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| eKartingNews.com Driver Rankings - 2012 Final Standings - TaG |
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The final 2012 eKartingNews.com TaG Driver Rankings have been tabulated with another exciting season in the books. With a wide range of programs and talented drivers across the country, this year’s final standings went down to the wire. Since the TaG standings were created in 2007, a different driver has reached the number one position every year. This year adds the sixth straight season as Texan Mason Chelootz held on to finish the year as the top driver in the category.
Chelootz took over the top position in the EKN Driver Rankings back in May and held it through to end the season in the number one spot. He surpassed former number one Sam Beasley thanks to a double win weekend at the WKA Manufacturers Cup Series event in Pittsburgh, and added more wins and podium finishes to improve his point total as the season progressed. Chris Wehrheim used the SKUSA SuperNationals to move up the order as he finished tied for second with Robert Bujdoso to make it a 1-2 finish for Top Kart. Wehrheim was strong all season in WKA competition and was one of two drivers from the EKN Driver Rankings to finish inside the top-10 at the SuperNationals. Bujdoso (PCR) was in Vegas, but working as a mechanic rather than racing kept his score the same. The same is on the schedule for 2013 with selected events on the calendar for karting.
Certainly one of the top drivers throughout 2012, possibly the best of them all was Phil DeLaO. He began the season by securing a spot on Team USA at the Rotax Grand Finals with his Challenge of the Americas championship. The Top Kart driver backed that up with a weekend sweep at the SpringNationals, leading to the SKUSA Pro Tour championship, as well as winning the Pan American Challenge event in Colorado. A winning machine in 2011, Sam Beasley ran a limited schedule this year but managed to remain in the top-five of the EKN Driver Rankings. The KartSport North America driver big result of the season came at the Rotax Grand Nationals, scoring his third straight runner-up finish at the event.
WKA champion Tommy Andersen ended Bujdoso’s streak in the TaG 1 category, stealing the crown this year with his best season of his career. A total of five wins on the season, including the Midwest ProKart Challenge championship, and a top-12 at the SuperNationals put Andersen sixth to end the 2012 season, who is moving from Kosmic to Top Kart for 2013. A runner-up at the SuperNats moved Louie Pagano (Birel) two spots in the standings to finish the year in seventh. He began the year finishing third in the Challenge of the Americas standings, and backed it up with a second at the Pan American Challenge to earn his ticket to the 2012 Rotax Grand Finals.
Former number one driver Daniel Formal ran a limited schedule as well in 2012, but mustered enough solid results to end up in eighth. Formal (Tony Kart) dominated the U.S. Rotax Grand Nationals this year, earning his third Rotax title of his career, in addition to a Florida Winter Tour TaG Senior championship. The biggest mover into the upper level of the Driver Rankings was that of Kiel Spaulding (FA Kart). The Phil Giebler Racing driver was runner-up to DeLaO at the Challenge of the Americas standings, and returned at the end of the year to place a solid third at the SKUSA SuperNationals to advance 49 positions to ninth. Remaining tenth to end out the year is Florida driver Jonathan Kotyk (Tony Kart). A strong year in WKA and Florida events helped moved him up as the season progressed and was able to hold the position.
The biggest mover to end the 2012 EKN Driver Rankings is Franklin Motorsports’ Jamie Sieracki. Using the SKUSA Pro Tour as his chance to return back behind the wheel, he made good with his time. The Merlin driver scored a podium finish at the SummerNationals with a come-from-behind photo finish, and was consistent throughout the week in Vegas to place 10th at the SuperNationals, moving him up into the top-50, advancing from 93rd to 37th.
TaG
TaG Driver Rankings Top-10
| Pos. | Oct. 29 | Plus/Minus | Driver | Races | Score| 1. | 1 | NC | Mason Chelootz | 28 | 7357 | | 2. | 5 | 3 | Chris Wehrheim | 18 | 7305 | | 3. | 2 | -1 | Robert Bujdoso | 23 | 7305 | | 4. | 3 | -1 | Phil DeLaO | 13 | 7280 | | 5. | 6 | 1 | Sam Beasley | 11 | 7241 | | 6. | 7 | 1 | Tommy Andersen | 18 | 7230 | | 7. | 9 | 2 | Louie Pagano | 14 | 7201 | | 8. | 4 | -4 | Daniel Formal | 13 | 7169 | | 9. | 58 | 49 | Kiel Spaulding | 7 | 7149 | | 10. | 10 | NC | Jonathan Kotyk | 21 | 7124 | |
For the full TaG Driver Rankings, Click Here
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TaG #1 - Mason Chelootz
Spring, Texas
 | Mason Chelootz
(Photo: On Track Promotions - otp.ca) |
Chelootz set the bar early on and continued to move it up further and further, securing the number one position in the EKN Driver Rankings. A big win at the Florida Winter Tour kicked off his season strong, going on to win seven races in his 28 starts counted toward the standings. He had a number of double win weekends, including the WKA Pittsburgh event and the Rock Island Grand Prix. The Texan is set for another assault on the WKA Manufacturers Cup Series, sticking with Top Kart and joining the new Top Kart USA program.
Point Breakdown
| Race | Rank | Finish | Points| Florida Winter Tour ’12 Rotax #1 | 9 | 1 | 1053 | | WKA Man. Cup Series ’12 - Kershaw - TaG 2 | 9 | 2 | 1045 | | WKA Man. Cup Series ’12 - PIRC - TaG 1 | 9 | 1 | 1041 | | WKA Man. Cup Series ’12 - PIRC - TaG 2 | 9 | 1 | 1049 | | WKA Man. Cup Series ’12 - Norway - TaG 2 | 9 | 1 | 1032 | | Rotax Grand Nationals 2012 - Senior Max | 10 | 6 | 1089 | | WKA Man. Cup Series ’12 - New Castle - TaG 1 | 9 | 2 | 1048 | |
Inside the Stats
Average Finish: 2.0
Average Points: 1051
Total Points: 7357
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TaG #2 - Chris Wehrheim
Brookhaven, Georgia
 | Chris Wehrheim
(Photo: On Track Promotions - otp.ca) |
The driver with the most experience of all those among the top-10 in the EKN Driver Rankings is Wehrheim. A veteran on the WKA Manufacturers Cup Series and single-speed categories for over a decade, Wehrheim is a threat at any track he competes at. His seventh place at the SKUSA SuperNationals aboard his Top Kart launched him up the final standings for 2012, complimenting a solid WKA season that came just short of any championships. He plans on competing in 2013, not sure of his full schedule as of yet but will be in Daytona to defend his win from last year.
Point Breakdown
| Race | Rank | Finish | Points| WKA Man. Cup Series ’12 - Daytona - TaG 1 | 9 | 1 | 1063 | | WKA Man. Cup Series ’12 - Kershaw - TaG 2 | 9 | 4 | 1024 | | WKA Man. Cup Series ’12 - PIRC - TaG 2 | 9 | 2 | 1039 | | WKA Man. Cup Series ’12 - South Bend - TaG 1 | 9 | 4 | 1022 | | WKA Man. Cup Series ’12 - South Bend - TaG 2 | 9 | 3 | 1057 | | WKA Man. Cup Series ’12 - Norway - TaG 1 | 9 | 2 | 1032 | | SKUSA SuperNationals 2012 | 10 | 7 | 1070 | |
Inside the Stats
Average Finish: 3.29
Average Points: 1043.6
Total Points: 7305
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TaG #3 - Robert Bujdoso
Canfield, Ohio
 | Robert Bujdoso
(Photo: Sean Buur - Go Racing Magazine) |
For three straight years, Robert Bujdoso has won a TaG championship in WKA competition, justifying him at the top of the EKN Driver Rankings. In 2010 and 2011, he won the championship in both TaG categories, and was able to end this year scoring the TaG 2 title. Bujdoso is working on moving his racing career to stock cars, competing in the ARCA Racing Series, where he placed 15th at Chicagoland this past summer. More car races are in the future for Roby, with a limited karting schedule that could see him still racing for a position inside the top-50 of the EKN Driver Rankings.
Point Breakdown
| Race | Rank | Finish | Points| WKA Man. Cup Series ’12 - Daytona - TaG 2 | 9 | 2 | 1060 | | WKA Man. Cup Series ’12 - Kershaw - TaG 1 | 9 | 2 | 1032 | | WKA Man. Cup Series ’12 - Kershaw - TaG 2 | 9 | 1 | 1056 | | WKA Man. Cup Series ’12 - PIRC - TaG 1 | 9 | 2 | 1031 | | WKA Man. Cup Series ’12 - South Bend - TaG 2 | 9 | 5 | 1036 | | WKA Man. Cup Series ’12 - New Castle - TaG 1 | 9 | 3 | 1038 | | WKA Man. Cup Series ’12 - New Castle - TaG 1 | 9 | 2 | 1052 | |
Inside the Stats
Average Finish: 2.43
Average Points: 1043.6
Total Points: 7305
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 2012, 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 SuperNationals is the lone event in the Stock Moto division. The SKUSA Pro Tour 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, Rotax Pan American Challenge 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. A minimum entry total for any events 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 in TaG, six for Stock Moto, we calculate each driver’s overall score and subsequent ranking. |
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