August 23, 2010
Driver rankings jump earns 'Hard Charger' award
 race - [Eakin 039; 800x300].JPG)
Two second places at Road America earlier
this month helped catapult Daniel Erickson, shown here leading the pack in Round 11 at the Wisconsin circuit, a staggering 81
positions up eFormulaCarNews.com's
latest driver rankings. Photo by Janice
Eakin.
Overtaking other drivers is part and parcel of motor racing, but Daniel Erickson has reset the bar by improving 114 positions - not on the racetrack, but in a prominent USA motorsport website's driver ratings! Since June, Daniel has rocketed from 174th to 60th in eFormulaCarNews.com's driver rankings, which are unique in assessing competitors in American 'development' openwheeler categories.
The young Sydney driver jumped 33 positions in the website's July rankings after winning the seventh and eighth rounds of the American F2000 Championship Series at Watkins Glen. Three second places from the next four rounds, at Lime Rock Park and Road America, catapulted him another 81 spots upward in last week's rankings update, earning him the website's 'Hard Charger of the Month' award.
Acknowledging Daniel's achievement, eFormulaCarNews.com's Allan Craighead commented, "The F2000 Championship Series rookie is now ranked 60th with 7896 points, despite only having eight races to draw from. Driving for Primus Racing/Quantum Mechanics, Erickson continued his strong rookie campaign recently with a runner-up in race two of the Lime Rock Park doubleheader (1008 pts) and second place runs in both races at Road America (1001 pts each)."
A surprised Daniel welcomed the news of his rapid elevation in eFormulaCarNews.com's driver rankings.
"I thought I'd probably move up a few positions after my recent results, but to improve by 81 places in one month is amazing! I never expected to be so high in the rankings after just eight races in America. All of the drivers ahead of me have driven in more races here in the past 12 months, so that makes this award even more special.
"A lot of the credit goes to Jon Baytos of Prime Racing, Wendell and Slade Miller of Quantum Racing Services, and the Australian Motor Sport Foundation for their assistance during my F2000 Championship Series campaign.
"Now I'm focusing on finishing the season even higher in the driver rankings with good results in the last two rounds of the championship, at Mid Ohio on September 4-5," Daniel said.
BACKGROUND - eFormulaCarNews.com Driver Rankings
Similar to the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) player rankings, eFormulaCarNews.com's driver rankings assess up-and-coming drivers competing in major 'development' formula championships on an annualised basis.
The website's Allan Craighead explained, "The eFormulaCarNews.com Driver Rankings are calculated using a driver's best finishes in the pro junior formula car series raced in North America (Indy Lights, Star Mazda Championship, F2000 Championship Series, Pacific F2000 Championship, USF2000 National Championship, Formula Enterprises Pro Series and Skip Barber National).
"Assembled using events from the last 12 months, we use a driver's best 10 finishes in order to determine their overall current point total. With each new month, results from the previous year are discarded to deliver the current ranking list.
"Each series was initially weighted based on its prestige and history, the events and tracks at which it races, and of course the depth of talent, with a score of 10 being the highest attainable base ranking. For 2010, Indy Lights were given a base ranking of 9.4, Star Mazda was placed with a 9.2 score, F2000 Championship, USF2000 National Champion have a base ranking of 9, while Pacific F2000 Championship, FE Pro Series and Skip Barber National have a ranking of 8.9.
"Added to the initial base ranking is the variable of field size, which helps confirm the importance, strength and competitiveness of the series. A percentage of one weighting point is added for the size of the field, with a full field of 30 cars or more providing one full point.
"Another full point or fraction of a point will be added based on the field strength of each event. The percentage of the top-50 ranked drivers in the race will also be factored into the final event ranking. 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 10 races, we calculate each driver's overall score and subsequent ranking," Allan said.
2010 F2000 CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES
'CORRECTED'* POINTS (TOTAL PPOINTS IN BRACKETS)
1. Victor Carbone (BR) 461 (489)
2. Cole Morgan (USA) 382 (404)
3. Daniel Erickson (AUS) 322 (322) - contested eight rounds only
4. Phil Lombardi (USA) 319 (340)
5. Keith McCrone (USA) 298 (322)
* After deducting each driver's two lowest scoring rounds, according to F2000 Championship Series rules.
FINAL ROUNDS
13 & 14 - Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course (Lexington, Ohio)
Follow Daniel's progress 'live' during practice, qualifying and races via Twitter.
MORE INFORMATION
Australian Motor Sport Foundation
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