The halfway point of the 2022 season has past us, and we’re now into the month of July and looking to close out with the second half of the season. July is the halfway point in the calendar, and wraps up an intense six months of racing across the United States. The annual Major League Baseball All-Star Game takes place today, and I think it’s the perfect time to provide who I feel would be roster for the ‘Karting All-Star’ team here in the United States.

My approach to this concept is to select three drivers for each age group – Senior, Junior, Masters, and Cadet – along with two ‘bench’ drivers or ‘alternates’. The Senior group has been separated this year to include the top shifterkart drivers and the elite TaG pilots – including both 125cc and 100cc competitors. Each category considers all the events that have been run thus far in 2022, including the winter programs, the Superkarts! USA Pro Tour and United States Pro Kart Series races, and other events that have been contested at the national and regional level. The drivers are listed in alphabetical order.

Shifterkart

Daniel Formal
Leading Edge Motorsports

Daniel Formal (Photo: ROK Cup USA-CKN)

A record start to the season opened 2022 with Daniel Formal securing a piece of history at the Florida Winter Tour. Formal and his Leading Edge Motorsports / Formula K machine was able to secure all three main event victories in the ROK Shifter category for the first time in series history. From two temporary circuits at Isle Casino and St. Petersburg, Formal secured the series championship with victory at the Orlando Kart Center. A positive test for COVID-19 ended his attempt at competing at the SKUSA WinterNationals. His focus currently is on the Lamborghini Super Trofeo North America program, however, the two-time ROK Vegas winner and three-time SKUSA SuperNationals champion recently announced that he would be joining Rolison Performance Group as driver coach, with the possibility of making a few starts later this season.

Marijn Kremers
PSL Karting

Marijn Kremers (Photo: EKN)

The Dutch driver has made the USA his home for the 2022 season with PSL Karting. The 2019 FIA Karting KZ World Champion has also been busy behind the wheel, racing in both shifterkart and TaG competition. Two wins to open this year’s SKUSA Pro Tour campaign have him as the driver to beat heading into the SKUSA SummerNationals for the Pro Shifter title. Kremers has competed the most over the first six months in TaG competition, where he has steadily worked to become a podium contender at the recent USPKS Badger State Grand Prix. Kremers is sure to be among those within the top-10 of the EKN Driver Rankings in both shifterkart and TaG competition as we close out July.

Kyle Wick
GFC Karting / Trackmagic

Kyle Wick (Photo: EKN)

The season began strong for Kyle Wick as he piloted his Trackmagic machine to two sweeping victories in Tucson to open up the Challenge of the Americas program. He sat out the remainder of the series to focus on his attack at the SKUSA Pro Tour. Wick opened up the campaign with a podium result at the WinterNationals, however it was the drive from last to first at the SpringNationals for his first SKUSA Pro Tour victory since 2018. A total of three podium results in four races puts him in the championship hunt for the upcoming SummerNationals at New Castle. Recently, Wick was able to sweep the action at the California ROK Championship event at Pat’s Acres Racing Complex.

ALT: AJ Myers (Magik Kart USA), Hunter Pickett (GFC / PSL Karting)

TaG

Jeremy Fletcher
Ryan Perry Motorsport

Jeremy Fletcher (Photo: EKN)

The Rookie of the Year campaign thus far belongs to Florida driver Jeremy Fletcher. Closing out his Junior career with two victories at the SKUSA SuperNationals 24 last November, Fletcher has put himself among the top contenders in his first year at the Senior level. The spotlight in his double-duty performances throughout the first half of the year has been Jeremy’s three straight victories on the SKUSA Pro Tour in KA100 Senior, which has put him in the hunt for the championship at the end of the month. Add in a victory in the USPKS program over the first six rounds and the fact that he’s leading that championship chase before the finale in September, and Fletcher’s addition to the All-Star roster is convincing. The X30 side has not been quite as successful with just one win at the SKUSA WinterNationals, however, Fletcher continues to be a top-10 contender each weekend.

Ryan Norberg
Rolison Performance Group

Ryan Norberg (Photo: EKN)

The bar continues to be raised in TaG competition here in North America with the 2022 performances of Ryan Norberg. The Rolison Performance Group driver started the season later, however, he has wins in nine of the last 10 main events he has contested at the Superkarts! USA Pro Tour and United States Pro Kart Series. Three straight victories in SKUSA competition puts him in the hunt to complete the ‘Driver for Five’ in series titles. Ryan has gone six-for-six in the USPKS main events thus far, which is a feat no other driver has accomplished in the 10 years of the X30 Pro category. Norberg will look to officially take his second straight title in the series this September.

Alex Stanfield
GWR

Alex Stanfield (Photo: EKN)

Some drivers just have that certain feel and adaptation for the uniqueness that is 100cc racing. Alex Stanfield is growing into one of those drivers with his first half performance across the country. Stanfield skipped the SKUSA Winter Series and jumped right into the SKUSA Pro Tour and USPKS competition. He ended up runner-up in both main events at the WinterNationals, adding a third to his resume thus far to be the SKUSA Pro Tour championship leader with two rounds remaining. The Texan is one of two drivers to win twice in USPKS competition, earning victory at Orlando and another at GoPro to sit third in the title chase. Add in his two victories in three rounds at the Texas Sprint Racing Series program, Stanfield is looking for a trio of championships in 2022.

ALT: Pauly Massimino (Ryan Perry Motorsport), Cameron Weinberg (Speed Concepts Racing)

Junior

Caleb Gafrarar
Rolison Performance Group

Caleb Gafrarar (Photo: EKN)

Winning is on the docket for ‘Caleb G’ during the 2022 season. Including the USPKS Badger State Grand Prix earlier this month, where he earned a total of three win, Gafrarar has accumulated 18 victories since January in TaG and 100cc competition. It began with four wins at the SKUSA Winter Series finale, and has included the Florida Winter Tour, SKUSA Pro Tour, USPKS and California ROK Championship events. Caleb is the point leader in KA100 Junior at the SKUSA Pro Tour and is in contention for both titles at USPKS. Gafrarar has also logged significant frequent flier miles to Europe to contend his second season in the FIA Karting Academy Trophy program, where he sits 13th in the championship with one event remaining on Labor Day weekend in Le Mans, France.

Max Garcia
MPG Motorsports

Max Garcia (Photo: EKN)

Max Garcia has been one of the most consistent drivers in the Junior ranks over the last two seasons. In 2021, the Florida driver finished on the championship podium in both SKUSA Pro Tour and USPKS competition in his rookie campaign. This year, Garcia is powering through with a double duty effort that began at the USPKS Southern Grand Prix in Orlando. The May 2022 EKN Driver of the Month earned four podium finishes at the GoPro event, including one victory. Garcia remains the championship leader after six rounds in both classes in the USPKS program and sits fifth in the X30 title chase at SKUSA.

Ayden Ingratta
Speed Concepts Racing

Ayden Ingratta (Photo: EKN)

Winning is something Ayden Ingratta is doing in both the USA and at home in Canada. After a tough start to the 2022 season in Florida, Ingratta has gone on to win twice at both the SKUSA Pro Tour and USPKS programs, putting himself in the championship chases in the X30 Junior category. That’s four wins in 10 main events combined. Ingratta has done it both on OTK and CRG chassis here in the USA and is also winning several events in Canada this season as well. The 14-year-old will be fighting for both the USPKS and SKUSA championships in the second half of the season.

ALT: Steven Miller (Chad Donner Racing), Jesus Vasquez Jr. (Nash Motorsportz)

Masters

Mario Barrios
Rolison Performance Group

Mario Barrios (Photo: EKN)

The only driver to be leading both the USPKS and SKUSA Pro Tour championships in Masters competition is Mario Barrios. The Rolison Performance Group driver from Peru continues to refine his skills behind the wheel to be among the top Masters drivers in North America. Barrios has two wins from the SpringNationals and won his first main event of the season in USPKS competition at Road America. He leads the championship thanks to four podium results in six rounds in what should be an exciting title fight at the finale in September. Barrios finished second last year after losing the tiebreaker to Scott Kopp.

Danillo Ramalho
Racing Edge Motorsports

Danillo Ramalho (Photo: EKN)

It has been a season of victories across the board for Danillo Ramalho. The Brazilian has enjoyed an amazing start to the 2022 season, including winning the championship at the SKUSA Winter Series on the strength of two wins and securing a victory at the Florida Winter Tour finale. He turned that success into two victories at the SKUSA WinterNationals and then three straight round wins to open up the USPKS championship campaign. Two DNFs over the last three rounds have allowed the USPKS title chase to close up, which will make for an interesting final two rounds at New Castle this September.

Derek Wang
Privateer

Derek Wang (Photo: EKN)

Without question, one of the top Masters drivers over the last decade has been Derek Wang. The start to the 2022 season at the Challenge of the Americas set himself into the history books for the program. For the fourth straight season, Wang was able to secure the series championship in the Masters ROK division. The 2022 was special, as it was a sweep of every on-track session, including qualifying, Prefinal and Final. He only missed out on fast lap bonus points in three of the six main event to keep him 15 points away from a perfect score over the six rounds. Along with earning the ROK Cup Superfinal ticket, Derek secured the US Rotax Trophy Series West title to be able to earn a ticket to the 2022 Rotax Grand Finals, an event he has competed at a total of 10 times (2010-2011, 2013-2019, 2021).

ALT: Renato Jader David (Orsolon Racing), Kevin Woods (Ron White Racing)

Cadet

Keelan Harvick
Harvick Racing

Keelan Harvick (Photo: EKN)

In his rookie season at the Mini level, Keelan Harvick is quickly putting more wins onto his young resume. The now 10-year-old from North Carolina made the adjustment quickly this winter, securing two victories at the SKUSA Winter Series finale. He was in contention at the SKUSA WinterNationals, but then skipped the SpringNationals. On the USPKS side, as the defending Micro Swift champion, Harvick stood on the podium at the opener in Orlando and has gone on to secure four straight with two wins at GoPro and two at Road America to be the championship leader heading into the series finale in September.

Jack Iliffe
Iron Rock Motorsports

Jack Iliffe (Photo: EKN)

Racing both here in the USA and in Europe, the 2022 season has been very busy for Jack Iliffe. The Texan began the season overseas racing with the Parolin factory team in Mini competition, securing solid results before returning to the USA for the SKUSA Pro Tour and USPKS events. Iliffe has won three of the four main events in Mini Swift to be the championship leader of the SKUSA Pro Tour, and he also earned the June 2022 EKN Driver of the Month honor in the process. Jack raced only one USPKS event at GoPro, landing on the podium in both main events. He is scheduled to be back to New Castle for the SKUSA SummerNationals, looking to claim his third series championship in four years – first in Mini Swift.

Tyler Roberts
Parolin USA / Iron Rock Motorsports

Tyler Roberts (Photo: EKN)

Winning at both the USPKS and SKUSA Pro Tour is a great way to put you on the All-Star team. Tyler Roberts has done so and remains a factor each weekend. Roberts picked up his first career USPKS victory on Sunday at the Orlando event in a Parolin sweep of the weekend. Later in March, Roberts was able to secure his first career SKUSA Pro Tour victory on day two of the WinterNationals at NOLA. The recent USPKS weekend at Road America, Roberts made the move for the victory on the final circuit, in the final corner, both days. He came up short, finishing fifth and second, however, it shows Roberts is on pace to grab more victories before the season is over.

ALT: Lucas Palacio (Trinity Karting Group), Carson Weinberg (Speed Concepts Racing)

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