Jordan Taylor provides the funniest take on driver rankings you'll see today - MotorSportsTalk

Driver rankings in sports car racing have been a hot-button topic this year.

For the uninitiated, in the both the FIA World Endurance Championship and TUDOR United SportsCar Championship, you have four levels of ranking: Platinum, for factory drivers, Gold, for non-factory paid professionals, Silver, for (in theory) faster gentlemen drivers with day jobs or under-the-radar international drivers, and Bronze, for purely gentlemen drivers.

Some drivers are either ranked higher or lower than you’d expect depending on the circumstances; in some cases, there is no rhyme or reason to why drivers are ranked a certain way. This is why the rankings are set to be examined and looked at more closely this offseason.

But leave it to Jordan Taylor – the 2013 GRAND-AM Rolex Series DP champion, and two-time winner in TUDOR this year including at Petit Le Mans – to provide the funniest take on driver rankings you’ll see today, or perhaps all offseason.

Taylor, known as much for growing out a mullet (and then cutting it) and his general quirkiness on social media as his excellent prowess behind the wheel, did this to an unsuspecting driver who parked in a parking lot and took up two parking spots.

With the above description of rankings, the joke is even funnier.

Since driver rankings have been such a hot topic these days, I've decided to take it to the streets. #ParkingRankings pic.twitter.com/9dFoaQnM5j

— Jordan Taylor (@jordan10taylor) November 5, 2014

This is why Jordan Taylor is not only a great driver, but a great humorist.

Follow @TonyDiZinno

In a continuing effort to help fans keep track of the on track action, SuperMotocross is in the process of developing and implementing leader lights for the unified series.

Currently Supercross (SMX) utilizes stanchions in the infield that are triggered manually by a race official. At least two stanchions are used in each race as a way to draw the eye to the leader, which is especially useful in the tight confines of the stadium series when lapping often begins before the halfway mark in the 22-bike field. This system has been in place for the past two decades.

Later this year, a fully automated system will move to the bike itself to replace the old system. At that point, fans will be able to identify the leader regardless of where he is on track.

The leader lights were tested in the second Anaheim round this year. An example can be seen at the 1:45 mark in the video above on the No. 69 bike.

“What we don’t want to do is move too fast, where it’s confusing to people,” said Mike Muye, senior director of operations for Supercross and SMX in a press release. “We’ve really just focused on the leader at this point with the thought that maybe down the road we’ll introduce others.”

Scheduled to debut with the first SuperMotocross World Championship race at zMax Dragway, located just outside the Charlotte Motor Speedway, a 3D carbon fiber-printed LED light will be affixed to each motorcycle. Ten timing loops positioned around the track will trigger the lights of the leader, which will turn green.

SMX’s partner LiveTime Scoring helped develop and implement the system that has been tested in some form or fashion since 2019.

When the leader lights are successfully deployed, SuperMotocross will explore expanding the system to identify the second- and third-place riders. Depending on need and fan acceptance, more positions could be added.

SuperMotocross is exploring future enhancements, including allowing for live fan interaction with the lights and ways to use the lighting system during the race’s opening ceremony.

Jordan Taylor provides the funniest take on driver rankings you’ll see today

SuperMotocross set to introduce Leader Lights beginning with the World Championship finals

Read more about SuperMotocross