AJ Myers remains on top of the Shifterkart Driver Rankings (Photo: EKN)

The end of the 2019 season is looming with the months of September and October closing out the many regional programs before year-end events put a cap on the year. The bulk of the national schedule is complete, shaping up the latest release of the eKartingNews.com Shifterkart Driver Rankings Powered by Bell Racing USA. Three major events remain on the schedule that can alter the standings as we close out 2019 – Streets of Lancaster Grand Prix, ROK the RIO, and SKUSA SuperNationals 23.

CRG Nordam’s AJ Myers remains at the top spot, able to retain the same total through the SKUSA Pro Tour finale. While the Florida driver was unable to defend the SKUSA Pro Tour, Myers remains the top driver in the Driver Rankings. The order on the podium is back to where it all ended in 2018, with Billy Musgrave (MRC / Croc Promotion) in the second spot. The three-time SKUSA SuperNationals winner jumped to second and gain valuable points on Myers to be only 90 points from the top spot. Dropping to third is the newly crowned SKUSA Pro Tour champion Kyle Wick. The CRG Nordam driver went winless in the six round championship, but came away with his first SKUSA crown and the SKUSA #1 plate.

SpringNationals winner Mathias Ramirez (PSL / Birel ART) was not able to close out the season with a podiums at the SummerNationals, however, remains in the fourth spot in the Driver Rankings. Moving into the top-five is two-time SKUSA Pro Tour winner Andrew Bujdoso (Checkered Motorsports). Bujdoso has had an up and down season, racing aboard three different chassis brands but leaving the SKUSA Pro Tour third in the standings. His advancement dropped Hunter Pickett (GFC) down to sixth, yet improving his score, making a return to the seat after taking much of the summer months off.

The bottom half of the top-10 shuffled around this month. Jumping up to seventh is 2018 RIGP King of the Streets winner Rory van der Steur (MRC / Tony Kart). Rory just missed out on the top-five in the SKUSA standings. Moving to eighth is Prescott Campbell (MRC / Aluminos). The SoCal driver is among the six finalists for the 2019 Team USA Scholarship program, as he bids to represent the country in Europe competing in Formula Ford action, following in the footsteps of many professional drivers.

The biggest mover was Jake French. His two victories at the SummerNationals helped to bring his race total up to seven after joining Croc Promotion USA and returning behind the wheel in May. French now has become one of the favorites heading into the SKUSA SuperNationals. Dropping down to 10th is Challenge of the Americas champion Ron White (RWR / CRG). Losing two races from his total accounted for his drop from seventh. Falling out of the top-10 is Max Hewitt (CRG Nordam), falling to 13th after losing his podium results in S2 last year at the SummerNationals. That puts new SKUSA Pro Tour Pro Shifter 2 champion Race Liberante (J3 / CompKart) as the top semi-pro in the Driver Rankings, sitting 11th.

Upcoming EKN TaG Driver Rankings Schedule

Shifterkart #1 – AJ Myers
Tampa, Florida

(Photo: EKN)

It was in 2014 that AJ Myers put himself on the map in USA karting. Securing the USPKS IAME Pro title that year, Myers shocked the paddock with a fifth place performance in the KZ category at the SKUSA SuperNationals. Myers was the top American finisher in a stacked field of former SuperNats winner and world champions. The Florida driver claimed the 2018 SKUSA Pro Tour title last year and moved to Croc Promotion USA stable to begin a new era. After placing second at the SuperNationals, and winning at the WinterNationals, the two parted ways and Myers found a new home with CRG Nordam. While the year did not finish with Myers defending the championship, he remains the one on top in the Driver Rankings. Next week, Myers will fly the USA colors at the FIA Karting KZ World Championships with the CRG factory.

Point Breakdown

**************************************

Shifterkart #2 – Billy Musgrave
Norco, California

(Photo: DromoPhotos.com)

The 2019 season has not unfolded as MRC’s Billy Musgrave hoped it would. This season was about the SKUSA Pro Tour. Issues at the WinterNationals put Musgrave behind early in the title chase and was unable to stand on the podium at the SpringNationals. He moved from the Aluminos brand to Croc Promotion USA, and things sparked again. Musgrave was runner-up to teammate Jake French in both main events at the SummerNationals. Add in his 11-race win streak at the California ProKart Challenge and runner-up in his Rock Island Grand Prix debut, the three-time SuperNationals winner is looking to end 2019 strong.

Point Breakdown

**************************************

Shifterkart #3 – Kyle Wick
Auburn, Washington

(Photo: EKN)

There is no doubt, Kyle Wick has established himself among the best shifterkart drivers in the United States. Consistent results throughout the six-round SKUSA Pro Tour program aboard his CRG Nordam machine, including four third-place results, put him on top of the podium in the championship standings to claim his first SKUSA Pro Tour title. Having no key victories on the year however does not help him in the Driver Rankings. His two podiums at the SummerNationals boosted his total to above the 7000 mark and lowered his average finish slightly. Placing on the podium at last year’s SuperNationals, the champ is certainly elevated as a top contender once again for Vegas.

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 the Streets of Lancaster Grand Prix.

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 2019, 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 the RIO, All Star Finals, Stars and Stripes Trophy and Open, 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.

eKartingNews.com Shifterkart Driver Rankings Powered by Bell Racing USA – as of September 9, 2019