Fritz Leesmann remains the leader in the Stock Moto Driver Rankings (Photo: EKN)

The 2015 season is nearing the end, with just over two months left of racing on the calendar. Regional and club championships are wrapping up all across the country, including those in the Stock Moto category. The last release of the EKN Driver Rankings was back in the beginning of August, and not much has changed at the top of the order.

Two-time SKUSA Fikse Wheels Pro Tour champion Fritz Leesmann (CRG) remains at the top, extending his lead to just 86 markers following a second place performance at the Streets of Lancaster Grand Prix. The NorCal driver is among the contenders for this year’s Pro Tour S1 title, entering the SuperNationals XIX. Second place driver Billy Musgrave (Praga) lost a few points to Leesmann since the last release of the standings. Musgrave was among the contenders in Lancaster, placing fourth. The top three in the EKN Driver Rankings finished second, third and fourth with Ron White (CRG) completing the trio. The RWR driver was runner-up last year in Lancaster, and finished third this time around, losing 29 points since last rankings release.

Last year’s Streets of Lancaster Grand Prix winner Jarred Campbell did not have title defense as he had hoped. Campbell (Praga) was fighting back from a slow start all weekend, and finished on the sidelines. The S1 rookie did however clinch the California ProKart Challenge championship, ending Musgrave’s streak at two years. Campbell remains fourth, riding on the S2 SuperNationals victory last year, needing a podium this November to remain in the top-five. Kolton Griffin also had a Lancaster event to forget, but improved his point total by eight points thanks to the California PKC event at Adams. Griffin (Tony Kart) is currently the highest ranked S1 rookie in the Pro Tour championship chase, sitting in the top-five.

Jonathan Kotyk (Top Kart) puts three rookies in the top-six of the EKN Driver Rankings. His podium at the SummerNationals helped to boost his position in standings. The top S2 driver remains Carter Williams. The Phil Giebler Racing FA Kart driver locked up the California ProKart Challenge championship, and enters the SuperNationals as the Pro Tour point leader. Chasing him is Texas driver Miguel Lopez. The GP driver doubled up in the win column at the SummerNationals, matching Williams’ SpringNationals total. Ninety-two points separate them in the Fikse Wheels Pro Tour standings, with 152 between them in the rankings.

California ProKart Challenge competitors Matias Podboj (Mad-Croc) and Ryon Beachnor (Tony Kart) complete the top-10 in the Driver Rankings, each losing points from the last release.

Upcoming EKN Stock Moto Driver Rankings Events

Fritz Leesmann (Photo: EKN)

Stock Moto #1 – Fritz Leesmann
Folsom, California

Certain situations bring the best out of drivers, and for Fritz Leesmann he is in a position to earn a third Fikse Wheels Pro Tour championship. Leesmann is driving for Diede Racing aboard the familiar CRG chassis, and is focused on racing, and racing alone. The demeanor of Leesmann in the paddock is one of relaxation, no stress, and out to have fun, which is translating into solid results on-track with an average finish of second place over the best six results of the season. The one thing that really remains a void on the resume for Leesmann, a SuperNationals victory. 2015 could be his best shot at standing on top of the podium on SuperSunday.

Point Breakdown

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Billy Musgrave (Photo: EKN)

Stock Moto #2 – Billy Musgrave
Norco, California

Musgrave remains one of the top Stock Moto drivers in the country. He and Leesmann are the top contenders for the Fikse Wheels Pro Tour S1 championship going into the SuperNationals. Its an improvement from the last two seasons on the national level, while Musgrave missed out on a third straight California ProKart Challenge title to fellow Praga driver Jarred Campbell. Musgrave finished one spot off the podium in Las Vegas back in 2013 in his first S1 SuperNationals start, but will need to do better than last year’s 13th to challenge for the Pro Tour title on SuperSunday.

Point Breakdown

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Ron White (Photo: EKN)

Stock Moto #3 – Ron White
San Jose, California

The ‘ageless’ Ron White is becoming the new Alan Rudolph, racing drivers half his age and continues to remain competitive. White is always known for blistering speed and ungodly deep braking maneuvers, which gives him the confidence and experience to race against the younger competitors. The 2002 SuperNationals winner had his CRG machine in contention at the recent Streets of Lancaster Grand Prix. White stood on the podium at the SuperNats in his S1 debut in 2013 after moving over from the KZ2 category. A return to the steps on SuperSunday is not a bad bet for White heading into this year’s event.

Point Breakdown

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Will Preston (Photo: EKN)

Stock Moto ‘On the Move’ – #16
Will Preston
Danville, California

The Aluminos chassis is becoming a regular site at the front of the Stock Moto categories. Daniel Bray gave the brand its first major victory in its debut in S1, Kiwi driver Matt Hamilton won the S4 division for its first SuperNationals triumph, and now Will Preston is heading up the success in the S2 division. The 18-year-old has found the right combination and gained the experience to battle and earn victories in the Semi-Pro division. In his only three starts at the California ProKart Challenge, Preston has one runner-up and two victories, including the Streets of Lancaster Grand Prix. There is certainly room to improve on his sixth place result at the SuperNationals this November.

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.

Stock Moto Driver Rankings – as of October 2, 2015

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