Defending SKUSA Pro Tour champion Matheus Morgatto remains at the top of the EKN Driver Rankings (Photo: On Track Promotions - otp.ca)

The 2025 season is well underway with the first quarter of the season in the books and already the spring events happening around the country. The first edition of the eKartingNews.com Shifterkart Driver Rankings presented by Stilo USA have been tabulated following 17 main events held over the 3.5 months of the year. A total of 23 drivers were added to the standings that did not have a result in the category last year. The top spot remains the same with Brazilian Matheus Morgatto in the #1 position.

Morgatto (PSL Karting / Birelart) improved his score from the end of 2024 by 12 points, however, his lead shrunk to just 25 points with the improvement of five-time SKUSA SuperNationals winner Billy Musgrave (Factory Karts) to the second spot. Former SKUSA Pro Tour champion AJ Myers (Magik Kart USA) remains in the third position while improving his score by 37 points. Former #2 Kyle Wick (GFC Karting) lost over 100 points, including wins from Challenge of the Americas in 2024 to fall to fourth. A P7 result at the WinterNationals with a podium result at the Stars opener in Charlotte. Up into the top five in Michael Avansino (Ron White Racing / CRG). The 2024 Challenge of the Americas champion is four for four at the program in 2025, placing 13th at the WinterNationals.

The rest of the top 10 is welcoming new names into the mix. Among them is Gavin Bayliff (Trinity Karting Group / Birelart). Bayliff became a first time SKUSA Pro Tour winner with his triumph at the WinterNationals in Texas in addition to his success at the SKUSA Winter Series has boosted him up 15 spots to sixth. Victory at the SKUSA Winter Series is the momentum starter for Justin White (Maranello USA) in 2025. White improved seven positions to start off 2025 in the seventh spot, nearly finishing inside the top 10 at the WinterNationals to also help boost his score. Dropping out of the top five is Jacob Gulick (GFC Karting). He also lost results from the 2024 Challenge of the Americas, making his 2025 debut at the WinterNationals with a P15 finish. He jumped back on top of the podium at the NorthWest Karting Association opener in Washington.

The biggest mover into the top 10 is Ian Quinn (PSL Karting / Birelart). The driver from Ohio has raced only twice since September 2024, placing 23rd at the WinterNationals while finishing fifth at the Stars opener. Those events put him to eight races over the last 12 months, helping to improve his score to sit in the ninth position. Also reaching eight races is Kiwi Jay Urwin (PSL Karting / Birelart), up to 10th. An impressive fourth at the WinterNationals was a career best on the SKUSA Pro Tour and was runner-up to Morgatto at the Stars event in Charlotte.

The top new name to begin the 2025 season is Michigan driver Ashton Henckel (PSL Karting / Birelart). Making his Pro Shifter debut at the SKUSA Winter Series, Henckel left the four round program with a best finish of sixth. He placed 17th at his SKUSA Pro Tour debut at the WinterNationals, backing it up with 12th at the Stars event in Charlotte. Henckel opens 2025 35th in the EKN Driver Rankings. Falling out of the top 10 is Tahlon Yockel (Italkart), Hunter Pickett (GFC Karting) and Vincenzo Sarracino (Presti Racing / Croc Promotion).

Upcoming Events

Shifterkart #1 – Matheus Morgatto
Brazil

(Photo: EKN)

Kicking off the season with a second straight SKUSA Winter Series championship, Matheus Morgatto continues to set the bar for shifterkart racing here in the USA. The Brazilian racing with PSL Karting has two wins, one championship and a podium at the WinterNationals thus far in 2025. Morgatto was not the quickest at Speedsportz but was a contender all weekend long. With the SpringNationals returning to Motorsports Country Club of Cincinnati, Morgatto will be looking to defend last year’s victory however the competition is closing in as we’ve seen over the first quarter of the season.

Point Breakdown

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Shifterkart #2 – Billy Musgrave
Norco, California

(Photo: EKN)

Veteran driver Billy Musgrave continues to be among the elite of shifterkart drivers here in the USA. The father of the Factory Karts chassis brand put in a better second half of the 2024 season than everyone, winning at the SummerNationals and putting other wins on his CV. He was two corners away from earning a second WinterNationals triumph before the infamous ‘bump and run’ by Gavin Bayliff took the top spot away on the final circuit. One thing that remains absent on Musgrave’s karting record is a SKUSA Pro Tour championship. Big picture, second in the standings heading into the SpringNationals with another chance at a victory is the better outlook heading into Q2 of 2025.

Point Breakdown

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Shifterkart #3 – AJ Myers
Mount Ulla, North Carolina

(Photo: Studio52.us)

Each and every time he hits the track, three-time SKUSA Pro Tour champion AJ Myers remains a threat. After shaking off the rust at the final stop of the SKUSA Winter Series, igniting his rivalry with Morgatto once again, the lead sorcerer at Magik Kart USA did not have the initial pace at the WinterNationals in March at Speedsportz. He came away with a top 10 with plenty of ground to make up over the next two events for the SKUSA Pro Tour in his quest for a fourth championship. Heading to two of his more successful tracks in MCC and New Castle bode well for a Myers comeback.

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 the TaG and Shifterkart categories 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 also included the results for the major one-off events such as the SKUSA SuperNationals, the Rock Island Grand Prix, and other special races.

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 2024, the SKUSA SuperNationals will receive a score of 10 in its initial weighting in the TaG and Shifterkart categories. A base ranking of 9.5 is awarded to special events of ROK Vegas, US Trophy Final, Rock Island Grand Prix, and IAME Grand National Championship. The core of the schedule featuring SKUSA Pro Tour, SKUSA Winter Series, United States Pro Kart Series, Florida Winter Tour, and Challenge of the Americas begin with a base ranking of 9. Other programs such as ProKart Challenge, Stars Championship Series, ROK Sonoma and others given a base ranking of either 8.5 or 8.0.

The EKN staff reserves the right to adjust the rankings of each event throughout the year. A minimum entry total for any event to be 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, we calculate each driver’s overall score and subsequent ranking.

EKN Shifterkart Driver Rankings presented by Stilo USA – as of April 14, 2025

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