC,Cole Franchini,2,1711
120.,123,3,Brandon Tomko,2,1691
121.,114,-7,Mike Beeny,2,1676
122.,-,-,Kyle Smith,2,1641
123.,127,4,William Auffenberg,2,1641
124.,178,54,Kyle Loh,2,1637
125.,55,-70,Liam Snyder,2,1633
126.,194,68,Sarah Rassmusen,2,1629
127.,65,-62,Sebastian Bertoia,2,1625
128.,128,NC,Jeff Westlund,2,1621
129.,54,-75,Mark Snyder,2,1617
130.,132,2,Jacob DeLavergne,2,1604
131.,133,2,Steve Perdue,2,1597
132.,98,-34,Randall Burnett,2,1591
133.,136,3,Marcellus Dukes,2,1590
134.,138,4,Billy Smith,2,1564
135.,69,-66,Jessica Sollberger,2,1531
136.,146,10,Jeff Thralls,2,1510
137.,147,10,Marco Hernandez,2,1448
138.,148,10,Anthony Concialdi,2,1431
139.,149,10,Daniel Bray,1,1130
140.,150,10,Trenton Estep,1,1081
141.,151,10,Christian Schureman,1,1072
142.,104,-38,Joey Wimsett,1,1060
143.,153,10,Wesley Boswell,1,1025
144.,154,10,Matt Jaskol,1,1014
145.,156,11,Fernando Casillas Jr.,1,979
146.,157,11,Ricardo Gonzalez,1,967
147.,158,11,Alec Gumpfer,1,944
148.,159,11,Austin Schimmel,1,944
149.,84,-65,Brady Ross,1,933
150.,161,11,Axel Matus,1,932
151.,162,11,Kyle Kirkwood,1,920
152.,165,13,Ryan Rudolph,1,910
153.,166,13,Luca Tilloca,1,909
154.,168,14,Alexander Rossi,1,897
155.,-,-,Cameron Egger,1,893
156.,169,13,Cory Milne,1,889
157.,170,13,Emiliano Salazar,1,887
158.,171,13,Nick Brueckner,1,885
159.,163,4,Joshua de Losier,1,884
160.,86,-74,Jimmy McNeil,1,883
161.,172,11,Zach Schiff,1,882
162.,174,12,Zach Herrin,1,876
163.,113,-50,Peter Abba,1,874
164.,176,12,Remo Ruscitti,1,867
165.,177,12,Colton Aldridge,1,865
166.,94,-72,Garrett Knutson,1,857
167.,97,-70,Garrett Kramer,1,857
168.,-,-,Matt Koerner,1,856
169.,-,-,Race Liberante,1,846
170.,33,-137,Lauren Stark,1,842
171.,184,13,Zac Clark,1,832
172.,185,13,Nathan Stewart,1,831
173.,187,14,Kalvin Chen,1,822
174.,188,14,Ben Schermerhorn,1,821
175.,191,16,Daniel Justice,1,817
176.,192,16,Adrian Yong,1,813
177.,193,16,Mateo DeLeon,1,812
178.,-,-,Brennon Viera,1,810
179.,-,-,Rene Martinelli,1,808
180.,195,15,Don McGregor,1,805
181.,197,16,Sean Bond,1,804
182.,198,16,Alejandro Fernandez,1,802
183.,199,16,Hadrien le Flanchec,1,802
184.,-,-,Robert Tifft,1,800
185.,201,16,Venkat Reddy,1,797
186.,202,16,Lance Lane,1,796
187.,203,16,Vincent Cossard,1,796
188.,204,16,Zoli Sule,1,795
189.,205,16,Chandler Campbell,1,794
190.,206,16,Garrett Ramirez,1,794
191.,-,-,Daniel De La Calle,1,792
192.,207,15,Michael McCarthy,1,789
193.,-,-,Eddie Tafoya,1,786
194.,208,14,Luis Pablo Garcia,1,785
195.,209,14,Tyler Coffman,1,784
196.,210,14,Angus Hunt,1,778
197.,211,14,Austin Adzima,1,776
198.,212,14,Travis Nicklas,1,776
199.,213,14,Rod Clinard,1,771
200.,-,-,Carl Lewis,1,768
201.,144,-57,Colin Long,1,762
202.,141,-61,Travis Waddell,1,760
203.,216,13,David Roberts,1,758
204.,142,-62,Lee Waddell,1,751
205.,219,14,Genaro Castillo Barba,1,739
206.,72,-134,Christian Bouhuys,1,734
207.,-,-,Christopher de Lis,1,734
208.,220,12,Chris Valez,1,732
209.,221,12,Joey Paonessa,1,731
210.,223,13,Victor Jimenez,1,728
211.,79,-132,Keith Buffo,1,724
212.,224,12,Hannah Williams,1,717
213.,225,12,Joe di Vito,1,715
214.,226,12,Jason Bane,1,697
215.,100,-115,Casey Ross,1,694
216.,227,11,Javier Gonzalez,1,671
[/table]