Arias Deukmedjian and Luca Mars (Photo: EKN)

The final club and regional events of the 2020 season have finally concluded here in the United States for the sport of karting. It was a busy season with the COVID-19 pandemic that saw numerous events rescheduled, with nearly all of the races on the EKN Driver Rankings schedule conducted as the industry and those in the sport endured one of the most challenging years in history. As we look to turn the calendar over to 2021, we review the end results of the 2020 season, including the EKN TaG Driver Rankings. For the first time ever in the 16-year history of the program on the website, the standings end in a tie with Arias Deukmedjian and Luca Mars finishing the last 12 months with the same total over their best seven-point results.

Two drivers who have consistently been toward the front of the TaG fields in 2020 include Deukmedjian and Mars. Deukmedjian (KSNA / Kart Republic / Will Power Kart) finished 31st last year in the standings, running selected events in his rookie season at the Senior level. The 2018 SKUSA Pro Tour X30 Junior champion had a breakout year in 2020, beginning with a victory at the SKUSA Winter Series finale. Once racing resumed after the COVID-19 shutdown, Arias won at the USPKS series opener. He then went on to earn four podium finishes at the SKUSA Pro Tour, including a victory, ending up with the SKUSA #3 plate. Deukmedjian added another victory at the USPKS, finishing the standings in fifth. The Florida driver traveled to Europe at the end of 2020 to compete at the FIA Karting World Championships with Kart Republic.

Arias Deukmedjian (Photo: EKN)

Mars (SCR / Redspeed) ended his Junior career strong last year, representing the USA at the Academy Trophy and overcoming a broken wrist. 2020 was his rookie Senior season and made it memorable. The season began with a vice-championship at the Florida Winter Tour in Senior ROK while finishing seventh in the SKUSA Winter Series standings. Like Deukmedjian, Mars stood out as a top contender at the SKUSA Summer Festival. In a six-round, two weekend marathon Mars hit the ‘cycle’ finishing in 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th. The victory marked his first SKUSA Pro Tour triumph in X30 Senior, finishing the championship in second for the SKUSA #2 plate in 2021. Add in a United States Rotax Grand Nationals victory, finishing sixth in USPKS standings and P9 at ROK the RIO, Mars was in contention all of 2020.

Shuffling continued for the top-three, as Bryson Morris (RPG / Kosmic) leaped up to the third spot to close out 2020. The 2020 SKUSA Pro Tour champion in X30 Senior and KA100 Senior began the year with a best finish of seventh at the SKUSA Winter Series. Following the COVID-19 lockdown, Morris earned his first podium result at the USPKS 2020 opener. He then pulled the trigger with three wins in the five rounds he contested at the SKUSA Pro Tour to earn the championship in his rookie season. A rib injury put him on the sidelines for the remainder of 2020, which hurt his chances at fighting for the #1 position in the EKN TaG Driver Rankings.

Luca Mars (Photo: EKN)

Falling out of the top-three is four-time SKUSA champion Ryan Norberg (RPG / Kosmic). Norberg lost his SuperNats 23 result from last year, unable to replace it with a large enough point result to keep him in the top-three. The 2020 season, while not what he set out for, was not a disappointment. He began with a championship at the SKUSA Winter Series without earning a race win. Norberg came up short of a fifth straight SKUSA Pro Tour championship with a string of four top-five results to end up fifth in the standings. Add in his return to the USPKS program where he ended up third in the championship hunt. The season completed the with a P3 at ROK the RIO as the attention turns to 2021.

Holding strong in the fifth position is Mike Doty Racing / Kosmic driver Brandon Jarsocrak. The 2015 EKN Driver Rankings #1 driver remains a consistent threat in TaG competition. His focus was on the United States Pro Kart Series, as he earned a fourth-straight championship in X30 Pro. Jarsocrak used two victories at the series finale to claim the title. The ‘Shillington Slingshot’ finished sixth in the SKUSA Pro Tour. Ironically, 2020 was the first time since 2015 that neither Norberg or Jarsocrak won a SKUSA Pro Tour main event.

Sixth through eighth shuffled thanks to Hannah Greenemeier losing her end results from 2019, dropping to eighth. Indy Pro 2000 driver Braden Eves (KSNA / Will Power Kart) and former US Rotax Grand Nationals champion Phillip Arscott (KSNA / Will Power Kart) moved up thanks to their performances at New Castle Motorsports Park for both the USPKS and SKUSA Pro Tour. Each took home a victory and podium results. Greenemeier (RPG / Kosmic) started the year out with her first ever victory at the SKUSA Winter Series. Her best finish at the SKUSA Pro Tour was sixth, placing there twice, while earning a third-place result at the USPKS finale. Hannah also finished 31st in the EKN Shifterkart Driver Rankings.

Pauly Massimino (MDR / Kosmic) and Thomas Nepveu (PSL / Birel ART) swapped positions to close out 2020 and the top-10. Massimino – the 2019 SKUSA SuperNats KA100 Senior winner – competed in 12 races, six with SKUSA and six with USPKS. The North Carolina driver finished top-10 twice at SKUSA, including a runner-up at the finale. Massimino was in the championship hunt for the USPKS, finishing runner-up to Jarsocrak for his best career result. Nepveu had a similar season, recording a best finish of third at the SKUSA Winter Series, winning at the ROK Fest East event, three top-10 results at the SKUSA Pro Tour, and a fifth place finish at his USPKS debut at GoPro.

By The Numbers:

2 – Countries represented in top-10 (USA, Canada)

2 – Former EKN TaG Driver Rankings #1 drivers inside the top-10 (Norberg, Jarsocrak)

5 – Chassis brands inside the top-10

7 – States represented in the top-10

15 – Drivers inside the top-50 with seven or less races

114 – Difference in points from first to fifth

378 – Difference in points from first to tenth

TaG Co-#1 – Arias Deukmedjian
Merritt Island, Florida

(Photo: EKN)

The sophomore season for Arias Deukmedjian has put him in share for Driver of the Year in 2020. A consistent front-runner at each event he competed at, Deukmedjian won at the SKUSA Winter Series, United States Pro Kart Series and the SKUSA Pro Tour. Arias did so in X30 Senior, while also securing victories and podiums in KA100 Senior competition. The connection of Deukmedjian with the Kart Republic and Will Power Kart under the KartSport North America tent helped the team to earn the Geo Cup at the USPKS for 2020.

Point Breakdown

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TaG Co-#1 – Luca Mars
Sewickley, Pennsylvania

(Photo: EKN)

A phenomenal season as a rookie for Luca Mars under the Speed Concepts Racing tent. Possibly one of the best we have seen in quite some time by a driver graduating straight from the Junior ranks. No matter the engine package, Mars was able to be among the top contenders. Runner-up at the Florida Winter Tour on a ROK, winning at the SKUSA Pro Tour with IAME, and scoring the US Rotax Grand Nationals victory, Mars is the complete package. He even raced Briggs 206 and KA100 at the USAC Karting Battle at the Brickyard. Add in the unique accomplishment of the ‘Cycle’ with first through sixth results for the Summer Festival, 2020 was an exceptional and successful season for Mars as the co-Driver of the Year.

Point Breakdown

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TaG #3 – Bryson Morris
Mt. Juilet, Tennessee

(Photo: EKN)

Notable karters have come from the state of Tennessee. Haddock, Newgarden, and now Morris. Much like Mars, Morris shined as a Senior rookie in what was a COVID-19 shortened 2020 season with a stellar performance at the SKUSA Pro Tour. Morris was able to take the guidance and education under the Rolison Performance Group tent, and pilot his Kosmic machine to a total of six wins in 10 races, including both X30 Senior and KA100 Senior. This led him to become the first Senior driver to win two championships in the same season at the SKUSA Pro Tour. Now an official Mazda driver for 2021, Morris will be in the Spec MX-5 series on the west coast while also defending the X30 Senior title in the upcoming season.

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 2020, 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, Rotax Grand Nationals, 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 – 2020 Final Standings

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