New EKN Driver Rankings #1 Stock Moto driver Fritz Leesmann (Photo: EKN)

The 2015 racing season is well underway with the winter programs in the books, and most regional and national series kicking off over the last two months. The eKartingNews.com Stock Moto Driver Rankings ended with UK driver Jordon Lennox on top of the standings thanks to his five straight victories on the SKUSA Fikse Wheels Pro Tour. With his absence at the SpringNationals, his results were lost and shuffled up the order at the top of the standings.

Moving to the top is two-time SKUSA Fikse Wheels Pro Tour champion Fritz Leesmann. Since the inception of the Stock Moto Driver Rankings back in 2009, the NorCal driver has been among the drivers near the upper echelon year after year. An up and down season last year ended with a top-five result at the SKUSA SuperNationals XVIII. The sixth annual SKUSA SpringNationals was his first event since, placing runner-up both days aboard his Diede Racing CRG machine. Moving up to second is the 2013 EKN Driver Rankings top pilot Billy Musgrave (Praga). The two-time California ProKart Challenge champion was yet to shine on the Fikse Wheels Pro Tour, until recording his best overall weekend at the SKUSA SpringNationals with his second ever podium and a fourth place result.

Third in the standings is veteran karter Ron White. One of only a few Americans to win on foreign soil, White’s passion to get back behind the wheel came at the end of 2013. The longtime CRG driver has a better average result score, thanks to his two California PKC victories in 2014 that are included in his best of six. The 2014 season ended on a high note for young driver Jarred Campbell, scoring the S2 Semi-Pro victory at the SKUSA SuperNationals XVIII. Now into the S1 Pro category, the Praga North America pilot has two wins in three races at the California PKC to lead the championship chase. His S1 Pro Tour debut was not as hope, but the always fast driver is sure to bounce back.

Capping off the top-five is Florida driver Jonathan Kotyk. Finishing last year as vice-champion in his rookie S2 Semi-Pro season, Kotyk has moved up to the S1 division for 2015, and has also switched from Tony Kart to the Top Kart brand. After placing third at the WKA Daytona KartWeek event, Jonathan took on the SpringNationals having never visited the PKRA facility before, and made strides over the weekend. Drivers who did not return to the SpringNationals at the beginning of this month may have lost points toward the Driver Rankings. That is the case for ‘Double Nickle’ Cody Hodgson, however, he moved up two positions to sixth. A longtime Tony Kart driver, the NorCal resident has now moved over to Aluminos banner, earning his first win at the Sanzaru Games Karting Championship race in Sonoma last month.

The third highest S2 graduate within the top-10 is Kolton Griffin (Tony Kart). The Arizona driver scored the California PKC S2 championship, placing fifth in the Fikse Wheels Pro Tour after scoring the initial victory in Dallas. At his home track, Griffin finished a high of fourth over the SpringNationals weekend, moving him up to seventh in the Driver Rankings. Also moving up is the 2014 S2 Pro Tour champion Austin Garrison (Tony Kart). Absent from the SpringNationals, his results from the last 12 months have him in the eighth position.

Rounding out the top-10 is possible two of the top North American drivers – Daniel Formal and Oliver Askew. Formal – this month’s ‘On the Move’ driver – joined the DRT Racing operation last year, piloting a DR Kart for the first time. After getting up to speed, the former EKN TaG Driver Rankings #1 driver showcased his talents at the SKUSA SuperNationals XVIII by placing third against one of the strongest S1 fields at the event. Askew, another former EKN TaG Driver Rankings #1 driver, moved over to Stock Moto in 2014 with Ocala Gran Prix. Racing in the S1 category, he posted podium finishes and finished the season fourth in the Fikse Wheels Pro Tour S1 standings. Now with PSL Karting / BirelART, he has moved back to TaG competition, including European events this summer.

Upcoming EKN Stock Moto Driver Rankings Events

Fritz Leesmann (Photo: On Track Promotions – otp.ca)

NEW Stock Moto #1 – Fritz Leesmann
Folsom, California

For over a decade now, Fritz Leesmann has been among the top shifterkart drivers in North America. Coming up through the ranks and following in the footsteps of drivers like Gary Carlton and Alex Speed, Leesmann’s two SKUSA Fikse Wheels Pro Tour championships in the last five years put him among the best. Fritz opened up the year aboard the familiar CRG chassis, but has a plan on moving to the BirelART chassis in association with PSL Karting and Diede Racing. With two months until the SummerNationals, and going to a track Leesmann is very familiar with, there is no doubt he will battle for the top step of the podium once again.

Point Breakdown

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Billy Musgrave (Photo: On Track Promotions – otp.ca)

Stock Moto #2 – Billy Musgrave
Norco, California

Now entering his third season in the S1 category, Billy Musgrave is primed for his best season on the SKUSA Fikse Wheels Pro Tour. Entering this year’s SpringNationals, Musgrave stood on the podium just one time in 10 main events. Now aboard a Praga machine, he matched that result during the opening round in Phoenix, and battled for another spot on Sunday before finishing fourth. The two-time California ProKart Challenge champion is finding himself in a challenge for the regional title this year, with rookie S1 driver and fellow Praga pilot Jarred Campbell showing the way thus far into the regional season. With three more races left on the calendar, the battle is surely going to come down to a Streets of Lancaster Grand Prix battle.

Point Breakdown

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Ron White (Photo: EKN)

Stock Moto #3 – Ron White
San Jose, California

No one in the S1 Stock Moto ranks has more experience than that of Ron White. A longtime CRG driver, White won a CIK European event 11 years ago in the ICC category (KZ2 today), becoming one of only a few Americans to win at a CIK-FIA event. Not only is Ron a driver, he’s continued to develop his Ron White Racing program for driver coaching along with arrive-and-drive rides. White’s best result from the SpringNationals weekend was sixth on Saturday, and no doubt the experience from the past at the New Castle Motorsports Park will aid him during the SummerNationals.

Point Breakdown

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Daniel Formal (Photo: Retro Grouch)

Stock Moto ‘On the Move’ – #9
Daniel Formal
San Jose, Costa Rica

This month’s ‘On the Move’ is DRT Racing’s Daniel Formal. The Costa Rican joined the squad just before the SKUSA SummerNationals, and performed his best at the SKUSA SuperNationals XVIII with a third place finish, beating out Gary Carlton and Fritz Leesmann for the position. Formal’s Driver Rankings total increased thanks to three victories at the Northeast Shifter Kart Series, combining the end of last year and this year’s opening round. Living in Florida, Formal has moved back to Coata Rica and is scheduled for limited events, possible including the SummerNationals but for sure the SuperNationals in Las Vegas.

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 2015, 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), as does the United States Pro Kart Series, Florida Winter Tour Rotax Max Challenge, Rotax Challenge of the Americas. 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 Moto Driver Rankings – as of May 14, 2015

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