Kyle Wick continues leading the EKN Shifterkart Driver Rankings (Photo: On Track Promotions - otp.ca)

The month of May is nearing the end, and the first half of the 2024 season is inching toward completion for karting in North America. The third release of the eKartingNews.com Shifterkart Driver Rankings presented by Skip Barber Racing School has little change at the top thanks to no major events since the last edition released on April 22. The loss of USPKS, Stars Championship Series and Texas Sprint Racing Series results from 2023 has the biggest impact on driver’s score while a handful of the 201 drivers in the EKN Driver Rankings took advantage of those regional events over the last five weeks to gain points toward this year’s standings.

2023 ROK Vegas winner and former SKUSA Pro Tour champion Kyle Wick (GFC Karting) remains the benchmark in the Shifterkart standings, holding a 104-point advantage over four-time SKUSA SuperNationals winner Daniel Formal (Rolison Performance Group / Kosmic). The score for both drivers stay put, same for third-place driver and two-time defending SKUSA Pro Tour champion Marijn Kremers (Rolison Performance Group / Tony Kart).

Holding fourth place is AJ Myers (Magik Kart USA). He lost 37 points with the drop of the USPKS Speedsportz victory but remains in the same position with only nine races notched over the last 12 months. His latest result was third at the Stars opener in Charlotte. Hunter Pickett (GFC Karting) remains in fifth position with no change to his score. The last race toward the standings was a third-place result at Challenge of the Americas finale in Sonoma.

The next four drivers in the top-10 remain the same with no change in their scores. Billy Musgrave (Factory Karts) holds sixth, coming off a DNF at the Stars Championship Series event in Charlotte. Jacob Gulick (GFC Karting) is seventh, recording a third and DNF at Challenge of the Americas finale in his last EKN Driver Rankings event. New SKUSA Winter Series champion and recent SKUSA Pro Tour WinterNationals winner Matheus Morgatto (PSL Karting / Birel ART) is eighth. He has the least number of races of the top-10 drivers, making his shifterkart debut at the start of the season. Tahlon Yockel made his Sodi Racing USA debut at the Stars Championship Series event in Charlotte, finishing sixth. His point total remained unchanged, holding to the ninth spot.

Rounding out the top-10 and the only change in position is Keawn Tandon (GFC Karting). His point total is unchanged with runner-up at Challenge of the Americas his last result. Giorgio Carrara (Inter MS / Kart Republic) fell out of the top-10, losing his score from the USPKS Texas Grand Prix from last year. The driver from Argentina dropped down only to 11th.

The EKN ‘On the Move’ driver for the month of May is Jay Urwin (PSL Karting / Birel ART). A podium at the SKUSA WinterNationals followed up by a win at the Stars Championship Series race in Charlotte helped promote the driver from New Zealand up 27 spots to 12th with now seven races counted toward the EKN Driver Rankings. Watch for him to move up into the top-10 in the next edition of the standings.

Upcoming Events

Shifterkart #1 – Kyle Wick
Auburn, Washington

(Photo: ChallengeKarting.com)

It was a disappointing early end to the SKUSA WinterNationals for the 2023 SKUSA Pro Tour vice-champion. A top-five contender all weekend, his race ended with him coasting to the sideline with a mechanical issue. This has him sitting 16th in the championship, needing two strong weekends and some help to close out the 2024 SKUSA Pro Tour with a shot at the championship podium. The GFC Karting pilots’ two wins at USPKS and ROK Vegas in 2023 stand out over the last 12 months as consistency at the SKUSA Pro Tour elevated him to the top spot in the EKN Driver Rankings. A win at the upcoming SpringNationals will be a must to keep him at the top spot.

Point Breakdown

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Shifterkart #2 – Daniel Formal
Boca Raton, Florida

(Photo: EKN)

The projection for where Formal will be over the next two months in the EKN Driver Rankings is still the top-three. Thanks to his campaign at the SKUSA Winter Series with two wins and two runner-ups, the second-place result at the SKUSA WinterNationals puts him among the most consistent drivers over the opening five months of the season – next to Matheus Morgatto. Add in the SuperNationals victory and Formal has the edge over every driver. Despite what will happen at the SpringNationals in June, the Rolison Performance Group driver could find himself back at the top of the standings in the next edition.

Point Breakdown

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Shifterkart #3 – Marijn Kremers
Gemert, Netherlands

(Photo: EKN)

One of the unknowns for the 2024 season is the position Kremers will finish. The focus for the new Tony Kart factory driver is on the European and World Championships. The SKUSA WinterNationals was his first trip back to the USA after a heartbreaking runner-up at the SuperNationals to Formal. The Orlando main event ended abruptly with contact into the barriers fighting for a top-three position early. No confirmation on whether Kremers is set to return with Rolison Performance Group for the SpringNationals in June. You can bet he will be back in the USA for Vegas this November.

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 2023, 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 set for the SKUSA Pro Tour, while a base ranking of 9 goes to the SKUSA Winter Series, United States Pro Kart Series, Florida Winter Tour, Challenge of the Americas, ROK Vegas, Rotax Grand Nationals, Rock Island Grand Prix, and California ProKart Challenge. Other national and regional program races were 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 Skip Barber Racing School
– as of May 27, 2024

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