Victory at the SKUSA SummerNationals keeps Gus Lawrence leading the EKN TaG Driver Rankings (Photo: On Track Promotions - otp.ca)

The closing months of the 2026 season are upon us with only a few more events remaining on the calendar year and to be included in the 2026 eKartingNews.com TaG Driver Rankings presented by Stilo USA. Nine main events since the beginning of July have been added to the 12-month sliding scale for the now 255 drivers that have competed in events, including the SKUSA Pro Tour SummerNationals, RMC Trophy Final and the third stop of the United States Pro Kart Series. Rolison Performance Group driver Gus Lawrence continues to lead the way in the standings heading into the closing events of the season.

The defending SKUSA SuperNationals winner improved his score with a victory at the SKUSA SummerNationals, increasing lead narrowly to now 41 points. The difference is more however the driver in the challenger position has changed with Oliver Hodgson (Factory Karts) advancing up from fifth to second. The British-born, now USA resident used a great two weeks at New Castle to position himself in the chase for EKN ‘Driver of the Year’. He jumped ahead of Pauly Massimino (Brandon Jarsocrak Racing / LN Kart), who now is third but only 68 points out of the top position.

Diego Ramos (PSL Karting / Birelart) falls out of the top three into fourth. The Brazilian lost his win from last year at the SummerNationals, replacing it with a runner-up result after getting a DQ on the day to open the weekend at New Castle. Blake Nash (Nash Motorsportz) remains in the top five, dropping to fourth with the promotion of Hodgson. Nash also lost points, both from last year and on track with a penalty taking away the provisional victory at the RMC Trophy Final. That win would have certainly put him in fourth and closer to the battle for first.

Sixth through ninth remain unchanged with Caden McQueen, Alexander Vanchev, Ayden Ingratta, and Joe Turney. McQueen (Velocity Racing / Sodikart) and Vanchev (Rolison Performance Group / Kosmic) point totals remained unchanged. McQueen was outside the top 10 at the SummerNationals while Vanchev has not raced since the IAME USA Grand National Championship in early May. Ingratta – the RMC America’s Trophy champion – was able to improve his score by 31 points with a sixth place result at the RMC Trophy Final. Securing a second career SKUSA Pro Tour title, Turney still remains ninth following a weekend best third place result at the SummerNats. That improved his score by 36 points with only eight races over the last 12 months, including the 11th place at SuperNationals 28.

Into the top 10 is Jake Drew, out of the top 10 is Donovan Bonilla. Drew has three top five results in four starts with Rolison Performance Group, including his first podium coming on Saturday at the SummerNationals. That improved his score to jump ahead of teammate Bonilla, as the driver from Mexico drops to 12th behind Davin Roberts (Ryan Perry Motorsport / Tony Kart) up one to 11th.

The EKN ‘On the Move’ for August is Ryan Raffa. Driving with Full Tilt Racing, Raffa was a contender at the RMC Trophy Final in Senior MAX, leading at one point in the main event before finishing fourth. He backed that up the following weekend with a sixth place performance at the USPKS Ohio Grand Prix. Those results helped him go from 40th to 14th in the standings.

Upcoming Events

TaG #1 – Gus Lawrence
West Tilbury, England

(Photo: EKN)

The last 12 months have been a very successful stretch for Lawrence here in the USA. After making his USA debut earlier in the 2025 season, he continues to return as contender each weekend. His four podium results in six rounds, including two wins on the season, putting him second in the championship chase. Over 10 main events on the SKUSA Pro Tour, Lawrence has three wins, matching the total of Joe Turney over that span. The defending SKUSA SuperNationals winner will have his IAME USA Grand National Championship result from last year fall off his total and will need to become the first driver in 22 years to win for a second time in Pro X30 on SuperSunday for a chance to end 2026 as the EKN ‘Driver of the Year’.

Point Breakdown

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

TaG #2 – Oliver Hodgson
Phoenix, Arizona

(Photo: EKN)

The 2026 season was one of transition for Hodgson, however, the move to Factory Karts has possibly been an improvement for the veteran. The British-born driver has found a new home with the American brand and racing here in the USA. Wins at the SKUSA Winter Series, RMC Winter Trophy, and now the SKUSA Pro Tour have him on the verge of the EKN ‘Driver of the Year’ honor. He missed out on five straight at the RMC Trophy Final, however, he can redeem himself this November having not been able to transfer into SuperSunday over the last two years.

Point Breakdown

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

TaG #3 – Pauly Massimino
Indian Trail, North Carolina

(Photo: EKN)

The 2026 season continues to be the best yet by Massimino. The Brandon Jarsocrak Racing driver recorded three top five finishes over the SummerNats and USPKS run, winning at MCC to lock in the provisional championship one round early. His fourth place at the SummerNationals replaced a similar result from last year, improving his score by only six points. Two big results from 2025 still remain on his best seven over the last 12 months, which will result in some lost points but will keep him within the top five heading into the Vegas stretch to close out 2026.

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 the TaG and Shifterkart categories 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 also included the results for the major one-off events such as the SKUSA SuperNationals, the Rock Island Grand Prix, and other special races.

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 2026, the SKUSA SuperNationals will receive a score of 10 in its initial weighting in the TaG and Shifterkart categories. A base ranking of 9.5 is awarded to special events of ROK Vegas, RMC Trophy Final, and IAME Grand National Championship. The SKUSA Pro Tour carries a 9.5 for Shifterkart while a 9 base ranking for TaG. Other programs such as SKUSA Winter Series, United States Pro Kart Series, Florida Winter Tour, and RMC America’s Trophy, RMC Winter Trophy, Stars Karting Championship begin with a base ranking of 9. Other programs are given a base ranking of either 8.5 or 8.0.

The EKN staff reserves the right to adjust the rankings of each event throughout the year. A minimum entry total for any event to be 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, we calculate each driver’s overall score and subsequent ranking.

EKN TaG Driver Rankings presented by Stilo USA – as of August 24, 2026

Share on Facebook

Tweet