(Photo: EKN)

It is a new era for the eKartingNews.com Driver Rankings program. The new partnership with Bell Racing USA is providing the top drivers in both Stock Honda and TaG standings with a new helmet for the 2018 season. The Stock Honda program is also moving to a best seven count, adjusting from the best six that was instituted since the category joined the Driver Rankings program. That, along with the inaugural Superkarts! USA WinterNationals has mixed up the order in the Stock Honda standings, including the #1 position.

Jake French finished the 2016 season second in the SKUSA Pro Tour standings, along with a close second in the EKN Stock Honda Driver Rankings. At NOLA for the WinterNats, French (DKC / Sodi Kart) was able to triumph for his first SKUSA Pro Tour victory to help him jump up into the #1 spot over Daniel Formal (DRT / DR Kart). The defending two-SuperNationals winner and 2016 SKUSA Pro Tour champion dropped down to second in the standings, primarily for the issues he ran into Sunday at the WinterNationals. That has left a 104 point deficit at the end of the first quarter of 2017. Remaining in the third position is Billy Musgrave (MRC / Aluminos) who showed the speed to contend for another Pro Tour victory at the WinterNationals, coming up short.

Advancing to fourth is the top S1 rookie Austin Wilkins (DKC / Sodi Kart). The 2016 SKUSA Pro Tour S2 Semi-Pro champion recorded two eight-place finishes despite limited testing due to school commitments. He and fellow S1 rookie Hunter Pickett (Aluminos) – this month’s ‘On the Move’ round out the top-five. Sitting sixth is former SuperNationals winner Nick Neri (Champion / Intrepid), who is set to fall down the order with no current plans for karting in 2017.

Superkarts! USA’s only female Pro Tour champion Sabré Cook (Energy) moved up two positions in the standings to seventh, leaving NOLA with a best finish of seventh having not been in a kart since Las Vegas. S2 driver Skyler Finley is the third DKC / Sodi Kart pilot inside the top-10 of the Driver Rankings. The Texan nearly pulled off a podium at the WinterNationals, and remains in the eighth spot. Arizona driver Kol Bailey moved over to the LEM / Praga tent for 2017. Bailey left the bayou with a best finish of seventh in the S2 category to move himself up one position. RPG / CRG driver Kyle Wick picked up a S2 podium finish at the inaugural WinterNationals, helping to move himself up into the top-10 to start off the 2017 season.

Upcoming EKN Stock Honda Driver Rankings Schedule

NEW Stock Moto #1 – Jake French
Sachse, Texas

(Photo: EKN)

It was hours, weeks, months and years of hard work and preparation for Jake French to earn his first Superkarts! USA Pro Tour victory in the S1 Pro division. Coming up the SKUSA Stock Honda ladder system from S5 to S2 and into S1, there was never anything given to French, as he and father Mark worked their butts off, always trying to be better on and off the track. Jake put in a solid performance at the opening round of the WinterNationals to claim the emotional victory. A second was possible the next day, with French fighting back from contact in the Prefinal to place runner-up in one of the most exciting S1 main events in SKUSA history. The SKUSA #2 plate-holder now leads the Pro Tour standings heading into the SpringNationals in May, poised to add to his win total.

Point Breakdown

**************************************

Stock Moto #2 – Daniel Formal
San Jose, Costa Rica

(Photo: EKN)

Over the last 16 months, Daniel Formal has been among the top shifterkart pilots in North America. Two victories at the SuperNationals, a SKUSA Pro Tour championship, and the respect of the karting community for his talents behind the wheel. Each and every time Formal hits the track, he is a contender. It was no different at the WinterNationals in NOLA. Formal came up just short in the opening round and was on the provisional podium Sunday until an engine issue in tech removed him from the results. It was a borderline infraction, however, could be the thorn in the hopes of a championship defense.

Point Breakdown

**************************************

Stock Moto #3 – Billy Musgrave
Norco, California

(Photo: EKN)

There seems to be a since of resurgence inside of Billy Musgrave. The three-time California ProKart Challenge champion was among the quickest at the WinterNationals in New Orleans, earning fast time in qualifying both days along with a Prefinal victory on Sunday. Luck just swung the other direction for Musgrave, involved in contact early to drop him down the order. The third-place finish Saturday put Musgrave on the podium for just the fourth time over the last two seasons, including one win in each of the last two years. With Sonoma and New Castle on the list of upcoming tracks, a victory is not out of the question for the newest Aluminos driver.

Point Breakdown

**************************************

Stock Moto ‘On the Move’ – #5
Hunter Pickett
Alamo, California

(Photo: EKN)

The broadcasts for the SKUSA Pro Tour WinterNationals hit the CBS Sports Network airwaves Saturday evening, and everyone tuning in got to witness the first SKUSA Pro Tour S1 victory for Hunter Pickett in what is considered by many as the greatest S1 fight in series history. Pickett started in the 11th spot after issues in the Prefinal forced him to retire after the first lap. Not able to get with the lead group early on, it looked as if Pickett would race for the sixth spot. The leaders kept fighting, and fighting and fighting. Combine that with fast lap times, and Pickett fought his way into the mix. By the end, Hunter drove his Aluminos into the lead and the checkered flag. With the first S1 victory behind him, Pickett can continue to work on improving his race craft to develop as a full-time S1 podium contender.

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 2016, the SKUSA Pro Tour 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. A base ranking of nine (9) goes to the United States Pro Kart Series, Florida Winter Tour Rotax Max Challenge, Challenge of the Americas, Rock Island Grand Prix and California ProKart Challenge. Other national and regional program races were given a base ranking of either 8.5 or 8.

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.

EKN Stock Honda Driver Rankings Powered by Bell Racing USA – as of March 28, 2017

Share on Facebook

Tweet