|
 |
| Features |
| eKartingNews.com Driver Rankings – September 26, 2011 – TaG |
| |
Continuing on from yesterday’s release of the EKN Driver Rankings for the Stock Moto category, today comes the next edition of the standings for the TaG category. With a number of events taking place over the last five weeks, the major changes in the standings came from the results of the Rock Island Grand Prix, WKA Manufacturer’s Cup Series finale, and the Rotax Pan American Challenge Championship event.
The order remains for the top three with two drivers seeing a change in their total. Ohio driver Sam Beasley (Arrow) remains the top driver in the rankings. Despite the victory at the Rock Island GP, defending his win from last year, the change of the event from a 10-base ranked event to a 9-base lowered his score by nearly 100 points. That moves his advantage over Australian David Sera (Arrow) down to just 101 points. The third driver within reach after closing the gap even more is another Ohio driver - Robert Bujdoso (PCR). Following the Man. Cup finale, Bujdoso clinched the TaG 1 and TaG 2 championships for the second straight year - a feat no driver has been able to accomplish in the history of the class.
Moving into the top-five is last year’s Rotax Pan American Challenge champion Jesus Rios Jr. (Birel). While he was unable to repeat his title, he did score a TaG victory at the WKA event preparing for the Pan Am finale at New Castle this month, boosting him into the fourth spot. Remaining in the fifth spot is last year’s Rotax Grand National champion Stepanova Nekeel (Kosmic), increasing his score with a fifth place performance at the Pan Am championship event.
The first of three drivers moving into the top-10 this month is the 2008 Rotax Grand National and 2010 KF2 national champion Arie Ouimet (CRG). After a year focusing on car racing, Ouimet returned to karting with a solid campaign on the WKA Manufacturer’s Series, as the results prove it with his progression into sixth. Last year’s #1 driver in the standings - Daniel Formal (Birel) - holds seventh this month with a disappointing third place at the Pan Am finale.
The new young-guns of the category - Mason Chelootz (Top Kart) and Tristan DeGrand (Kosmic) - fill out eighth and ninth place. Chelootz put in a solid rookie season at the Senior level in the WKA Manufacturer’s Cup Series, capping off the year with a first and two runner-up finishes at the series finale to move him up 20 places to eighth. DeGrand falls to ninth, still holding points from a solid Florida Winter Tour and Pan American campaign.
Rounding out the top-10 is this month’s ‘On the Move’ driver - Marco Di Leo (Intrepid) - with more on him below. He advanced 103 positions, just three more than IndyCar driver Dan Wheldon (Tony Kart) who took advantage of an off-weekend in testing the new IndyCar chassis to compete at the WKA Man Cup event in New Castle.
TaG
TaG Driver Rankings Top-10
| Pos. | Aug. 19 | Plus/Minus | Driver | Races | Score | State| 1. | 1 | NC | Sam Beasley | 21 | 7286 | OH | | 2. | 2 | NC | David Sera | 9 | 7185 | AUS | | 3. | 3 | NC | Robert Bujdoso | 16 | 7173 | OH | | 4. | 6 | 2 | Jesus Rios Jr. | 18 | 7069 | FL | | 5. | 5 | NC | Stepanova Nekeel | 10 | 7005 | WA | | 6. | 11 | 5 | Arie Ouimet | 14 | 6993 | MA | | 7. | 7 | NC | Daniel Formal | 12 | 6991 | FL | | 8. | 20 | 12 | Mason Chelootz | 17 | 6963 | TX | | 9. | 8 | -1 | Tristan DeGrand | 11 | 6962 | MO | | 10. | 113 | 103 | Marco DiLeo | 8 | 6953 | CAN | |
For the full TaG Driver Rankings, Click Here
**************
 | Sam Beasley
(Photo: Joe Brittin - Go Racing Magazine) |
TaG #1 - Sam Beasley
Leroy, Ohio
One thing has been consistent throughout the 2011 season - Sam Beasley near the top. No matter if it’s TaG or another class in karting, Beasley has been at or near the front of the field. At the Rock Island Grand Prix, the Beasley Motorsports/KartSport North America Arrow driver came from as far back as seventh to drive away with the TaG victory and a nice $5,000 payday. Showing that he is human, Beasley went winless for the first time this season in WKA action at the series finale at New Castle. With a ticket to the Grand Finals and schedule to compete at the SKUSA SuperNationals, you can bet Beasley will look to get back to his winning ways.
Point Breakdown
| Race | Rank | Finish | Points| WKA Man. Cup Series ’11 - Daytona -TaG 1 | 9 | 1 | 1018 | | WKA Man. Cup Series ’11 - Kershaw - TaG 2 | 9 | 2 | 1020 | | WKA Man. Cup Series ’11 - South Bend - TaG 1 | 9 | 2 | 1029 | | WKA Man. Cup Series ’11 - BeaveRun - TaG 1 | 9 | 1 | 1040 | | WKA Man. Cup Series ’11 - BeaveRun - TaG 2 | 9 | 2 | 1033 | | US Rotax Grand Nationals ’11 | 10 | 2 | 1130 | | Rock Island GP ’10 - TaG Sr. | 9 | 1 | 1016 | |
Inside the Stats
Average Finish: 1.57
Average Points: 1040.9
Total Points: 7286
**************
 | Marco Di Leo
(Photo: Cody Schindel - Autosports Media Group) |
TaG ‘ON THE MOVE’ - Marco Di Leo - #10
Goodwood, Ontario, Canada
Coming off the recent announcement of the formation of Intrepid North America, Marco Di Leo proved the new company is open for business in the last few weeks. The 2009 EKN Driver of the Year, WKA champion and Driver Rankings #1 driver, Di Leo is no stranger to the spotlight. Keeping his efforts focused on Canadian karting in 2010, they branched out at the WKA and Pan American Challenge finales, both at New Castle. The highlight came with the victory at the Pan Am feature where Di Leo came back from a spin to score the victory and earn a ticket to the Rotax Grand Finals. There is no doubt we will be hearing more from Di Leo and his operation in the future.
Point Breakdown
| Race | Rank | Finish | Points| Florida Winter Tour ’11 Rotax #1 | 9 | 1 | 1021 | | Florida Winter Tour ’11 Rotax #2 | 9 | 3 | 1000 | | Florida Winter Tour ’11 Rotax #3 | 9 | 4 | 984 | | Florida Winter Tour ’11 Rotax #5 | 9 | 1 | 1021 | | WKA Man. Cup Series ’11 - New Castle - TaG 1 | 9 | 13 | 913 | | WKA Man. Cup Series ’11 - New Castle - TaG 2 | 9 | 6 | 993 | | Rotax Pan Am Chall. ’11 - Finale | 9 | 1 | 1021 | |
Inside the Stats
Average Finish: 4.14
Average Points: 993.3
Total Points: 6953
Upcoming TaG Driver Rankings Events
| Date | Series | Class | Track | Location | Rank| 10/1 | Southwest Regional Cup #9 | TaG Senior | Dallas Karting Complex | Caddo Mills, TX | 8 | | 10/2 | Cal State Karting Series #6 | Spec PRD Senior | TBA | TBA | 8 | | 10/2 | Southwest Regional Cup #10 | TaG Senior | Dallas Karting Complex | Caddo Mills, TX | 8 | | 10/6 | TAG World Championships | TaG Senior | New Castle Motorsports Park | New Castle, IN | 8 | | 10/9 | Streets of Lancaster Grand Prix | TaG Senior | Streets of Lancaster Grand Prix | Lancaster, CA | 9 | | 10/15 | New Jersey Sprint Series #5 | TaG 1 | Old Bridge Raceway | Englishtown, NJ | 8 | | 10/15 | Route 66 Sprint Series #7 | TaG 1 | Mid-State Raceway | Dawson, IL | 8 | | 10/16 | New Jersey Sprint Series #5 | TaG 2 | Old Bridge Raceway | Englishtown, NJ | 8 | | 10/16 | NorCal Gold Rush Series #5 | TaG Senior | Kinsmen Kart Club Track | Dixon, CA | 8 | | 10/16 | Route 66 Sprint Series #7 | TaG 2 | Mid-State Raceway | Dawson, IL | 8 | | 10/16 | SKUSA Mountain Region #4 | TaG Senior | Pikes Peak International Raceway | Fountain, CO | 8 | | 11/20 | SKUSA SuperNationals XV | TaG Senior | Rio All-Suite Hotel and Casino | Las Vegas, NV | 10 | |
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 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 included the results for the major one-off events such as the SKUSA SuperNationals, the US Rotax Max Challenge Grand Nationals, the Rock Island Grand Prix and the Streets of Lancaster Grand Prix.
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 2011, the SKUSA SuperNationals and US Rotax Max Challenge Grand Nationals receive a score of 10 in their initial weighting in the TaG category while the SuperNats is the lone event in the Stock Moto division. The SKUSA Pro Tour and Rotax Pan American Challenge national series events draw a base ranking of nine (9), while the WKA Manufacturer’s Cup, Florida Winter Tour, Challenge of the Americas, IKF 2-Cycle Sprint Grand Nationals and other regional program races were given a base ranking of either eight (8) or nine (9).
The EKN staff reserves the right to adjust the rankings of each event throughout the year. Continuing for 2011 is a minimum entry total for any events considered for the Driver Rankings program. 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 in TaG, six for Stock Moto, we calculate each driver’s overall score and subsequent ranking. |
|
|
Go Top
|
|
|
|
|
