Ryan Norberg has all but locked up the top spot for the 2022 EKN TaG Driver Rankings (Photo: EKN)

The eKartingNews.com TaG Driver Rankings presented by Skip Barber Racing School is in the final stage of the 2022 season with only a few events remaining. It appears that over the first 10 months of the year, including the final two from 2021, one driver stands above the rest in the standings and mathematically has wrapped up the top position this year.

Ryan Norberg (RPG / Kosmic) has a perfect score in terms of finishes with seven first-place results counted toward his standings total. A sum of 11 victories in 2022 between SKUSA and USPKS competition all but assures him the top spot of the EKN Driver Rankings for the year. The lead chasers as we head into the last two major events of the season are Hayden Jones (RPG / Kosmic) and Jeremy Fletcher (RPM / Tony Kart). Jones is coming off two wins at the USPKS finale while Fletcher jumps ahead into third to be at his highest point of his rookie season.

Fletcher’s move up four spots into third drops former #3 Thomas Nepveu (Trinity / Kart Republic). The USF2000 Championship presented by Cooper Tires driver returned back to the seat of a kart for the IAME USA Grand National Championship, not able to finish. That was not the reason for the fall to fourth, but lost points from the removal of last year’s USPKS finale. Brazilian Diego Ramos (PSL / Birel ART) remains in the fifth position, trailing Nepveu by only three points and back of Fletcher by six points. In total, second through fifth are apart by only 62 points.

The entire top-10, minus Norberg, are separated by less than 200 points. Still in the sixth position is Marijn Kremers (PSL / Birel ART). The Dutch driver is the only one to be in the top-10 of both Shifterkart and TaG standings. Kremers’ total will only change from the ROK Vegas event, where he will be competing in both categories, yet just the Pro Shifter at the SuperNationals. Another victim of losing the USPKS finale from last year is Pauly Massimino (SCR / CRG). The 2019 SKUSA SuperNationals KA100 winner fell three spots to seventh. A strong result in Vegas would advance him quickly to close out the season.

Eighth through 10th remains unchanged. Alessandro de Tullio (Parolin USA) stays eighth based on his results from earlier in the season after competing throughout the summer in the USF Juniors presented by Cooper Tires program. He finished the championship in fourth with five victories on the season. 2021 ROK Vegas winner Nate Cicero (RPG / Kosmic) had a limited schedule during the summer with his focused turned toward his Team Mazda Spec MX5 schedule after winning the scholarship at the end of last year. He is currently ninth heading into November and will attempt to defend the ROK Vegas victory. Rounding out the top-10 is new FIA World Karting Champion Matheus Morgatto (AM / Exprit). The Brazilian earned the OK world title in Sarno, Italy this September. The 2022 SKUSA Winter Series champion is among those slated to race at both the ROK Vegas and SuperNationals to close out the season.

The driver ‘On the Move’ is Justin Adakonis (MDR / LN Racing Kart). The Senior rookie was able to record his seventh, eighth and ninth events toward the EKN Driver Rankings program, including a breakout performance at the IAME USA Grand National Championship. Adakonis nearly beat #1 Norberg at GoPro, earning a well-deserved runner-up result to move up 40 spots to 20th in the EKN Driver Rankings. That momentum could be key in his first Senior start at the SuperNationals.

Upcoming EKN TaG Driver Rankings Schedule

TaG #1 – Ryan Norberg
Orlando, Florida

(Photo: On Track Promotions – otp.ca)

It is a near perfect season in 2022 for Ryan Norberg. The Rolison Performance Group / Kosmic driver claimed five of the six at the SKUSA Pro Tour to get that fifth series championship while winning six of eight to defend his USPKS championship. Those three wins cut a perfect season over the last 12 months. What remains is a defense of his SuperNationals 24 victory, this time at the Rio. Should Norberg not record a finish better than any of his previous results, he would lose only 104 points from his total with his next result at 1042. That leaves still over 250 points Jones or any other driver will need to make up at the final two major events of the season. Long story short, Norberg will be the Driver of the Year for 2022.

Point Breakdown

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TaG #2 – Hayden Jones
Matthews, North Carolina

(Photo: On Track Promotions – otp.ca)

It has been 12 months for Hayden Jones to be racing under the Rolison Performance Group tent. Jones celebrated with a victory in his debut at the home track. Since then, it has been going to work, fine tuning his skills and learning to be a consistent contender. That work came together at the USPKS finale with Jones picking up two victories at the New Castle facility. Despite the victories, he was unable to improve on his score, losing one point from the previous release of the EKN Driver Rankings. Now all that lays ahead is the SKUSA SuperNationals for the Virginia Tech student.

Point Breakdown

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TaG #3 – Jeremy Fletcher
St. Cloud, Florida

(Photo: Adrenaline Motorsport Media)

Making a late run at the top-three of the EKN Driver Rankings is Senior rookie Jeremy Fletcher. The two-time 2021 SKUSA SuperNationals winner has been a consistent name talked about throughout the season. For the most part, it was in his KA100 Senior racing while aside from the victory at the SKUSA WinterNationals, it has been quiet. While quiet, it was consistent enough to finish third in the SKUSA Pro Tour standings. Now, the Ryan Perry Motorsport / Tony Kart driver will see if the success from 2021 in Vegas can transfer from the Las Vegas Motor Speedway and over to the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino.

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 October 24, 2022

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