(Photo: EKN)

The season moves on for 2021 with championships to be decided in the coming months at the national, regional and club level. A crucial month of August is upon us, especially for the EKN TaG Driver Rankings due to the unique 2020 SKUSA Pro Tour Summer Festival at New Castle Motorsports Park. All six of those results from 2020 will be removed in the next edition of the standings. For now, those results and everything from the past 12 months are included to form the current standings.

Still at the top is four-time SKUSA Pro Tour champion Ryan Norberg (RPG / Kosmic). No change in his total score, as he remains the benchmark for the rest of the drivers. Luca Mars (TKG / Tony Kart) remains in the second spot, despite not racing in the last couple of months. It’s expected to see him fall down the order after the August 2020 results fall from the standings. Arias Deukmedjian (TKG / Kart Republic) lost just 10 points and remains on the podium in the EKN Driver Rankings.

Points were lost for Bryson Morris (RPG / Kosmic) and more are expected as the 2020 SKUSA Pro Tour champion has put his efforts into car racing this year. He continues with the Mazda Factory Club Race Team in Spec MX-5 competition and recently won in his Formula 4 United States debut weekend in Minnesota. Points were added to the total for current top rookie of 2021 Connor Zilisch (Nitro / Tony Kart). The 2020 FIA Karting Academy Trophy champion has continued to show the speed to contend for victories at each weekend, improving his score to just 35 points back of Morris. The next standings should have Zilisch move up to at least fourth, if not higher due to his winning performances in 2021.

The remainder of the top-10 has no position change as well. Rolison Performance Group / Kosmic teammates Hannah Greenemeier and Branyon Tiner hold sixth and seventh. Greenemeier has that first SKUSA Pro Tour victory under her belt, while Tiner – who leads the SKUSA Pro Tour standings – is looking to clinch the title at the SummerNationals with his first career win at the program. Four-time defending USPKS champion Brandon Jarsocrak (MDR / Kosmic) has his score slightly decrease, dropping below the 7300-range as he remains in eighth. Indy Pro 2000 presented by Cooper Tires driver Braden Eves (MPG / WPK) remains in ninth thanks to his 2020 program with Pauly Massimino also lost points but hold the 10th spot. Massimino made the switch to the Ryan Perry Motorsport stable, still aboard the OTK product, and celebrated a podium at the USPKS Road America weekend and winning the X30 Shootout at the IAME USA Grand National Championship in a wild last lap battle for a $5,000 payday.

Upcoming EKN TaG Driver Rankings Schedule

(Photo: EKN)

TaG #1 – Ryan Norberg
Orlando, Florida

How can we describe the 2021 season for Ryan Norberg. It’s not a comeback, as he didn’t go anywhere. It could be redemption, because of the way the 2020 season transpired due to the COVID-19 setback. Either way, Norberg is back at the top of his game with Rolison Performance Group. His latest win streak of the SpringNationals, USPKS, and now the IAME USA Grand National Championship should have him still at the top of the EKN Driver Rankings after August, no matter what he does at the SKUSA Pro Tour finale. He is still in the hunt for the title, which could see a repeat of 2019 when he and Master driver Jordon Musser earned their fourth SKUSA titles. This time, it will be FIVE!

Point Breakdown

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(Photo: Trinity Karting Group)

TaG #2 – Luca Mars
Sewickley, Pennsylvania

Missing from the kart track has been Luca Mars, focused on his move into car racing. SCCA Runoffs are at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway this year at the end of September, beginning of October. That and the Idemitsu MX-5 Cup program has been the target with Mars sitting sixth with his best finish coming at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course weekend. They return back to action this coming weekend at Road America with two more events to close out the season. With his absence from the kart track, and majority of his points coming from the 2020 SKUSA Summer Festival with his ‘karting cycle’ results, we should see Mars fall down the order.

Point Breakdown

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(Photo: EKN)

TaG #3 – Arias Deukmedjian
Merritt Island, Florida

Of the top-three, Deukmedjian was the only driver to have his points adjusted. The total went down 10 points with the loss of a 2020 USPKS opener victory. It was replaced with another victory, one of his two at the SKUSA Winter Series. Since winning the USPKS 2021 opener at Ocala, Arias has yet to stand on the top step of the podium in X30 competition. He does have a victory in KA100 Senior at New Castle back in May. Deukmedjian joined the Trinity Karting Group for the first time, still aboard the Kart Republic brand. It was a great first outing as they mended together, as he and the other drivers under TKG tent were able to bounce ideas and setups off one another.

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 other special races.

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 2021, 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.

EKN TaG Driver Rankings Standings – as of August 2, 2021

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