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| eKartingNews.com Driver Rankings - June 20 |
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EKN is happy to release the June edition of the eKartingNews.com Driver Rankings for the Intercontinental C (ICC) and Touch and Go (TaG) divisions. The Stars of Karting Mazda Race of the Americas is now in the books as the first 10 ranking event of the year while the WKA Manufacturer’s Cup Series just hosted their Grand Nationals. Region wise, the season is underway across the country.
The top of the ICC rankings remains the same with Gary Carlton atop the standings with his lead cut into significantly following the Stars East vs. West battle while Joey Wimsett has taken over the top spot on the TaG rankings with the top three separated by just 40 points.
ICC Driver Rankings Top-10
| Pos | May. 9 | Plus/Minus | Driver | Races | Score| 1. | 1 | NC | Gary Carlton | 17 | 7662 | | 2. | 4 | 2 | Michael Vincec | 22 | 7614 | | 3. | 6 | 3 | David Jurca | 11 | 7541 | | 4. | 2 | -2 | Fritz Leesmann | 20 | 7516 | | 5. | 3 | -2 | Jordy Vorrath | 20 | 7433 | | 6. | 17 | 11 | Alex Speed | 12 | 7406 | | 7. | 10 | 3 | Hayden Duerson | 15 | 7331 | | 8. | 9 | 1 | Ryan Yop | 16 | 7321 | | 9. | 8 | -1 | Jan Velez Walter | 9 | 7200 | | 10. | 5 | -5 | Matt Jaskol | 9 | 7170 | |
For the full ICC Driver Rankings, Click Here
 | Gary Carlton
(Photo: EKN) |
ICC Rankings Report
Though he does not lead either of the Stars of Karting Division championships for the first time since 2006, Gary Carlton remains the number one driver in the ICC rankings. The Mazda Race of the Americas was not kind to the two-time defending national champion as he suffered two DNFs in both finals at New Castle Motorsports Park. The result was a loss of 30 points in his total however that allowed his competitors to cut into his lead. Needing to bounce back onto a winning streak, the PCH Motorsports/CRG pilot will travel to Belgium for the second round of the CIK European Championships and look to bring back some luck for the divisional finales.
Joining him in Europe will be the new number two driver, Michael Vincec. The top Canadian driver scored victory at New Castle, besting two former number one pilots in David Jurca and Alex Speed. The Cameron Motorsports driver will join Carlton under the CRG factory tent in Belgium to compete in the KZ2 division where he impressed the paddock in the opening round with stellar runs from the rear of the field to score his first championship points.
The other driver to win in New Castle was Italian Motors’ David Jurca. Making his first start of the 2008 season due to scheduling conflicts with his VW Jetta TDI Cup program (where he leads the standings after two rounds), Jurca debuted the new Italkart shifter chassis well with two podium finishes. Jurca was the last pilot to hold the number one position before Carlton began his near two-year streak on top.
Dropping two spots to round out the top five are Florida Winter Tour champion Fritz Leesmann (PSL Karting/Kohilo Racing) and Stars ICC Western Division co-leader Jordy Vorrath (Champion Racing/Intrepid USA). Leesmann struggled early on at New Castle with chassis and engine issues but bounced back in the finals to run 11th and fourth, keeping him in the title chase. Vorrath ended his streak of runner-up finishes at four after placing fourth and a DNF in New Castle.
Also earning two podium finishes at the Mazda Race of the Americas event was Alex Speed, advancing him 11 spots to sixth. Under the new era at the Trackmagic stable, Speed has spent the last few months testing and working out the bugs in the program and New Castle has been the highlight thus far in only their second national event. Seventh place, Hayden Duerson (Italian Motors), moved up three spots this month as he continues to improve in his second year in the Senior division.
Just ten points back sits Ryan Yop (G-Phactory/Sodi Racing USA) as he moves up one position to eighth with a top-ten finish at New Castle. Completing the top ten are Jan Velez Walter and Matt Jaskol, who both continue to work on their tin-top racing career on the ovals which should allow two new drivers into the top ten next month.
ICC #1 - Gary Carlton
Marysville, California
Point Breakdown
| Race | Rank | Finish | Points| Stars of Karting ’07 - West #4 - Miller | 9 | 1 | 1052 | | Stars of Karting ’07 - West #5 - Moran | 9 | 1 | 1066 | | Stars of Karting ’07 - West #6 - Moran | 9 | 1 | 1062 | | Stars National Finals 2007 #1 | 10 | 3 | 1133 | | Stars National Finals 2007 #2 | 10 | 1 | 1156 | | SKUSA SuperNationals 2007 | 10 | 2 | 1139 | | Stars of Karting ’08 - East #1 - Ocala | 9 | 1 | 1055 | |
Inside the Stats
Average Finish: 1.43
Average Points: 1094.6
Total Points: 7662
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‘On the Move’
ICC #27 - Arie Ouimet
Boston, Massachusetts
Another driver that is included in this year’s rookie class for ICC includes Arie Ouimet, this month’s ICC ‘On the Move’ driver. The Michigan native who now calls Boston home, has been very impressive in his first year in ICC. The 2007 Rotax Grand Finals Mazda America’s Team member spent last year running Rotax Senior and DD2 and began his first year in ICC starting out at the Florida Winter Tour. The Mazda Race of the Americas was the best performance yet by the SSC East pilot, running sixth and fifth in a stacked ICC field and jumping him into the top 50 on the ICC Driver Rankings.
Point Breakdown
| Race | Rank | Finish | Points| Florida Winter Tour ’08 - Homestead #1 | 8 | 12 | 819 | | Florida Winter Tour ’08 - Homestead #2 | 8 | 5 | 883 | | Florida Winter Tour ’08 - Moroso #1 | 8 | 15 | 792 | | Florida Winter Tour ’08 - Moroso #2 | 8 | 15 | 796 | | Stars of Karting ’08 - East #1 - Ocala | 9 | 8 | 981 | | Stars Race of the Americas 2008 | 10 | 6 | 1113 | | Stars Race of the Americas 2008 | 10 | 5 | 1124 | |
Inside the Stats
Average Finish: 9.43
Average Points: 929.7
Total Points: 6508
TaG Driver Rankings Top-10
| Pos | May. 9 | Plus/Minus | Driver | Races | Score| 1. | 2 | 1 | Joey Wimsett | 17 | 7445 | | 2. | 4 | 2 | Victor Cabrera Jr. | 11 | 7439 | | 3. | 6 | 3 | Chris Scribner | 13 | 7405 | | 4. | 13 | 9 | Jason Toft | 13 | 7335 | | 5. | 1 | -4 | Joey Licata Jr. | 10 | 7331 | | 6. | 3 | -3 | Andy Lee | 13 | 7158 | | 7. | 57 | 50 | Kyle Wiegand | 7 | 7150 | | 8. | 5 | -3 | Chris Wehrheim | 12 | 7145 | | 9. | 7 | -2 | Zach Beard | 15 | 7118 | | 10. | 10 | NC | Chris Larson | 14 | 7081 | |
For the full TaG Driver Rankings, Click Here
 | NEW TaG number one Joey Wimsett
(Photo: EKN) |
TaG Rankings Report
What continues to be the most popular and growing class across the country, the TaG Driver Rankings sees another driver atop the standings. This time around is raising start Joey Wimsett. The Champion Racing/Intrepid USA driver has been among the lead group since the second half of the 2007 season, which was highlighted with a victory at the Stars National Finals in Vegas. At the end of April 2008, Wimsett was on top of the podium again, twice, at the Western Division opener however saw his results removed after an appeal was not granted. Moving forward, Wimsett ran in the top-five twice at the Race of the Americas to take over the number one spot in the rankings.
Just six points out of the top spot is J3 Competition’s Victor Cabrera Jr. The Stars Eastern Division point leader secured the spot after a stellar Mazda Race of the Americas, earning a fourth and a first. The former ICA driver, who won four FWT Spec Racer races and came just short of the title, has adjusted well to the TaG class, and baring any mechanical issues will be a factor in the national championship.
Moving up to third from the sixth spot is the Western Division point leader Chris Scribner. The Team Top Kart USA pilot has been quick during the first half of the year and is just 40 points back of Wimsett in the rankings. Jumping nine spots to fourth is another NorCal pilot, Jason Toft. The now GP Kart driver was aboard a Birel machine last season and running up front but has not dropped a wheel wrong yet with the change despite battling engine issues at Miller. Rounding out the top five is former number one Joey Licata Jr. The Biesse pilot suffered a back injury at the Stars Western opener and but has bounced back to the seat over the last few weeks.
Sixth currently is held by Florida Winter Tour Spec Racer champion Andy Lee, who falls to third and will continue to fall as he concentrates on his car road racing program. The big jump of the month comes from Kyle Wiegand. The 2007 WKA Manufacturer’s Cup Series TaG champion made a one-off appearance at the Mazda Race of the Americas event, running both TaG and TaG ICC. A victory in the new shifter class went with two podiums in TaG, jumping him from 57th to seventh. Falling three spots to eighth is his Team Top Kart USA teammate Chris Wehrheim. The former Stars Eastern Division point leader fell in the standing and rankings following a tough event at New Castle, however Top Kart is represented by three drivers in the top ten.
Rounding out the top-10 is MRP-Birel America driver Zach Beard, who is running a part-time karting schedule while not strapped in his drag car and current WKA Manufacturer’s Cup Series point leader Chris Larson (FirstKart.com) - who has two wins to his credit on the year.
NEW TaG #1 - Joey Wimsett
Beavercreek, Oregon
Point Breakdown
| Race | Rank | Finish | Points| Stars of Karting ’07 - West #6 - Moran | 9 | 2 | 1028 | | Stars National Finals 2007 #1 | 10 | 1 | 1141 | | SKUSA SuperNationals 2007 | 10 | 11 | 1015 | | Florida Winter Tour ’08 - Homestead #2 | 8 | 2 | 1018 | | Stars of Karting ’08 - East #1 - Ocala | 9 | 3 | 1014 | | Stars Race of the Americas 2008 #1 | 10 | 5 | 1109 | | Stars Race of the Americas 2008 #2 | 10 | 4 | 1120 | |
Inside the Stats
Average Finish: 4
Average Points: 1063.6
Total Points: 7445
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‘On the Move’
TaG #27 - CJ Lintner
North Salem, IN
A great story to follow throughout the year will be the progression of Arrow driver CJ Lintner - this month’s TaG ‘On the Move’ driver. With technical support from Comet Kart Sales, Lintner and his father Craig are campaigning the Stars of Karting Eastern Division and WKA Manufacturer’s Cup Series out the back of their own trailer together. The 2008 season began on a high note with victory at Daytona Kart Week and they continue to work on getting better and currently sit third in the WKA standings while moving up 61 spots this month.
Point Breakdown
| Race | Rank | Finish | Points| WKA Man. Cup ’08 - Daytona #1 | 9 | 1 | 1013 | | WKA Man. Cup ’08 - Daytona #2 | 9 | 9 | 932 | | WKA Man. Cup ’08 - Lowe’s #1 | 9 | 15 | 877 | | WKA Man. Cup ’08 - Lowe’s #2 | 9 | 7 | 959 | | Stars Race of the Americas 2008 #1 | 10 | 15 | 993 | | Stars Race of the Americas 2008 #2 | 10 | 21 | 924 | | WKA Man. Cup ’08 - Dousman #1 | 9 | 11 | 921 | |
Inside the Stats
Average Finish: 11.29
Average Points: 945.6
Total Points: 6619
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 top seven finishes in ICC and TaG to determine their overall current point total. With each new release, results posted from more than one year ago are discarded. To deliver this current ranking list, we tabulated the results of all the Snap-on Stars of Karting national events, as well as other regional programs. We have also included the results for the major one-off events such as the Rock Island Grand Prix, SKUSA King of the Streets, the SKUSA SuperNationals, and the KartSport Grand Prix.
Each race was 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 2008, the Stars of Karting Race of the Americas and National Finals, the SKUSA SuperNationals and the Rock Island Grand Prix are the only events to receive a score of 10 in their initial weighting. The Stars of Karting national series events draw a base ranking of nine (9), while the WKA Manufacturer’s Cup, Florida Winter Tour, and other regional program races were given a base ranking of eight (8). The EKN staff reserves the right to adjust the rankings of each event throughout the year.
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. |
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