Shifterkart #1 driver AJ Myers (Photo: EKN)

We are nearing the halfway point of the 2021 calendar year, with karting in full swing across North America. The EKN Shifterkart Driver Rankings saw a number of new drivers added to the list of those competing in a ranked race over the past 12 months, nearing the 200-driver mark once again. Not much has changed at the top, with defending SKUSA Pro Tour champion AJ Myers remaining the driver to beat in the standings.

Myers (Magik Kart USA) put in a strong performance at the recent SKUSA Pro Tour SpringNationals in Utah, improving his score and setting the advantage to 115 points over former SKUSA Pro Tour champion Jake French (PSL / Birel ART). The Texan could only record runner-up finishes at the SpringNats behind Myers, improving his score as well. The two are the only drivers over the 7000-point mark thus far into the 2021 season, which should change by the end of the season with no SuperNationals in 2020. Remaining third in the standings is the 2020 Challenge of the Americas champion Hunter Pickett (GFC), who’s points remain unchanged with the Californian not in Utah.

No changes in the top-six overall with Kyle Wick, Daniel Formal and Billy Musgrave sitting fourth, fifth and sixth. Wick (GFC) – the 2021 Challenge of the Americas champion – has not raced a ranked event since the series finale in March. Same with Formal (LEM / Formula K), who has not raced since the SKUSA Pro Tour WinterNationals where he finished Day Two third on the podium. Musgrave (Factory Kart) was able to match his best SKUSA result with a third in Utah, improving his score but just short of jumping ahead of Formal for fifth.

The top driver to move a position is Shifterkart rookie Jacob Gulick (GFC). The former top-50 driver in TaG, Gulick is making an impact in his first season grabbing six gears. Gulick has 16 races thus far on the year, placing third at Challenge of the Americas title chase and made his SKUSA Pro Tour debut at the SpringNationals. Two top qualifier results did not equate to podium finishes, with a best fifth-place result on Sunday. His Pro Tour result jumped him to seventh ahead of Andrew Bujdoso (Magjk Kart USA). Bujdoso’s last race was at the Stars Championship Series opener at GoPro Motorplex with a victory.

Rory van der Steur (Magik Kart USA) finished P2 in the SKUSA Pro Tour standings last year, and with a focus on car racing this year, is likely to fall out of the top-10 after August. Moving up to the top-10 in tenth is Devon Smith-Harden. The Harden Motorsports Group driver made the switch to the Race Factory chassis at the SpringNationals. A mechanical issue sidelined him Saturday, bouncing back to a fourth place result on Sunday to help improve his score.

Upcoming EKN Shifterkart Driver Rankings Schedule

AJ Myers (Photo: EKN)

Shifterkart #1 – AJ Myers
Tampa, Florida

A two-time SKUSA Pro Tour champion, and three-straight Florida Winter Tour championships has elevated AJ Myers to be among the top shifterkart pilots of this decade. Myers is nearing a run at a third SKUSA title with four straight victories to begin the 2021 chase. Each of his four wins were wire-to-wire performances, something that has never been done in the Pro Shifter category. You can believe the attempt for a perfect six will be on the minds of not only Myers, but his competition. Looking at his score, his SpringNats wins replaced two wins from the 2020 SKUSA Pro Tour campaign for his Rankings score. There is room to improve at the SummerNationals and end of the year events in Las Vegas.

Point Breakdown

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Jake French (Photo: EKN)

Shifterkart #2 – Jake French
Rockwell, Texas

Among those of the best in the last decade can also include Jake French. The 2017 SKUSA Pro Tour title winner has continued winning since despite leaving the sport for some time before returning on fire at the end of the 2019 season. French finished third at the Florida Winter Tour program and has four-straight runner-up results behind Myers at the SKUSA Pro Tour. New Castle, site of the SKUSA Pro Tour SummerNationals, has been a good place for French, earning victories at the 2019 event, winning one of the six rounds at the Summer Festival last year. Beating Myers there, and at the Vegas events at the end of the year will be the key factor to the PSL Karting / Birel ART driver to claim the top spot to close out 2021.

Point Breakdown

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Shifterkart #3 – Hunter Pickett
Benicia, California

2020 Challenge of the Americas champion Hunter Pickett ran a different 2021 winter program. Beginning at the Florida Winter Tour, Pickett contested the final two events of the COTA program, earning four top-four finishes, including a victory. The GFC Karting driver did not compete at the SKUSA Pro Tour SpringNationals, focusing on ROK Sonoma and the California ROK Championship. The strong regional program could be a way to gain some added points and races under his belt as the season moves forward.

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 2021, 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.

eKartingNews.com Shifterkart Driver Rankings – as of June 4, 2021

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