(Photo: EKN)

There is no telling how the standings will finish out the year for the 2018 eKartingNews.com TaG Driver Rankings Powered by Bell Racing USA. With each release of the standings, there is movement from nearly all 400 drivers with an improvement here, or a disappointing result there. And as the season draws to a close, the anticipation for the SKUSA SuperNationals 22 grows, as the event returns back home to the Rio and is the final deciding event to see who ends the season as the #1 driver.

Last year, and for all of 2018 thus far, Ryan Norberg has been the benchmark of the TaG Driver Rankings. The PSL / Birel ART driver earned his third straight SKUSA title at the SummerNationals, an unprecedented mark for modern day karting. His results over the past 12 months keep him in the top spot of the standings. Just 50 points back is his closest rival in the SKUSA Pro Tour standings Samuel Lupien (RPG / Kosmic). The Canadian is having an outstanding 2018 season, ending up vice-champion to Norberg and closing in on the #1 spot. Jumping into the top-three is SKUSA Pro Tour race winner Dante Yu (CompKart). The Californian has proven to be one of the top drivers in the country, thanks to his recent SpringNationals victory.

Holding strong in the top-five is Alex Bertagnoli and Brandon Jarsocrak. The two have been the toughest competitors against one another for the last two seasons. Jarsocrak (KSNA / Kart Republic) has the advantage, earning his second straight United States Pro Kart Series championship and another victory at the SummerNationals. Bertagnoli (FMS / Kart Republic) has the numbers in the standings, sitting fourth thanks to two SKUSA Pro Tour podium finishes this season.

Jumping into the top-10 is the second Canadian, Ryan MacDermid. It was a breakthrough victory for Prime / Birel ART driver at the SummerNationals to gain his first SKUSA Pro Tour win. Add in the top-10 results from the SpringNationals, and his stock has risen to the sixth spot. Up two spots to seventh is Christian Brooks. The former Challenge of the Americas champion had a shot at the SKUSA Pro Tour crown going into New Castle. Brooks – who made the move from the CRG to the FA Kart, however, was not able to match the results that Norberg did. The longtime Nash Motorsportz driver is focused on completing his ARX RallyCross season, so we will have to wait to see when his next time aboard a kart will happen, possibly the SuperNats once again?

The 2018 Senior Rookie of the Year has to be Hannah Greenemeier. The Rolison Performance Group / Kosmic driver was among the quickest each and every weekend at the SKUSA Pro Tour. Her best finish was sixth – twice at the WinterNationals and once at the SpringNationals, and she was the top American finisher at the US Open / Rotax Grand Nationals (runner-up to Lupien). If she can eliminate mistakes in the Prefinals, the Colorado pilot will be gunning for podium finishes in 2019. Billy Musgrave remains the only driver to be inside the top-10 of both Stock Honda and TaG driver rankings. Musgrave (Aluminos) has a couple wins and podium results at the regional level, however, has not translated that to the SKUSA Pro Tour. Capping off the top-10, and making it three countries represented is Callum Bradshaw. The Brit has driven for CRG Nordam for the season, finishing up the SKUSA Pro Tour near the top-10 in the standings but showing his best during the SKUSA Winter Series in Florida.

Dropping out of the top-10 was #2 Jake Craig (RPM / Tony Kart). The California driver missed the SummerNationals as he was contesting the Toyo Tires F1600 Championship event at the famed Circuit Trois Rivieres in Quebec. He lost the Super Series title to former TaG Driver Rankings contender Kellen Ritter by 16 points and still trails in the season championship chase to Ritter with two events remaining. Also dropping was #7 Nicky Hays (PGR / Ricciardo). The two-time California ProKart Challenge champion is focusing more of his efforts on open wheel racing as well, selected alongside Craig as nominees for the Team USA Scholarship program for 2018.

Upcoming EKN TaG Driver Rankings Schedule

TaG #1 – Ryan Norberg
Orlando, Florida

(Photo: EKN)

Norberg has put himself in the history books with a third consecutive Superkarts! USA Pro Tour championship. He and Birel ART teammate Jordon Musser are the only two drivers to earn three titles in the program’s history. It is the first time we have seen this type of performance in championship honors since Gary Carlton dominated the Stars of Karting program from 2006-2008. While it may not be the consistent winning that Carlton did during that time, Norberg is constantly among the top contenders weekend after weekend. It will be the second straight year Norberg ends the year as #1 in the EKN Driver Rankings should the Florida driver finish the year with another strong performance at the SuperNationals 22.

Point Breakdown
Race,Rank,Finish,Points
SKUSA SuperNationals 2017,10,5,1147
SKUSA Winter Series ’18 #4,8.5,2,972
SKUSA WinterNationals ’18 #2,9.5,5,1041
SKUSA SpringNationals ’18 #1,9.5,1,1098
SKUSA SpringNationals ’18 #2,9.5,3,1076
SKUSA SummerNationals ’18 #1,9.5,3,1096
SKUSA SummerNationals ’18 #2,9.5,7,1051

Inside the Stats
Average Finish: 3.71
Average Points: 1068.7
Total Points: 7481

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

TaG #2 – Samuel Lupien
Montreal, Quebec, Canada

(Photo: EKN)

Next to Norberg, Lupien is having a phenomenal 2018 season. While he may have come up short in the SKUSA Pro Tour standings to Norberg, Lupien still has a chance to finish the year in the #1 spot for the EKN Driver Rankings. One big help is his victory performance at the US Open / Rotax Grand Nationals. He and Norberg finished 6th and 5th at last year’s SuperNationals, thus making the difference between the two drivers heading into November even closer when that race is removed from the standings. Likely, who ever finishes higher between the two will end 2018 as the #1 driver.

Point Breakdown
Race,Rank,Finish,Points
SKUSA SuperNationals 2017,10,6,1135
SKUSA WinterNationals ’18 #1,9.5,4,1051
SKUSA WinterNationals ’18 #2,9.5,2,1073
California ProKart Challenge ’18 #2,9,3,987
SKUSA SpringNationals ’18 #1,9.5,3,1076
2018 US Open/Rotax Grand Nationals,9,1,1002
SKUSA SummerNationals ’17 #2,9.5,2,1107

Inside the Stats
Average Finish: 3.00
Average Points: 1061.6
Total Points: 7431

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

TaG #3 – Dante Yu
Temple City, California

(Photo: EKN)

The improvement continues for Dante Yu. The California driver has been focused over the last two years, racing both here in the States and in Europe, and has positioned himself as one of the top drivers to call USA home. Yu grabbed his first SKUSA Pro Tour victory back in May, and while the SummerNationals did not produce another trip to the podium, his two-race win streak at the California ProKart Challenge helped him to move up into the top-three of the EKN Driver Rankings. Depending on his closing schedule for 2018 and result at the SuperNationals, the defending Streets of Lancaster Grand Prix winner could finish the year inside the top-three.

Point Breakdown
Race,Rank,Finish,Points
California ProKart Challenge ’17 #6,9,1,1041
SKUSA WinterNationals ’18 #1,9.5,9,997
SKUSA SpringNationals ’18 #1,9.5,5,1054
SKUSA SpringNationals ’18 #2,9.5,1,1098
California ProKart Challenge ’18 #3,9,1,1022
California ProKart Challenge ’18 #4,9,1,1002
SKUSA SummerNationals ’18 #1,9.5,7,1051

Inside the Stats
Average Finish: 3.58
Average Points: 1037.9
Total Points: 7265

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 TaG Driver Rankings Powered by Bell Racing USA – as of August 17, 2018

Share on Facebook

Tweet