Ryan Norberg maintains the top spot in the TaG Driver Rankings after the first half of 2024 (Photo: EKN)

The eKartingNews.com TaG Driver Rankings presented by Skip Barber Racing School is into the second half of the 2024 season, tabulating all the results at national and regional levels up through July 8. The fourth edition of the standings in 2024 has the stops inside the top-10 shuffling around with the loss of SKUSA and USPKS events from 2023 dropping off the 12-month shifting schedule. No change at the top with Rolison Performance Group driver Ryan Norberg continuing to hold the number one position.

The three-time defending USPKS champion Norberg lost points from the end of May standings, 124 to be exact however remains as the leader by 101 points over Alessandro de Tullio (Inter MS / Kart Republic). The Florida driver remains in the second spot, also losing points as the two are among three drivers to have 20 or more events counted. Now into the top-three is Austin Garrison (Speed Concepts Racing / Gillard) – making it a Florida 1-2-3. Victory at the USPKS Wisconsin Grand Prix boosted Garrison up two spots to third.

It also helped that 2023 SKUSA Pro Tour champion Joe Turney (Trinity Karting Group / Kart Republic) is beginning his downfall in the standings. Sitting third in the May standings, Turney lost three races from 2023 to drop him down to 44th. He will continue to drop with his emphasis in 2024 on the Euro and World Championships.

Still remaining fourth is fellow British driver Harley Keeble. Over the last few weeks, Keeble left Sodi Racing USA and moved over to Inter MS, making his debut at the USPKS Wisconsin Grand Prix with a third place result to improve his score. Now up into the top-five is last year’s top Senior rookie Brandon Carr (Trinity Karting Group / Kart Republic). A slight improvement of his score puts him tied with Diego Ramos (PSL Karting / Birel ART) – who lost points from last month to remain in sixth. Carr’s improvement comes from a third-place podium result at the SKUSA SpringNationals. Ramos’ recorded a runner-up ahead of Carr at the same event, however, lost points from last year results. Both are gearing up for more improvement with future podium results.

The score and position remain the same for Dalton Hanes (Sodi Racing USA), sitting seventh. Just a few points out of fifth, Hanes has not made a start since his DNF at the USPKS Carolina Grand Prix event in May, turning his focus on Late Model racing since, with the goal of winning once again at the IAME USA Grand National Championship event this Labor Day weekend.

Up two positions to eighth is Pauly Massimino (Brandon Jarsocrak Racing / LN Racing Kart). The North Carolina driver lost points, however, was among the more consistent drivers over the first half of the season – coming off a P5 and P8 in SKUSA and USPKS races. Donovan Bonilla (Rolison Performance Group / Kosmic) remains in ninth with little change in his point total. A fourth-place result at the Wisconsin Grand Prix was best finish in two starts of the 2024 USPKS program. Completing the top-10 is Cooper O’Clair (J3 / CompKart). Jumping up three spots, the Arizona driver has eight podium results in nine starts in the US Trophy West and East programs.

The ‘On the Move’ for this edition of the EKN Driver Rankings is Canadian Zachary Claman DeMelo (Team Benik / Racelab). A victory at the US Trophy East Series opener by the former SKUSA SuperNationals winner along with results in SKUSA and USPKS competition have moved him up 80 spots and into the top-50 of the standings, sitting 38th.

Upcoming Events

TaG #1 – Ryan Norberg
Orlando, Florida

(Photo: Nate Dean – EKN)

The three-time defending USPKS champion is on the outside, looking in of this year’s title chase. Two DNF finishes due to contact in the last two rounds after the opening event victory puts him fifth in the championship. In total, it is a streak of three DNF results with a mechanical at the SKUSA SpringNationals puts him on a downward swing. He will need sweeping performances in Ohio and at New Castle to get back in. On the Driver Rankings front, losing three podium results from 2023 has not taken away the top spot in the standings.

Point Breakdown

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TaG #2 – Alessandro de Tullio
Miami, Florida

(Photo: Nate Dean – EKN)

‘ADT’ was among the most consistent drivers in 2023 and has continued that trend into 2024. Coming off the championship at the SKUSA Winter Series program, de Tullio was nearing a third straight podium result in USPKS competition until his engine let go feet from the finish line. The Inter MS / Kart Republic driver will need to continue the run of podium results with the future loss of results from last year that will need to be replaced.

Point Breakdown

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TaG #3 – Austin Garrison
Davie, Florida

(Photo: Nate Dean – EKN)

Now into the top-three is the Speed Concepts Racing driver. Coming off his first USPKS victory since last year, Garrison is leading the series championship heading into the final two rounds of 2024. Add in his performance at the Winter programs, it has elevated the Florida driver to among the top this season. With only two events included from last season, the success he’s had thus far will keep Garrison into the top-three moving forward.

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 2023, 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 set for the SKUSA Pro Tour, while a base ranking of 9 goes to the SKUSA Winter Series, United States Pro Kart Series, Florida Winter Tour, Challenge of the Americas, ROK Vegas, Rotax Grand Nationals, Rock Island Grand Prix, and California ProKart Challenge. Other national and regional program races were given a base ranking of either 8.5 or 8.0.

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 Skip Barber Racing School – as of July 8, 2024

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