Adrien Renaudin remains leading the EKN Shifterkart Driver Rankings heading into the 2026 SKUSA SpringNationals (Photo: Studio52.us)

The month of May has been completed and 11 races have been added to the 12-month total for the 2026 eKartingNews.com Shifterkart Driver Rankings presented by Stilo USA. The karting season is fully underway with racing taking place from coast to coast, at all levels of the sport. The SKUSA ProKart Challenge had three rounds of racing with the Northwest Karting Association putting in four rounds as well. Route 66 Sprint Series made its debut on the shifterkart standings, and a big part of the growth to now 179 names in the standings, still led by Velocity Racing driver Adrien Renaudin.

The French driver has enjoyed consistent success in his first year of competing in the United States. He was among the few positions that did not change, despite losing points. Reigning SKUSA Pro Tour champion Billy Musgrave (Factory Karts) lost points, however, was able to improve two positions to now sit second heading into the second half of the season. Kiwi Jay Urwin (PSL Karting / Birelart) remains in the third spot of the standings, also losing points.

The majority of the shuffling was drivers losing points from the 2025 SKUSA Pro Tour SpringNationals, as the event was held over Memorial Weekend. This year’s event SKUSA SpringNats moved to June, drivers have not been able to replace the results. Thus, multiple drivers had their total score drop, including former #2 Matheus Morgatto (Velocity Racing / Sodikart). The former FIA Karting World Champion lost over 80 points from the loss of the SpringNationals from last year, however, the Brazilian heads into this year’s event as the 2026 WinterNationals winner. Holding onto the fifth spot is Gavin Bayliff (Trinity Karting Group / Birelart). The 2025 WinterNationals winner had a DNF last year at MCC and thus saw his point total remain unchanged from last month. Redemption is on the mind for Bayliff returning back to his home track for this year’s second stop on the SKUSA Pro Tour.

One of the few drivers to increase his score was Massimo Valiante (Italian Motors / Italkart). The Canadian improved 63 points and gained three spots to sixth thanks to his two wins at the NWKA opening weekend. His promotion dropped Justin White (Maranello USA), Jacob Gulick (GFC Karting) and AJ Myers (Magik Kart USA) down one position. All three lost points and now are only separated by 84 points.

The jump into the top 10 was completed by veteran Hunter Pickett (GFC Karting). The NorCal native raised his race total to now eight over the last 12 months, with a third place finish at ProKart Challenge improving his score to make the jump up to 10th from 22nd. Only 23 drivers have seven or more races counted toward the EKN Driver Rankings. Cooper Becklin (PSL Karting / Birelart) is the only driver out of the top 10 from last month.

The EKN ‘On the Move’ is one of the rookies for the 2026 season Kyle Drysdale (PSL Karting / Birelart). Recording six races now through the first half of the season, Drysdale gained 23 spots since last standings release.

Upcoming Events

Shifterkart #1 – Adrien Renaudin
Paris, France

(Photo: On Track Promotions – otp.ca)

The 2018 FIA Karting European KZ2 Champion remains at the top of the EKN Driver Rankings. Renaudin was able to add to his win total here in the USA, adding victory at the USPKS Carolina Grand Prix to begin that championship. Losing nearly 100 points from the drop of results for the 2025 SKUSA Pro Tour SpringNationals will need to be replaced. However, Renaudin is heading to his least favorite track that he has been to here in the USA, as mentioned in the latest episode of the Hot Seat podcast with EKN.

Point Breakdown

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Shifterkart #2 – Billy Musgrave
Norco, California

(Photo: EKN)

The reigning SKUSA Pro Tour champion returns to the top three of the EKN Driver Rankings thanks to the shifting 12-month program. The second half of the 2025 season was his better half and has continued that run into the new season. In addition to the success at the SKUSA Winter Series to begin 2026, Musgrave opened up the ProKart Challenge with two wins at K1 Circuit, one of which has helped him to move into second for the EKN Driver Rankings.

Point Breakdown

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Shifterkart #3 – Jay Urwin
Matamata, New Zealand

(Photo: EKN)

Also returning to the top three of the EKN Driver Rankings is the reigning SKUSA Winter Series champion. Despite losing 60 points, Urwin remained in third and improved his average finish slightly. Four podium finishes and two wins helped to get the season off to a great start. It nearly led to a podium at the WinterNationals, however, the PSL Karting driver came up just one spot short aboard his Birelart. The latest win at Stars Championship Series makes it six of seven races from 2026 counted toward his total. Strong results at the final two stops of the SKUSA Pro Tour could put him at the top of the standings before heading into the year-end events.

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 2026, 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, RMC Trophy Final, and IAME Grand National Championship. The SKUSA Pro Tour carries a 9.5 for Shifterkart while a 9 base ranking for TaG. Other programs such as SKUSA Winter Series, United States Pro Kart Series, Florida Winter Tour, and RMC America’s Trophy, RMC Winter Trophy, Stars Karting Championship begin with a base ranking of 9. Other programs are 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 June 3, 2026

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