(Photo: EKN)

The final chapters of the 2018 karting season is upon us as we begin to close out the month of August. Kids are heading back to school, and the racing schedule is starting to slow down with the national programs closing up their final rounds, along with the regional and club series around the country. With the Superkarts! USA Pro Tour closing up this month, the eKartingNews.com Stock Honda Driver Rankings Powered by Bell Racing USA have just a few more major events remaining that will shape the final standings for the 2018 season.

The SummerNationals did not pan out the way Billy Musgrave wanted to, missing out on the SKUSA Pro Tour championship. The MRC / Aluminos driver however remains the #1 driver in the standings as we head into the final months. His lead extended to 82 points over NorCal driver Nic LeDuc (Sodikart). It was a tough return to Indiana for LeDuc, unable to record a strong finish either day. The gap back to third also closed up with 2017 SKUSA Pro Tour champion Jake French returning to the seat, earning two podium finishes at the SummerNationals to put himself just 166 markers off Musgrave.

S1 rookie Kyle Wick remains in the fourth position following another solid weekend at the SummerNationals. The RPG / CRG driver stood on the podium on Sunday to help him gain the vice-champion position and the SKUSA #2 plate for the 2019 season. Rory van der Steur (Tony Kart) jumped up three spots despite not reaching the podium at the SummerNats. The privateer has put himself into a good position to challenge for one of the top three spots on the Driver Rankings with a podium run at the SuperNationals. Victory at New Castle only gave Hunter Pickett one spot in the Driver Rankings. The Sodikart driver from California earned his second career SKUSA Pro Tour S1 victory, and now is sixth in the Driver Rankings.

Jamaican Collin Daley finished his rookie season in the S1 division at the SKUSA Pro Tour without a podium finish in the six rounds of racing. The DRT / DR Kart driver showed speed throughout the season, and remains inside the top-10 of the Driver Rankings. Blair Hosie put in his best career performance at the SummerNationals. Hosie dominated the weekend, earning his first career SKUSA Pro Tour S2 victory in his MRC / Aluminos debut. Runner-up on Sunday promoted him inside the top-10 to eighth. Holding ninth is Kol Bailey (LEM / Praga) who was absent for the SummerNationals. Rounding out the top-10 is the new SKUSA Pro Tour S2 champion Pedro Lopes. In his first season racing the six-speed category, the Brazilian stood on the podium in all six rounds of the SKUSA Pro Tour, including four straight wins aboard his RPG / Kosmic.

Dropping out of the top-10 is Brain Keck (#16) and Riley Dickinson (#29) who were both absent from the SummerNationals. The ‘On the Move’ this month is #12 Max Hewitt. A new addition to the CRG Nordam driver roster, Hewitt is making a charge up the Driver Rankings since moving to the Stock Honda category. Hewitt is the current point leader at the Texas ProKart Challenge and earned his first SKUSA Pro Tour victory at the SummerNationals, coming from the tail of the field to steal the victory from Hosie. It will be great to see him up against the S1 drivers at the SuperNationals this November.

Back in #26 is the new SKUSA Pro Tour champion AJ Myers. The TB Kart USA pilot secured this year’s crown with a dominating performance at the SummerNationals in the final round. Myers, who won both rounds at the SummerNats in 2016, came back to racing S1 for 2018 after racing TaG in 2017. Myers only has the three SKUSA events to his credit for the Driver Rankings. Thus, carrying the new #1 plate at the SuperNationals will be his seventh event, and success there could easily put him atop the standings to close out 2018.

Upcoming EKN Stock Honda Driver Rankings Schedule

Stock Moto #1 – Billy Musgrave
Norco, California

(Photo: DromoPhotos.com)

2018 was shaping up to be the championship season for Musgrave. The 2017 SuperNationals winner had the title in his hand heading to the SummerNationals, however, a performance unlike Musgrave saw the championship slip away. Musgrave will now carry the SKUSA #3 plate in 2019. Looking ahead, the MRC / Aluminos driver has two goals to complete the 2018 season – earn a fifth California ProKart Challenge title with two rounds remaining, and of course, defend his SuperNationals victory in November. Musgrave is one of a few to win at both the Rio and the LVCC location, having scored the SuperNats victory in S2 back in 2012 while winning S1 last year.

Point Breakdown
Race,Rank,Finish,Points
California ProKart Challenge ’18 #6 – S1,8.5,2,963
SKUSA SuperNationals 2017 – S1,10,1,1177
SKUSA WinterNationals ’18 #1 – S1,9.5,3,998
SKUSA WinterNationals ’18 #2 – S1,9.5,2,1008
SKUSA SpringNationals ’18 #1 – S1,9.5,4,990
SKUSA SpringNationals ’18 #2 – S1,9.5,6,965
SKUSA SummerNationals ’18 #1 – S1,9.5,4,971

Inside the Stats
Average Finish: 3.14
Average Points: 1010.3
Total Points: 7072

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Stock Moto #2 – Nic LeDuc
Novato, California

(Photo: EKN)

The S1 category is a great mixture of talent. Those racing for big teams, veterans of the sport with multiple decades of karting, and privateers who just love racing at the top level of the sport. LeDuc is one of those drivers that just loves the competition. The Sodikart driver from NorCal has been able to record a SKUSA Pro Tour victory in the last two years. An outside chance at the title was in his thoughts going to the SummerNationals, however, a challenging weekend only mustered a best finish of fifth. Moving forward, LeDuc is looking to defend his Streets of Lancaster Grand Prix victory and challenge for a his first SuperNationals triumph.

Point Breakdown
Race,Rank,Finish,Points
California ProKart Challenge ’17 #6 – S1,8.5,1,973
SKUSA SuperNationals 2017 – S1,9.5,7,1106
SKUSA WinterNationals ’18 #1 – S1,9.5,9,937
SKUSA WinterNationals ’18 #2 – S1,9.5,3,998
SKUSA SpringNationals ’18 #1 – S1,9.5,3,1000
SKUSA SpringNationals ’18 #2 – S1,9.5,1,1015
SKUSA SummerNationals ’18 #2 – S1,9.5,5,961

Inside the Stats
Average Finish: 4.14
Average Points: 998.6
Total Points: 6990

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Stock Moto #3 – Jake French
Sachse, Texas

(Photo: EKN)

While it may not be the seat he wants to be in, it was great to see French behind the wheel of a kart once again. The 2017 SKUSA Pro Tour champion was back to racing karts after missing out on the SpringNationals. French was focused on a rookie season at the F4 US championship this season, however, two wrecks in two separate weekends put a halt on his open wheel career. Jake and his father are a dynamic duo in the sport, and were back on their game at the SummerNationals by earning two more podiums. His future behind the wheel is uncertain with the dismantle of the DKC race team. One would think a final run for a victory at the SuperNationals is on the horizon for French.

Point Breakdown
Race,Rank,Finish,Points
Texas ProKart Challenge ’17 #5 – S2,8.5,1,932
Texas ProKart Challenge ’17 #6 – S2,8.5,1,932
SKUSA SuperNationals 2017 – S1,10,2,1165
SKUSA WinterNationals ’18 #1 – S1,9.5,10,927
SKUSA WinterNationals ’18 #2 – S1,9.5,5,978
SKUSA SummerNationals ’17 #1 – S1,9.5,3,981
SKUSA SummerNationals ’17 #2 – S1,9.5,2,991

Inside the Stats
Average Finish: 3.43
Average Points: 986.6
Total Points: 6906

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 2018, 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 SKUSA Pro Tour, while a base ranking of 9 goes to the SKUSA Winter Series, United States Pro Kart Series, Florida Winter Tour, Challenge of the Americas, Rok the Rio, Rock Island Grand Prix, US Rotax Max Challenge Grand Nationals, 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.

eKartingNews.com Stock Honda Driver Rankings Powered by Bell Racing USA – as of August 17, 2018

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