Jake Craig (Photo: EKN)

The race for the #1 position in the eKartingNews.com TaG Driver Rankings is well underway. Five months into the 2016 season is now in the books, with a percentage of drivers taking advantage of the first half of the year and others still looking for better results. Dating back to the end of May 2015 for the 12-month tally to calculate the order of the TaG standings, Jake Craig has now moved back into the number one position to close out the month of May.

Craig (Praga North America) has not been setting the United States karting scene on fire thus far in 2016, but the Californian has the best seven-race score from the past 12 months that includes podiums at the two biggest events – the United States Rotax Grand Nationals and the SKUSA SuperNationals. Jarsocrak has slipped down to second, trailing Craig by 27 points. The KartSport North America / Praga pilot lost last year’s first, second finish from the United States Pro Kart Series opener at GoPro, and replaced it with two third-place finishes at New Castle just two weeks ago. Head-to-head in 2016, Craig performed better at the SpringNationals while Jarsocrak had the advantage in New Castle. Ironically, the two ended up pitted next to each other and worked together throughout the USPKS opener.

Still in third is United States Pro Kart Series 2015 champion Elliot Finlayson. The Koene USA / Tony Kart pilot has not been able to capitalize on the first events of 2016, with his best thus far a victory at the Daytona KartWeek 2015. Now into the top-five is Ohio driver Braden Eves. Without a doubt, the month of May was his, winning at the SKUSA SpringNationals and the USPKS opener. Eves (MDD / Kosmic) currently leads the Pro Tour championship and trails by just 13 points in the USPKS title chase.

2016 Challenge of the Americas champion Christian Brooks remains in the fifth position with no change in his point total. The SpringNationals was not as the Nash Motorsportz / CRG driver had hoped for, however, the 15-year-old finished sixth and fourth in his Red Bull Global Rallycross Lites debut in Phoenix two weeks later. Up one position is Ryan Norberg. The Orlando Kart Center / Tony Kart shined in Phoenix, nearly sweeping the weekend only to be sent out into the desert in Sunday’s main event. Norberg did not perform in a similar fashion once arriving at New Castle for the USPKS opener, limiting his advancement in the standings.

The top rookie to this point in 2016 is Brandon Lemke. Advancing up to seventh, the Franklin Motorsports / Merlin driver picked up his first SKUSA Pro Tour podium and the biggest win of the season thus far at the USPKS opener – both on the Sunday rounds. Now the USPKS point leader, Lemke is the target for everyone heading to Shawano where he dominated at a Junior driver. Andrick Zeen drops to eighth as the Californian continues to lose events without replacing them, wrenching for Praga North America drivers.

2014 United States Pro Kart Series title winner AJ Myers finds himself down to ninth. Myers did not have a standout performance at the USPKS opener aboard his iKart machine with a best result of sixth at New Castle. Up 11 positions into the top-10 once again is Kyle Kirkwood. The podium result at the SKUSA SpringNationals in his PSL Karting / Birel ART debut helped to propel the Florida Winter Tour and US Grand Nationals champion back into the top-10. Falling out are Oliver Askew – who lost his SKUSA SpringNationals victory from a year ago – Phillippe Denes and Roger Ralston Jr.

Upcoming EKN TaG Driver Rankings Events

(Photo: On Track Promotions – otp.ca)

NEW TaG #1 – Jake Craig
Mission Viejo, California

The 2014 season was the best yet by Jake Craig. Last year was a year of transition, going from Tony Kart to Formula K, still fighting for wins and championships. Now in 2016, Craig is adapting to another company and chassis brand with Praga North America. The Californian spent much of the winter testing, and racing a select few events. A podium at the SpringNationals has put himself in title contention once again, just as he did last year, helping to increase his point total and move him to the top of the standings. Add in a good recovery from rough starts at his USPKS debut in New Castle, Craig continues to show why he is among the best drivers in North America.

Point Breakdown

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(Photo: EKN)

TaG #2 – Brandon Jarsocrak
Shillington, Pennsylvania

Just a few points lost takes Jarsocrak out of first and down into the second position. The USPKS 2015 opener in North Carolina produced a 1-2 finish in the two races, and losing those races and replacing them with two third-place results equate to the drop in points for the KartSport North America / Praga driver. ‘Money’ has the better average finish between he and Craig, while the #1 driver has two solid results in the only ‘10’ ranked events to put him above Jarsocrak. The battle continues as Brandon heads back to a facility that haunted him throughout 2015, Shawano.

Point Breakdown

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(Photo: EKN)

TaG #3 – Elliot Finlayson
Yorkville, Illinois

The best average finish of the top-three in the standings is Elliot Finlayson. The unfortunate part of it, all the results came from 2015. The USPKS 2015 champion began a streak of results from June until December that placed him on six podiums in seven races, including a victory at Daytona KartWeek. The Koene USA / Tony Kart driver has yet to visit the steps in any of the 2016 events, including two DNFs at the SKUSA SpringNationals. Shawano was the site of Finlayson’s charge to the top and it will need to be again in 2016.

Point Breakdown

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(Photo: EKN)

TaG ‘On the Move’ – #23
TJ Koyen
Sun Prairie, Wisconsin

There is nothing bad you can say about TJ Koyen. Now a veteran of the sport at the ripe age of 25, the Innovative Performance / Exprit driver is more than just a talent behind the wheel. Koyen is a regular on the EKN Forums, providing advice and tips for the many who come into the karting community. The Oktane Visual work is decorating many karters across the country with his unique helmet art and new safety apparel lineup. Koyen’s resurgence in TaG competition after taking a year to compete in Yamaha division put him back at the top of the podium at Route 66 competition, and now among the championship contenders in the USPKS title chase.

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 2016, the SKUSA Pro Tour 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. A base ranking of nine (9) goes to the United States Pro Kart Series, Florida Winter Tour Rotax Max Challenge, Challenge of the Americas, 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.

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 TaG Driver Rankings – as of May 27, 2016

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