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The recent recap of the 2023 EKN Driver Rankings presented by Skip Barber Racing School for both Shifterkart and TaG attracted a lot of attention to our social media channels. Before the 2024 season begins this weekend, EKN would like to review how the Driver Rankings are formulated and the changes that will coming for the new season.

Having launched in 1999 in the debut issue of Shifter Kart Illustrated and then transferred to the website, the EKN Driver Rankings is our approach at ranking drivers competing across North America. A list of events is established for each season in both Shifterkart and TaG that will count toward the EKN Driver Rankings. Each event is initially weighted based on the prestige and history of the event or series, with 10 being the highest. With each event, there are two more variables that help to formulate its final rating – field size and field strength. A percentage of one point is added for the size of the field – 30 entries being consider a full field to add a full point – and a percentage of one point is added factoring in the number of existing top-50 drivers in the field. Each driver at the event is given points based on their finishing position with 100 points earned for a win, 99 for second-place, and so on. The points earned from their result is then multiplied by the overall rating of that event to produce said driver’s final point total from that event.

Examples:

Joe Turney (SKUSA Pro Tour – Round #1)

Initial Event Rating: 9.5
Top 50 %: 0.380 (19 Top-50)
Size of Field: 1.0 (37 Drivers)
Overall Rating: 10.880

Finish: 1st (100 points)

EKN Driver Rankings Points: 1088

Ryan Norberg (SKUSA SuperNationals 26)

Initial Event Rating: 10
Top 50 %: 0.400 (20 Top-50)
Size of Field: 1.0 (62 Drivers)
Overall Rating: 11.400

Finish: 2nd (99 points)

EKN Driver Rankings Points: 1129

To expand on the discussion focused around the EKN TaG Driver Rankings. These two examples are the top scores for Joe Turney and Ryan Norberg over the 2023 season. The difference between the two scores is 41 points with Norberg earning more. Norberg finished the year ahead by 30 points over Turney. Had Norberg finished fifth at the SuperNationals instead of the runner-up spot he earned, his points score for the event would have been 1094, ending up with a lower point total for his best seven results on the season than what Turney finished with, and thus Turney would have been the 2023 EKN Driver of the Year.

Putting aside the 2023 program, EKN is looking ahead to the 2024 season. It has been a few years since adjustments to the base rating have been made and this new racing year is the best fit. The Superkarts! USA Pro Tour has been the only true ‘national’ series, competing across the country. Their shift to hosting races in just the Eastern time zone in 2024 has essentially taken away that title from its program. The base rating of 9.5 for the SKUSA Pro Tour will be dropped down to 9. This puts the series in line with all the other major series in 2024.

For the Shifterkart Driver Rankings program, a total of 27 races will hold the 9 rating (Challenge of the Americas, Florida Winter Tour, ROK Atlantic, ROK Pacific, RIGP Open Shifter, SKUSA Pro Tour, SKUSA Winter Series and United States Pro Kart Series). ROK Vegas and the Rock Island Grand Prix King of the Streets will feature a 9.5 rating with SKUSA SuperNationals 27 at 10.

The TaG Driver Rankings features 36 races holding a rating of 9. Those events listed in Shifterkart are included along with the Race Rotax US Trophy Series East, US Trophy Series West and Rotax Winter Trophy races. The IAME USA Grand National Championship and Rotax US Trophy Final have been elevated to a 9.5 rating alongside ROK Vegas with the SuperNationals as the lone 10-rated race.

The goal is to allow the major events of the season to measure themselves against one another on a level platform, letting the field size and strength of the field determine the difference between them.

Here are the schedules for the 2024 EKN Driver Rankings for Shifterkart and TaG:

2024 EKN Shifterkart Driver Rankings Schedules

2024 EKN TaG Driver Rankings Schedule

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