(Photo: Studio52.us)

The first half of the 2026 season is complete, and the second half of racing that features the closing rounds of the many championships from coast to coast is upon us. The 2026 eKartingNews.com Shifterkart Driver Rankings presented by Stilo USA now features six months of results from 2025 and six months of races from 2026. Added from the June standings are seven main events, including the SKUSA Pro Tour SpringNationals and the recent USPKS Indiana Grand Prix. Those results have shuffled the order up and down the standings, except for the top spot still held by now Carblos Racing Engines driver Adrien Renaudin.

The French driver did not compete at the SpringNationals, making his debut with Carblos still aboard the Sodikart chassis with a runner-up at the USPKS Indiana Grand Prix. While he lost only 10 points from last month’s standings, the rest of the field closed in, led by two-time SKUSA Pro Tour winner Matheus Morgatto (Velocity Racing / Sodikart). After sitting fourth last month, the victory at MCC put him now within 59 points in the standings for July. Following Morgatto to move up to third is Gavin Bayliff (Trinity Karting Group / Birelart). The Ohio driver who won at the SKUSA Winter Series started out the year in third, and returned there, just over 100 points out of the top spot.

Dropping out of the top three are Jay Urwin (PSL Karting / Birelart) and Billy Musgrave (Factory Karts). Urwin is down one spot to fourth, improving his score with an eighth place result at the SpringNationals. Musgrave was unable to improve his score, recording a DQ following an ignore of the meatball flag for a rear bumper issue at the second round of the SKUSA Pro Tour. He is coming off victory at the USPKS Indiana Grand Prix, which could set up for a great run at the SummerNationals.

Up one spot to sixth is Justin White (Carblos Racing Engines / Maranello). A P11 at the SKUSA SpringNationals improved his score by 87 points, needing more to break into the top five. Holding his point total at the same score, Massimo Valiante (Italian Motors / Italkart) dropped one spot to seventh. Valiante recorded two wins at the NWKA event in Spokane, however, was only 21st at the SpringNationals.

The only other driver to hold their position from the last standings is Jacob Gulick (GFC Karting). At the eighth position, Gulick improved his score by 91 points with a 10th place result at the SpringNationals, his best result of the two rounds of the SKUSA Pro Tour. Hunter Pickett (GFC Karting) and AJ Myers (Magik Kart USA) swapped positions to be ninth and 10th respectively. Pickett improved his score by 153 points thanks to a 14th result at the SpringNationals. Myers lost points with a DNF at MCC, his second of the year in what has been his worst start to a season over the last decade.

Upcoming Events

Shifterkart #1 – Adrien Renaudin
Paris, France

(Photo: Studio52.us)

It has been seven straight months of holding the top spot of the EKN Driver Rankings for the Frenchman. The Sodikart driver lost 10 points with the drop of a Stars event from 2025 that was replaced by a Stars 2026 result. The move over to Carblos Racing Engines for the remainder of the 2026 season kept him off the grid for the SKUSA Pro Tour SpringNationals, however, the combination that drove to second at the USPKS Indiana Grand Prix will return for the SummerNationals, where Renaudin can either improve or decrease his score.

Point Breakdown

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Shifterkart #2 – Matheus Morgatto
São Paulo, Brazil

(Photo: On Track Promotions – otp.ca)

A total of five wins over six races to begin the 2026 season is very similar to that of his stellar year 2024 where he ended as EKN Driver of the Year. From Florida Winter Tour, SKUSA Winter Series, SKUSA Pro Tour and Stars, Morgatto has won at all four in his six races on the season. One of the ways Morgatto can take over the top spot in the EKN Driver Rankings is another podium run at the SummerNationals, or one of the Vegas events at the end of the year. Morgatto has neither a ROK Vegas or SuperNationals results on his best seven results, leaving the possibility for a massive points haul over the next six weeks.

Point Breakdown

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Shifterkart #3 – Gavin Bayliff
Batavia, Ohio

(Photo: EKN)

Consistency is key to holding a top position in the EKN Driver Rankings and Bayliff has shown that. Bayliff has been able to finish seven of the eight main events he has competed at in 2026. The double podium start to the year at Speedsportz matched with his best SKUSA Pro Tour result on the year from the SpringNationals propelled the Trinity Karting Group driver back into the top three. Bayliff will need to keep the top finishes intact for the second half of the season to keep himself at the top end of the EKN Driver Rankings.

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 July 10, 2026

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