The 2013 season came to a close for those on the national scene following the completion of Superkarts! USA SuperNationals XVII in Las Vegas. The grueling week saw everyone battle the weather and tough competition, which resulted in some exciting racing. Vegas was a great cap to what was an awesome 2013 campaign. Throughout the year, the Stock Moto category saw drivers step up within the 200 competitor who recorded results within the EKN Driver Rankings.  Those who worked their way up the standings scored victories, podium finishes, and often clinch championships, but consistency is always a key factor. Among those drivers climbing up throughout the season was California driver Billy Musgrave, was used consistent results to claim the number one position to end 2013.

The S1 Pro Stock Moto rookie started out the season strong with two California ProKart Challenge victories before making his Pro Tour debut in the headline category. Musgrave was a podium contender at the SpringNationals in April, but came up just short of the top-three. While continuing his PKC win streak in Cali, the Tony Kart driver secured his first podium on the Pro Tour in S1 at the SummerNationals. Musgrave eventually locked up the California PKC title, winning five straight in the series, becoming one of only a few drivers to do so in the long history of the program. He came inches to winning a sixth straight as well, but Fritz Leesmann edged him out for the victory. Musgrave came one position away from returning to the SuperNationals podium, finishing sixth in the main event on SuperSunday.  Although not a top-five, it was an important result in the biggest ranking-points scoring event of the year.  If you have a bad weekend in Vegas, it will show in your rankings position.

Dropping to second is two-time Pro Tour champion Leesmann. It was not the month of November for which the NorCal driver had hoped. Coming into the SuperNationals, the PSL/CRG pilot was hindered by a hand injury. That said, he never gave up, running both S1 and KZ2 throughout the weekend. Fritz was barely able to squeeze the wheel, and as a result, the Pro Tour leader could muster just a 19th place finish. The result would drop his score significantly, ending up just eight points off Musgrave’s total to finish the year in second.

Ending up third is another rookie – CRG-USA driver Sabré Cook. The 2012 S2 Semi-Pro Stock Moto Pro Tour champion was solid in her debut at the SpringNationals this year, battling both Leesmann and Wimsett for the win. Finishing fourth overall in Pro Tour standings, and second to Musgrave in the rookie clasisfication, Cook battled an illness this summer that ruled her SummerNationals weekend where she had to sit out for most of the weekend. She bounced back nicely in Vegas, showing speed in both the dry and the wet at the SuperNationals with a top-15 finish.

Rounding out the top five for the 2013 season are veteran Mike Beeny and California PKC vice champion Jimmy McNeil. Beeny shined this year at the SummerNationals, in addition to his regular schedule at the Utah State Championship series, to help him jump toward the top of the rankings to close out the year. McNeil ran second to Musgrave all season long at the regional level, putting the CRG-USA driver among the top Stock Moto drivers in the country.

Tyler Bennett (Tony Kart) remained in the sixth position to close out the season, while the ‘Flyin Hawaiian’ Alec Gumpfer (CRG) fell from fifth to seventh. Newly crowned S2 Semi-Pro Stock Moto Christian Schureman (CRG) will close out the year in eighth after a solid 2013. He will be among the lead contender for next year’s S1 rookie battle as it is expected that he along with others will move up from S2 into the Pro category. Up one spot to keep himself in the top-10 is Christian Bird (GP). A couple of top-10’s at the SummerNationals, added together with another at the Streets of Lancaster Grand Prix, the Colorado driver ended the season with an 11th at the SuperNationals for is best S1 result in Vegas. Completing this year’s EKN Driver Rankings top-10 is Pure Karting’s Augie Lerch. The S2 Tony Kart driver scored a victory at the SpringNationals, and another podium finish at the SummerNationals. Lerch was a top qualifier at Vegas, leaving with a third place finish to help him move up to tenth.

Missing from the top of the order are new Pro Tour S1 and SuperNats champion Joey Wimsett and former champ Daniel Bray. Both drivers recorded just five results during the season, all Pro Tour races. With the EKN Driver Rankings counting the best six races of the season, not having a full total of six races to their calculations kept them outside the top-20. Just one regional race, be it a ProKart Challenge or even a result from the Streets of Lancaster Grand Prix, could have put Wimsett and Bray 1-2 in the standings.

Billy Musgrave
(Photo: dromophotos.com)

Stock Moto #1 – Billy Musgrave
Norco, California

The year began with Musgrave preparing to make the jump from S2 to S1. After ending the 2012 season in the 83rd position of the EKN standings, he was up to 53rd in April after two wins on the California ProKart Challenge series. His win streak continued to five on the year, clinching the championship one round early. It was nearly six as he just missed out on the win at the Streets of Lancaster Grand Prix. While those races set him up to rise up the order, it was his consistency on the Pro Tour that put him in the #1 spot. Five races with a worst finish of seventh and one spot away from the podium at the SuperNationals, Musgrave ends the 2013 season as the top driver n the EKN Driver Rankings.

Point Breakdown

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Fritz Leesmann
(Photo: dromophotos.com)

Stock Moto #2 – Fritz Leesmann
Elk Grove, California

The stage was set for Leesmann entering the SuperNationals to earn a third SKUSA Pro Tour title in four years. A hand injury suffered in New Orleans during the Rotax Grand Finals event hindered his physical abilities behind the wheel, while the former champ gave it all he had and never surrendered. Each segment of the three-day battle in Vegas was a test. Qualifying fourth, Fritz could not get out of the heat races with a strong result. That put him back to 18th on the grid for SuperSunday, where he was battling forward until slipping back to 19th at the checkered flag. Losing a number of points compared to last year’s SuperNationals result, a couple finishing positions cost him the overall spot on the standings.

Point Breakdown

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Sabre Cook
(Photo: dromophotos.com)

Stock Moto #3 – Sabré Cook
Grand Junction, Colorado

After a breakout season last year en route to the S2 Semi-Pro Stock Moto title, Cook was gunning for the S1 Rookie of the Year honors. While coming up short on that goal, the CRG-USA driver did establish herself as a rising star in the Stock Moto ranks. Landing on the podium in both main events at the SpringNationals, it was a near certain she would battle for her first win at the SummerNationals at her home track. A illness caused her to sit on the sidelines for much of the event, but she still forced herself to race and earn the best results possible. A few weeks later, she would have surgery to remove her gallbladder. She was able to return back behind the wheel, and place inside the top-15 at the SuperNationals for her first trip competing in the S1 category.

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 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 2013, 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 Manufacturers Cup, Florida Winter Tour, Rotax Challenge of the Americas, IKF 2-Cycle Sprint Grand Nationals, Rotax Pan American Challenge, United States Pro Kart Series 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.

Stock Moto Driver Rankings – 2013 Final Standings

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