(Photo: On Track Promotions - otp.ca)

The first edition of the 2026 eKartingNews.com Shifterkart Driver Rankings presented by Stilo USA has been tabulated following the first two months of the racing calendar. A total of seven main events have been added to the shifting 12-month total for the 139 drivers recording finishes. Despite the low number of events, the order throughout the standings has shuffled with the exception of the top three, including 2025 #1 driver Adrien Renaudin.

The Frenchman – who was named as the Technical Commercial Racing position at Sodikart – is signed on to race again in the USA with Velocity Racing for 2026. He has yet to make a start in 2026 but is expected to begin at the SKUSA Pro Tour WinterNationals in March. The same for second place AJ Myers (Magik Kart USA), who has been on the sidelines since SuperNationals 28. The only three-time SKUSA Pro Tour champion has been confirmed at going for a record-setting fourth title in 2026. Completing the top three and gaining points from the end of 2025 is Gavin Bayliff (Trinity Karting Group / Birelart). The driver from Ohio scored a win at the opening weekend of the SKUSA Winter Series, improving his score to now be within 89 points of the top spot.

Improving up two spots to fourth is Superkarts! USA Pro Tour champion for 2025 Billy Musgrave (Factory Karts). The veteran was busy this winter, recording three straight runner-up results at the SKUSA Winter Series to improve his score and puts the top four drivers within 100 points. Musgrave will also be traveling internationally with his ticket to the 2026 Rotax Grand Finals in Portugal in the DD2 category. Up 14 spots thanks to his first season at the SKUSA Winter Series is this year’s champion Jay Urwin (PSL Karting / Birelart). The Kiwi made up for the two devastating finishes at the SummerNats and SuperNationals 28 to win twice at Speedsportz, claiming the series title in his debut.

The promotion of Musgrave and Urwin dropped former SKUSA Pro Tour champion Matheus Morgatto (Velocity Racing / Sodikart) and Justin White (Maranello USA) down two spots each. Morgatto grabbed a win at the opening round of the ROK Cup USA Florida Winter Tour and at his 2026 SKUSA Winter Series debut in Round Three. Despite that, he lost 14 points to his total. The same for White who lost his win at last year’s SKUSA Winter Series. He lost 25 points despite three top-five results at Speedsportz including one podium finish.

Holding onto the eighth spot is GFC Karting’s Jacob Gulick. The Pacific Northwest driver has also not made a start yet in 2026, coming off victory at the ROK Vegas 2025 event and 18th at the SKUSA SuperNationals 28. Gulick is slated for his first start of 2026 at the SKUSA WinterNationals. Down to ninth with loss of points is Canadian Massimo Valiante (Italian Motors / Italkart). The results from 2025 Challenge of the Americas were dropped in the 12-month shift. Down to 10th is Charlie Stine (Factory Fury / GP Kart). The story of the 2025 SKUSA WinterNationals kept his top-10 pace throughout the rest of the season. We could see him fall down the standings as Stiles confirmed with EKN that he will not be competing at the SKUSA WinterNationals 2026.

Out of the top 10 of the standings is Michael Avansino (Ron White Racing / CRG). The 2025 Challenge of the Americas champion lost his results from that program and now sits back in 33rd with only five races counted after suffering a broken collarbone in Europe at the world championships. Avansino has recovered after missing SuperNationals 28 and is set for a return at the SKUSA WinterNationals. The driver ‘On the Move’ for March is Diego Ardiles (PSL Karting / Birelart). The former multiple SKUSA Pro Tour Junior champion recorded his seven results after contesting the SKUSA Winter Series, recording a best finish of fifth. Ardiles is up 50 spots from the end of 2025 to now sit 13th.

Upcoming Events

Shifterkart #1 – Adrien Renaudin
Paris, France

(Photo: Cody Schindel – CKN)

The Frenchman became the fourth international to earn ‘Driver of the Year’ for the EKN Shifterkart Driver Rankings since 2008. The veteran is back with Velocity Racing / Sodikart for 2026 but has yet to make his first start of the year. While the 2025 season did not equate to a championship at SKUSA or Stars, Renaudin was the most consistent driver across the board to record the best seven results in the EKN Driver Rankings. Very similar to the performance of Kyle Wick in 2023. With more drivers now under the Velocity tent and his full time role with Sodikart, we will see if he can improve upon the results in 2026.

Point Breakdown

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Shifterkart #2 – AJ Myers
Mount Ulla, North Carolina

(Photo: EKN)

The three-time EKN Shifterkart Driver of the Year has been confirmed to be competing at the SKUSA WinterNationals in Tucson. Magik Kart USA will be racing exclusively at Stars Championship Series. Speaking with Myers, he will compete in Pro Shifter at the Tucson event flying the colors of Magik Kart USA, along with the Stars program. Myers is among the most decorated shifterkart drivers in the USA, however, still seeking that first SuperNationals triumph. Could 2026 be the year?

Point Breakdown

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Shifterkart #3 – Gavin Bayliff
Batavia, Ohio

(Photo: EKN)

After a full year of racing on the Birelart brand, Gavin Bayliff has become more consistent and will be among the contenders throughout the 2026 season. That big victory at the 2025 SKUSA WinterNationals put him in the discussion, unfortunately, two DNF finishes kept him from challenging for the SKUSA Pro Tour title. Now with a win and runner-up in the SKUSA Winter Series, the Trinity Karting Group driver gained 30 points on his total with the hope of repeating his WinterNats triumph, this time at Musselman Honda Circuit at the end of the month.

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 March 9, 2026

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