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| eKartingNews.com Driver Rankings - September 24, 2009 |
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Now into the month of September, the closing months of the 2009 racing season are near. Championships across the country are being decided, nationally, regionally, and at the club level. eKartingNews.com however is staying focused on compiling the data from the latest races toward the EKN Driver Rankings.
Looking at this month’s edition, it will be the first time the ICC category will be absent from program since its inception. Due to the recent decline in competitors racing across the country, in addition to the recent announcement of the Championship Karting International dropping the class at its season finale, EKN has decided to remove the rankings system for the class. The longtime headline category in North America continues to be the pinnacle of speed and testing the abilities of drivers, however, the trend has gone away toward the later two programs that EKN recognizes in the Driver Rankings.
With the Rock Island Grand Prix taking place earlier this month and the Rotax Grand Nationals just completed, the CKI Grand Championship, and of course the SKUSA SuperNationals XIII are left for on the list of major events that could change the rankings as 2009 closes.
The TaG rankings saw a flip-flop at the top as Kyle Wiegand once again took over the spot, pushing Chris Wehrheim back to the second spot in the order. Jacob Neal remains the top driver in the Stock Moto rankings however he is finding some close company at the top with Tyler Bennett and recent King of the Streets winner Jordon Musser.
TaG
TaG Driver Rankings Top-10
| Pos | Aug. 21 | Plus/Minus | Driver | Races | Score| 1. | 2 | 1 | Kyle Wiegand | 12 | 7341 | | 2. | 1 | -1 | Chris Wehrheim | 11 | 7311 | | 3. | 3 | NC | Joey Wimsett | 12 | 7211 | | 4. | 5 | 1 | Marco DiLeo | 14 | 7081 | | 5. | 4 | -1 | Neil Alberico | 14 | 7063 | | 6. | 7 | 1 | David Sera | 8 | 7042 | | 7. | 10 | 3 | Wes Phillips | 15 | 6971 | | 8. | 11 | 3 | Andrick Zeen | 23 | 6958 | | 9. | 6 | -3 | Will Martindale | 19 | 6953 | | 10. | 12 | 2 | Joey Licata Jr. | 10 | 6943 | |
For the full TaG Driver Rankings, Click Here
 | Kyle Wiegand
(Photo: Go Racing Magazine) |
TaG Rankings Report
Since the August release of the EKN Driver Rankings, Kyle Wiegand (Top Kart) was able to gain 106 points, enough to overtake the top of the TaG category. The former number one driver recorded two runner-up finishes at the fourth round of the WKA Manufacturer’s Cup Series to regain the top spot once again. The loss of 83 points cost last month’s number one driver Chris Wehrheim (Top Kart) the top position. Wehrheim’s results from last year’s Rock Island Grand Prix TaG SuperPro were dropped and his third place at the WKA New Castle event did not match the total. Now into the mix for the battle at the top is Joey Wimsett (Intrepid). With his recent third place finish at the Rotax Max Challenge USA Grand Nationals, Wimsett is just 130 points outside first. In the remaining schedule, the three should meet at the SKUSA SuperNationals and it could determine the #1 driver for the 2009 EKN Driver Rankings. Below is the Point Breakdown of the top three, just to gauge how close their battle is heading into the final three months of the season.
Marco DiLeo (Intrepid) added another victory to his total at the WKA New Castle event to move up one spot to fourth in the standings. The Canadian champion should clinch the TaG class title in November at the season finale. Rounding out the top-five is Neil Alberico, making it three Top Kart drivers into the front five. Alberico has had produced solid results in 2009 but his win at the Stars of Karting Finale in 2008 still remains in his score to keep him near the top.
Australian David Sera (Arrow) moves up one spot to sixth despite not competing in the United States since the month of March, but when all your results are victories its tough to fall down the order. Wes Phillips (Birel) is another that has been absent on track. Having won an entry to the Rotax Grand Finals through the Challenge of the Americas, Phillips was seen turning the wrenches for his Andersen Racing squad at the Rotax Grand Nationals this past weekend.
With 23 races recorded toward the rankings in the last 12-months, Andrick Zeen (Sodi Kart) moves up from 11th into the top-10 at number eight. The SoCal driver has more races under his belt, contesting the new GPO Karting Series in France with the factory Sodi Kart squad. Falling three spots to ninth is Will Martindale (Tony Kart), who was the previous driver with the most races. Martindale has contested a number of races in 2009 however has not been able to find success in the last few months but will look to turn that around as the season closes. Rounding out the top-10 is former number Joey Licata Jr. (CRG). Moving up two spots this month, Licata is also another driver keeping busy away from the kart track, running in the ASA Speed Truck Challenge Championship.
Falling outside the top-10 are Neil McCoy (Top Kart) - who is battling for the Championship Karting International title in October - and Pat Iannucci who had a stellar Florida Winter Tour as vice-champion and enjoyed success early on in the KONI Challenge Series ST class.
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NEW TaG #1 - Kyle Wiegand
Bargersville, Indiana
Point Breakdown
| Race | Rank | Finish | Points| Stars National Finals 2008 #1 | 10 | 2 | 1148 | | Stars National Finals 2008 #2 | 10 | 2 | 1148 | | SKUSA SuperNationals 2008 | 10 | 7 | 1084 | | WKA Man. Cup Series ’09 - South Bend #2 | 9 | 6 | 975 | | CKI 2009 - New Jersey | 9 | 2 | 994 | | WKA Man. Cup Series ’09 - New Castle #1 | 9 | 2 | 996 | | WKA Man. Cup Series ’09 - New Castle #1 | 9 | 2 | 996 | |
Inside the Stats
Average Finish: 3.29
Average Points: 1048.7
Total Points: 7341
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TaG #2 - Chris Wehrheim
Norcross, Georgia
Point Breakdown
| Race | Rank | Finish | Points| Stars National Finals 2008 #1 | 10 | 4 | 1125 | | Stars National Finals 2008 #2 | 10 | 6 | 1102 | | SKUSA SuperNationals 2008 | 10 | 8 | 1073 | | WKA Man. Cup Series ’09 - South Bend #1 | 9 | 2 | 1014 | | WKA Man. Cup Series ’09 - South Bend #2 | 9 | 3 | 1006 | | WKA Man. Cup Series ’09 - Road America #1 | 9 | 1 | 1005 | | WKA Man. Cup Series ’09 - New Castle #1 | 9 | 3 | 986 | |
Inside the Stats
Average Finish: 3.86
Average Points: 1044.4
Total Points: 7311
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TaG #3 - Joey Wimsett
Beavercreek, Oregon
Point Breakdown
| Race | Rank | Finish | Points| Stars National Finals 2008 #1 | 10 | 14 | 1009 | | Stars National Finals 2008 #2 | 10 | 10 | 1055 | | SKUSA SuperNationals 2008 | 10 | 5 | 1108 | | Challenge of the Americas ’09 - CalSpeed #1 | 9 | 1 | 982 | | Challenge of the Americas ’09 - CalSpeed #2 | 9 | 1 | 982 | | Stars of Karting ’09 - Infineon | 9 | 4 | 980 | | Rotax Grand Nationals 2009 | 10 | 3 | 1095 | |
Inside the Stats
Average Finish: 5.43
Average Points: 1030.1
Total Points: 7211
Stock Moto
Stock Moto Driver Rankings Top-10
| Pos | Aug. 21 | Plus/Minus | Driver | Races | Score| 1. | 1 | NC | Jacob Neal | 13 | 6032 | | 2. | 10 | 8 | Tyler Bennett | 9 | 6006 | | 3. | 4 | 1 | Jordon Musser | 7 | 5999 | | 4. | 2 | -2 | Tommy Thompson | 11 | 5965 | | 5. | 2 | -3 | Patrick Cushenberry | 8 | 5954 | | 6. | 12 | 6 | Matt Zeis | 9 | 5925 | | 7. | 5 | -2 | Bobby Legate | 7 | 5920 | | 8. | 7 | -1 | Chris Jennings | 7 | 5909 | | 9. | 11 | 2 | Derek Crockett | 9 | 5883 | | 10. | 9 | -1 | Steven Reasoner | 9 | 5863 | |
For the full Stock Moto Driver Rankings, Click Here
 | Jacob Neal
(Photo: On Track Promotions - otp.ca) |
Stock Moto Rankings Report
If you think the TaG Rankings are close, a quick glance at the Stock Moto rankings should make you do a double take. Even though this season has seen Jacob Neal (CRG) at the top for the majority of the year, his lead has certainly shrunk each month as the season draws closer to the SKUSA SuperNationals. Neal’s perfect record remains unchallenged however recent bad luck at the track has cost him from improving his score - though he did clinch both S3 titles for the ProKart Challenge North and South programs.
His lead however is down to just 26 markers with the recent advancement of Tyler Bennett (PTK). Breaking into the top-10 last month, the Miller Motorsports Park regional driver put in two solid additions to his point total to climb up to second. A solid fourth place at last year’s SuperNats is also something nice to have in the rankings pocket. Moving up just one spot but drawing closer to Neal’s total is the new Rock Island Grand Prix King of the Streets winner Jordon Musser (Intrepid). Just 33 points out of first, a few more points from his Southwest Regional Cup events and we could have a new number one. Aside from Bennett’s one more regional race, the line-up should remain the same in the month of October and things will be decided in Las Vegas.
The great thing about the Stock Moto rankings, anyone in the top-10 could take over the number one spot with a solid results at the SKUSA SuperNationals. Down two spots to fourth, PKC North S3 runner-up Tommy Thompson (Energy) gained only a few points in his PKC North finale to sit just a few markers ahead of PKC South runner-up Patrick Cushenberry (Arrow), as both were tied in last month’s rankings.
Matt Zeis’ (Wild Kart) impressive third at the King of the Streets on Labor Day weekend solidified the Central States Challenge champion as a contender in the rankings, moving him up to sixth in the order after sitting just outside the top-10 last month. Former number one Bobby Legate (Arrow) falls just two spots to seventh, gaining only a few points in his last regional outings. Chris Jennings (Birel) improved his score with a fourth at the Rock Island Grand Prix however it dropped him to eighth in the rankings, showing just how tough the battle near the front.
Rounding out the top-10 are Central States Challenge runner-up Derek Crockett (Wild Kart), breaking back in with a top-five run at the Rock, dropping Steve Reasoner (GP) to tenth. To look closer at the top-three, below is the Point Breakdown to see the difference between the top three drivers from three different regions of the country have accumulated.
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Stock Moto #1 - Jacob Neal
Wildomar, California
Point Breakdown
| Race | Rank | Finish | Points| ProKart Challenge South ’09 #2 | 9 | 1 | 998 | | ProKart Challenge South ’09 #3 | 9 | 1 | 998 | | ProKart Challenge North ’09 #2 | 9 | 1 | 997 | | ProKart Challenge South ’09 #4 | 9 | 1 | 1003 | | ProKart Challenge Shootout 2009 | 9 | 1 | 1022 | | ProKart Challenge South ’09 #6 | 9 | 1 | 1014 | |
Inside the Stats
Average Finish: 1
Average Points: 1005.3
Total Points: 6032
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Stock Moto #2 - Tyler Bennett
Layton, Utah
Point Breakdown
| Race | Rank | Finish | Points| SKUSA SuperNationals 2008 | 10 | 4 | 1067 | | Utah State Champ. ’09 #4 | 9 | 2 | 945 | | Utah State Champ. ’09 #5 | 9 | 2 | 965 | | Utah State Champ. ’09 #6 | 9 | 3 | 993 | | Utah State Champ. ’09 #7 | 9 | 2 | 1009 | | Utah State Champ. ’09 #8 | 9 | 1 | 1027 | |
Inside the Stats
Average Finish: 2.33
Average Points: 1001
Total Points: 6006
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Stock Moto #3 - Jordon Musser
Coppell, Texas
Point Breakdown
| Race | Rank | Finish | Points| SWRC ’09 #2 | 9 | 1 | 973 | | SWRC ’09 #3 | 9 | 1 | 988 | | SWRC ’09 #4 | 9 | 1 | 988 | | SWRC ’09 #7 | 9 | 1 | 974 | | SWRC ’09 #8 | 9 | 1 | 974 | | RIGP King of the Streets ’09 | 10 | 1 | 1102 | |
Inside the Stats
Average Finish: 1
Average Points: 999.8
Total Points: 5999
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 TaG and six in Stock Moto (S3) 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 and Championship Karting International (CKI) 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, and the SKUSA SuperNationals.
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 2009, 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 and CKI 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 nine (9) or 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 in TaG, six for Stock Moto, we calculate each driver’s overall score and subsequent ranking. |
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