(Photo: EKN)

The last month did not feature any major events to shift the order atop the EKN Shifterkart Driver Rankings. The cancellation of the Rock Island Grand Prix is the true factor in the change among those top-10, but club and regional events helped to add to the race count for those fighting in the top-50. The cancellation of the SuperNationals in Las Vegas makes it difficult to predict what is going to happen as we close out the 2020 season, with no make-up race announced as of yet. That brings the current rankings closer to the end, and possibly putting Jake French as the #1 for 2020 season.

French (PSL / Birel ART) continues to hold the number one spot in the EKN Shifterkart Driver Rankings. The Texan has been quick and won no matter the engine package in 2020, dating back to a runner-up at the SuperNationals 23. Sitting second is Danny Formal (ANSA / Charles Leclerc), who scored a victory last year at ROK the RIO. Third is the now two-time SKUSA Pro Tour champion AJ Myers (Checkered / Magik). All of Myers results are from 2020, and thus puts him in the possible run to the #1 spot depending on the status of ROK the RIO and the SKUSA final race of 2020. Both French and Formal may lose their highest point total, thus dropping them out of the top-two positions if they are not able to replace them.

Holding onto the fourth position is Andrew Bujdoso (Checkered / Magik). Bujdoso has the ROK Fest East victory on his belt, along with the opening round of the SKUSA Pro Tour. The changes in the top-10 are below him in the standings. Falling down to seventh is last year’s Pro Shifter 2 SKUSA Pro Tour champion Race Liberante (Race Factory). His victory at the 2019 Rock Island Grand Prix fell from his total. That promoted 2019 SKUSA Pro Tour champion Kyle Wick (RPG / Tony Kart) to fifth and 2020 SKUSA Pro Tour race winner Rory van der Steur to sixth. Rory’s move up now puts the top-three from the SKUSA Pro Tour standings of Myers, van der Steur and Bujdoso in the top-six of the Driver Rankings, all on the Magik chassis.

Also falling due to losing the 2019 Rock Island Grand Prix result is Devon Smith Harden (HMG / CompKart). The 2020 Battle at the Brickyard winner fell one spot to 10th while GFC drivers Cole Shade and Hunter Pickett move up to eighth and ninth. Pickett was runner-up at the ROK Fest West event while Shade finished fourth to improve their scores. Falling out of the top-10 is former #1 and four-time SKUSA SuperNationals winner Billy Musgrave (Factory Kart). A DQ at one of the SKUSA Pro Tour rounds for losing a tire gives him only six races over the last 12 months, which includes his SuperNats victory from November 2019. Musgrave will need to compete at two Driver Rankings events for any hopes of returning to the top-10.

Upcoming EKN Shifterkart Driver Rankings Schedule

(Photo: EKN)

Shifterkart #1 – Jake French
Rockwell, Texas

Jake French continues to be the top shifterkart driver over the last 12 months. It is a wide spectrum of success for the Texan, winning Challenge of the Americas and at the SKUSA Pro Tour. The SuperNationals runner-up for the 2017 SKUSA Pro Tour champion still has the PSL / Birel ART driver at the top of the standings. The cancellation of the SuperNationals 24 does not allow him the chance to match that result total, thus making this year’s chase for #1 a run to the wire.

Point Breakdown

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(Photo: EKN)

Shifterkart #2 – Danny Formal
San Jose, Costa Rica

The five-time US Rotax Grand Nationals winner has not landed on top of the podium in 2020. Formal went winless at the SKUSA Pro Tour Summer Festival at New Castle. Four top-four finishes helped Formal finish fourth in the SKUSA Pro Tour standings, adding to the runner-up in the Florida Winter Tour championship. The ROK the RIO triumph remains on his point total, and as of now, remains on the 2020 calendar. Can Formal repeat and have a chance to finish at the top of the EKN Driver Rankings?

Point Breakdown

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(Photo: EKN)

Shifterkart #3 – AJ Myers
Tampa, Florida

Myers racked up two championships thus far in 2020. The now two-time SKUSA Pro Tour champion also recorded the Florida Winter Tour title during the winter. You put together that resume and you have a possible #1 for the 2020 season. Both French and Formal are banking on their Vegas results, while Myers is strong with 2020 results and only 42 points out of the top spot. The chance for Myers ending the year in the top spot all depends on the results we see in 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 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 2020, 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, 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 – as of September 25, 2020

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