Ryan Norberg added is fourth SKUSA Pro Tour title while remaining on top of the EKN Driver Rankings (Photo: EKN)

There can be no doubt as to who is at the top of the eKartingNews.com TaG Driver Rankings Powered by Bell Racing USA following the first eight months of the 2019 season. Nearly 400 drivers have put in results through the selected events on the season to accumulate points over the past 12 months to be considered among the best of the best. Over the past five years, two names have stood out at events around the country and in the Driver Rankings.

Ryan Norberg, a now four-time SKUSA Pro Tour champion, has been among the top drivers in the EKN TaG Driver Rankings. The Rolison Performance Group / Kosmic driver finished the last two seasons on top, and is gearing up for a third depending on the final events of 2019. Brandon Jarsocrak finished the 2015 season as #1 in the EKN Driver Rankings. Since, he has been among those in the top-five each year. Only 140 points separate the top two heading into the home stretch of the season, with the SKUSA SuperNationals 23 the maximum chance of improving their scores to claim the top spot.

Jumping up five spots to the third position is Trey Brown. The Nash Motorsportz / FA Kart driver has had an impressive and consistent 2019 at the SKUSA Pro Tour to reach the podium to this point of the season. He jumped over teammate Christian Brooks, who missed the SummerNationals for his F4 US Championship event at Mid-Ohio. Brooks made noise at the last California ProKart Challenge, piloting a Croc Promotion USA machine. 2018 WKA champion Austin Garrison (CRG Nordam) is down to fifth, ending a challenging 2019 with one lone victory coming at the United States Pro Kart Series opener.

Brazilian Arthur Liest (PSL / Birel ART) moves down to sixth, unable to improve his score after missing the SummerNationals due to his US F4 Championship schedule. Remaining in the seventh spot is Hannah Greenemeier (RPG / Kosmic). Into her second season in the Senior ranks, Greenemeier remains a threat and is gaining shifterkart events under her belt as well. Dropping down two spots to eighth is Alex Bertagnoli. The KartSport North America / Kart Republic driver was limited in the seat this season, but still produced solid results to keep him in the top-10. The top rookie of the season is Josh Green (MDR / Kosmic). The 2018 WKA Junior champion quickly got up to speed and earned his first major victory at the USPKS event at GoPro Motorplex. Green’s schedule was also limited, competing in the F1600 Championship and is among the six finalists in the Team USA Scholarship program to race Formula Ford in Europe. Colin Neal makes it three Rolison Performance Group / Kosmic drivers inside the top-10. In his first year with the team, Neal produced his best results at the SKUSA Pro Tour.

Upcoming EKN TaG Driver Rankings Schedule

TaG #1 – Ryan Norberg
Orlando, Florida

(Photo: EKN)

History was made at the 2019 SKUSA Pro Tour SummerNationals at New Castle Motorsports Park. Ryan Norberg went out and won his third straight main event, placing runner-up the following day to secure his fourth straight SKUSA Pro Tour championship in the X30 Senior division. Since TaG racing was introduced in the United States, no driver has completed a run at the national level has Norberg has done, and still doing. The Rolison Performance Group / Kosmic driver continues winning everywhere he goes – be it ROK Cup USA, California ProKart Challenge, and likely at the upcoming IKF Sprint GrandNationals. One thing absent from his CV, a SKUSA SuperNationals victory. This will be his fourth start in Vegas.

Point Breakdown

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TaG #2 – Brandon Jarsocrak
Reading, Pennsylvania

(Photo: EKN)

Also producing his own bit of history was Brandon Jarsocrak. In July, the MDR driver was able to escape with the third straight United States Pro Kart Series title in X30 Pro despite a DNF in the final round on the final circuit. Two weeks later, Jarsocrak secured his third SKUSA SummerNationals victory in the last three years, securing the SKUSA #2 plate for the second time in his career. From 2015 to 2017, he finished fourth, second and third in the SKUSA standings. Jarsocrak was among those battling for the SuperNationals victory before last lap contact took him from a possible win or podium finish. You can believe both he and Norberg will be checkers or wreckers in Vegas for the top step of the podium.

Point Breakdown

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TaG #3 – Trey Brown
San Diego, California

(Photo: EKN)

It has been an impressive season thus far for SoCal driver Trey Brown (Nash Motorsportz / FA Kart). The former Streets of Lancaster Grand Prix scholarship winner ripped off five top-six finishes at the SKUSA Pro Tour in X30 Senior this season, including one podium at the SpringNationals. Brown is still searching for that elusive victory on the SKUSA Pro Tour, however, remains a threat each and every weekend. With the upcoming Streets of Lancaster, Brown could trigger the momentum with victory there before heading to Las Vegas. He recorded a DNF last year after skipping the event in 2017. Brown finished seventh in his last Junior year in 2016.

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 the TaG and Shifterkart categories 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 also included the results for the major one-off events such as the SKUSA SuperNationals, 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 2019, the SKUSA SuperNationals will receive a score of 10 in its initial weighting in the TaG and Shifterkart 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, All Star Finals, Stars and Stripes Trophy and Open, 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.

eKartingNews.com TaG Driver Rankings Powered by Bell Racing USA – as of September 9, 2019