(Photo: EKN)

The eKartingNews.com Driver Rankings presented by Skip Barber Racing School has moved into the second half of the season. Six months, and nearly the seventh is completed as we close up on the end of July to help shape the current standings of the TaG program. Several events have been included in the new calculations, including the SKUSA Pro Tour SpringNationals and recent United States Pro Kart Series event, with more races in the coming weeks as the 12-month span of the EKN Driver Rankings provides us with the current top drivers.

No changes occurred with the top-four positions remaining static, including #1 with Ryan Norberg (RPG / Kosmic). An increase in score now has Norberg leading by 245 points over Canadian Thomas Nepveu (TKG / Kart Republic) – who has not raced since the SKUSA Pro Tour WinterNationals in April. Holding onto the third position is Pauly Massimino – announcing his departure from Ryan Perry Motorsport after the USPKS Road America weekend and set to make his debut with Speed Concepts Racing aboard a CRG this weekend at the SKUSA SummerNationals. Also holding his position is Nate Cicero (RPG / Kosmic) with no results recorded since the beginning of May.

Up three spots to fifth is Dutch driver Marijn Kremers (PSL / Birel ART). The double-duty driver picked up a podium result at the SpringNationals and the USPKS Badger State Grand Prix to move himself up the standings, on the edge of becoming another driver to be in both Driver Rankings top-10, still two events shy in Shifterkart despite leading the SKUSA Pro Tour standings in Pro Shifter. The only driver to be in the top-10 of both EKN Driver Rankings standings at the same time is Hannah Greenemeier (RPG / Kosmic). She currently sits ninth now in the new Shifterkart standings and is down to seventh in TaG. The 2021 SKUSA Pro Tour X30 Senior champion is sticking with the six-speed for the SummerNationals this weekend.

Between them in sixth is Alessandro de Tullio (Parolin USA). The SKUSA Winter Series race winner has also not been in the seat of a kart since the WinterNationals, and is the current second-place driver in the championship standings at the USF Juniors presented by Cooper Tires program. He will be competing in that program this weekend instead of karting.

The big mover into the top-10 of the Driver Rankings is Hayden Jones (RPG / Kosmic). A pair of fourth-place results at USPKS and top-10 finishes in Utah for SpringNationals has propelled him up four spots to eighth. Diego Ramos improved his score in his debut with PSL Karting and Birel ART but remains in the ninth position. The Brazilian is scheduled to compete at the SKUSA SummerNationals in his second weekend with the team. Rounding out the top-10, down three positions is SKUSA Winter Series champion Matheus Morgatto (AM / Exprit). Since March, the 2022 Florida Winter Tour title winner has spent the season competing in Europe. The only driver dropping out of the top-10 is Cameron Weinberg (SCR / CRG), losing one spot to 11th. The driver ‘On the Move’ is Blake Nash (Nash / EOS) who is up 38 positions to 24th after recording seven results over the last 12 months, thanks to his performance at the SKUSA SpringNationals.

Upcoming EKN TaG Driver Rankings Schedule

TaG #1 – Ryan Norberg
Orlando, Florida

(Photo: Studio52.us)

The bar continues to be raised each and every weekend Ryan Norberg hits the track. The four-time SKUSA Pro Tour champion and defending USPKS X30 Pro champion has a perfect average finishing position for his seven races counted toward the Driver Rankings. With four wins on the SKUSA Pro Tour, two at USPKS and the SuperNationals 24, it will be difficult to see Norberg fall from the top spot until this year’s SuperNationals in Las Vegas where he will attempt to defend his victory from 2021. But first, the ‘Drive for Five’ that began in 2020 is said to be wrapped up this weekend with the SummerNationals in Indiana to close out the SKUSA Pro Tour.

Point Breakdown

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TaG #2 – Thomas Nepveu
Oka, Quebec, Canada

(Photo: Adrenaline Motorsport Media)

It has been some time since we have seen Thomas Nepveu in the seat of a kart. The Trinity Karting Group / Kart Republic driver was top-five contender at the SKUSA WinterNationals in April. Since then, Nepveu has focused on his campaign in the Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship where he sits sixth in the point standings. With the schedule lasting until Labor Day weekend, it could be not until September or later that we see Nepveu back behind the wheel of a kart. Until then, he will lose results of last year’s SummerNationals results which could drop him from the top-three.

Point Breakdown

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TaG #3 – Pauly Massimino
Charlotte, North Carolina

(Photo: Studio52.us)

It has been an interesting 2022 season for Pauly Massimino. While he has been absent from the top of the podium at the national level, he has remained a consistent contender from weekend to weekend. A string of top-10 results at the SKUSA Pro Tour have him in the hunt for a championship podium position. A best season result of runner-up at the USPKS Carolina Grand Prix is the highlight in that program. What makes the second half of the season interesting, Massimino has left the Ryan Perry Motorsport and OTK brand to join Speed Concepts Racing to pilot a CRG for the rest of the 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 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 2022, 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 presented by Skip Barber Racing School – as of July 22, 2022

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