(Photo: EKN)

The eKartingNews.com Driver Rankings presented by Skip Barber Racing School has shifted into the second half of the season. Events from the first six months, including those contested already up to July 22 have been calculated to provide us with new standings for the Shifterkart program. The major programs such as the Superkarts! USA Pro Tour and United States Pro Kart Series in September will provide us with a better view of the drive to be the number one spot, with this release of the rankings still including the past 12 months of action.

There is a big increase in points this month, thanks to there being three Superkarts! USA Pro Tour events on the board for the past 12 months. Last year’s SummerNationals remain part of the EKN Driver Rankings with the event held in August. Add in this year’s WinterNationals and SpringNationals, drivers who have solid results across the board are taking advantage. Included in that is last year’s SummerNats winners AJ Myers (Magik Kart USA) and Jake French (PSL / Birel ART) who remain 1-2 in this release of the Shifterkart Driver Rankings. Each grabbed podium finishes at the recent SpringNationals to better their score, including victory for Myers and a runner-up performance for French. The lead for Myers is down a couple points, only at 32 ahead of French.

The new face toward the top is Kyle Wick (GFC / Trackmagic), now up to third. The former SKUSA Pro Tour champion returned back to the top of the podium at the SpringNationals, leaving with the big money prize on the weekend from ASPEN Fuels. He now sits third with room to improve based on the SummerNationals event.

His promotion has dropped Daniel Formal (LEM / Formula K) and Hunter Pickett (PSL / Birel ART). Formal’s points remain unchanged as the Florida Winter Tour champion has announced his departure from Leading Edge Motorsports and joining Rolison Performance Group. He has not yet raced since the final FWT event in March, with eyes on returning back for a few more events before the 2022 season closes. Pickett was able to increase his point total in his debut with PSL Karting and the Red Army, earning a podium result at the SpringNationals. The 2022 Challenge of the Americas champion however falls to fifth in the order.

Up one position to sixth is Jacob Gulick (GFC) off two more top-10 performances at the SpringNationals. Gulick on the year has three top-five results on the SKUSA Pro Tour, along with victory at Challenge of the Americas. A consistent weekend at the SummerNats could help to elevate his position even more in the standings. Down one spot is four-time SKUSA SuperNationals winner Billy Musgrave (Factory Karts). The now veteran of the category slipped to seventh despite improving his score at the SpringNationals as he continues to develop the chassis/engine program. No change in eighth as Ron White (RWR / CRG) continues to hold that position based on his results from Challenge of the Americas this winter.

The big jumps up into the top-10 include Hannah Greenemeier (RPG / LN Racing Kart) and Canadian Davide Greco (PSL / Birel ART). Greenemeier – the 2021 SKUSA Pro Tour X30 champion – made her Pro Shifter debut at the SpringNationals with two top-five performances. Her results from Challenge of the Americas helps bring her racing total to seven over the last 12 months, up 45 spots to ninth to make her the ‘On the Move’ driver. Greco also climbed the standings by reaching eight races in total – advancing 28 spots to 10th. His best result thus far was a top-10 performance at the SpringNationals in Utah. Rock Island Grand Prix King of the Streets winner Andrew Bujdoso (Magik Kart USA) and Michael Stevens (PSL / Birel ART) fell out of the top-10.

Six of the top-10 entered for the SummerNationals with more anticipated to be competing based on those racing at the NCMP warm-up event this past weekend – including Daniel Formal.

Upcoming EKN TaG Driver Rankings Schedule

Shifterkart #1 – AJ Myers
Tampa, Florida

(Photo: EKN)

It has not been the winning season for AJ Myers similar to 2021, however, he remains one of the more consistent over the span of the last 12 months. Victory at the SpringNationals was a big accomplishment with the talent and size of field in Utah, setting up for what is sure to be an exciting second half of 2022. The victory helped to increase his point total as he remains the driver to beat. He will lose the Round Six victory from last year’s SummerNationals in the next edition of the standings, thus the final two rounds of the SKUSA Pro Tour this weekend will be the measuring stick.

Point Breakdown

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Shifterkart #2 – Jake French
Rockwell, Texas

(Photo: Adrenaline Motorsports Media)

The SpringNationals was a much-improved weekend for French, who is still searching for that first victory in 2022. He came close on Saturday and just missed out and then came one spot short of the podium the following day. Overall, it was a solid points and also helped to increase his score in the Driver Rankings. Like Myers, French will lose a victory from last year’s SummerNationals for the next edition of the standings, making these two rounds in where he ends up in the SKUSA Pro Tour championship and the Driver Rankings for the month of August. Another victory, or two, would certainly elevate him.

Point Breakdown

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Shifterkart #3 – Kyle Wick
Auburn, Washington

(Photo: On Track Promotions – otp.ca)

The first SKUSA Pro Tour victory in four years helped to elevate Kyle Wick back up into the top-three of the Driver Rankings. Wick – the 2019 SKUSA Pro Tour champion – had not won since the SpringNationals in 2018 at PKRA. His victory at this year’s SpringNationals was also the first for Trackmagic, having never won at the SKUSA Pro Tour, only the old version of the SKUSA ProMoto Tour. Wick, a two time winner in 2022 at the Challenge of the Americas, has put himself in position to contend for this year’s SKUSA Pro Tour championship, making this year’s SummerNationals one of the most anticipated Shifterkart race weekends of the season.

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 2022, 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 presented by Skip Barber Racing School – as of July 22, 2022

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