AJ Myers leads the EKN Shifterkart Driver Rankings heading into the month of November (Photo: EKN)

The eKartingNews.com Shifterkart Driver Rankings presented by Skip Barber Racing School is nearing the end for the 2022 season with only two months left in the calendar year. All major championships have concluded, in addition to most of the regional events as we prepare for a busy November with two major events in November – the ROK Vegas and Superkarts! USA SuperNationals 25 at the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino. Prior to those game-changing events to close out the year, we set the stage for where drivers currently sit to close out the race to be the EKN Driver of the Year for 2022.

There is no change over the top-13 positions with three-time SKUSA Pro Tour champion AJ Myers (Magik Kart USA) still holding the top position. The advantage remains 55 points over new SKUSA Pro Tour champion Marijn Kremers (PSL / Birel ART). Former SKUSA Pro Tour champion Jake French (PSL / Birel ART) continues to be a close third, with the top-three separated by only 105 points. Former SKUSA Pro Tour champion Kyle Wick (GFC / Trackmagic) and 2022 Challenge of the Americas champion Hunter Pickett (PSL / Birel ART) are still sitting fourth and fifth. Pickett is coming off a trip to South Garda Karting in Italy for the 2022 ROK Cup Superfinal event, where he placed sixth in the ROK Shifter division.

Atop the second half of the top-10 is three-time SKUSA SuperNationals winner Daniel Formal (RPG / Kosmic). Formal returned behind the wheel for the SummerNationals and will be back for another chance at victory at the SuperNationals following his trip to Europe for the Lamborghini Super Trofeo World Championship. Sitting seventh with the most events over the last 12 months of those inside the top-10 is Jacob Gulick (GFC Karting). The second year shifterkart driver has earned his stripes, including a win at the Challenge and ranks among the best in North America.

One driver in the top-10 looking to make history at the SuperNationals 25 is four-time winner Billy Musgrave (Factory Kart). Musgrave – who remains eighth in the EKN Driver Rankings – could become the first driver to win five times at the Las Vegas event.

Another driver that could make history is Hannah Greenemeier (RPG / Kosmic). The 2021 SKUSA Pro Tour Champion became only the second female driver to earn a SKUSA title. In the 24-year history, no female driver has won at the SKUSA SuperNationals. Is 2022 that year?

Capping off the top-10 of the EKN Shifterkart Driver Rankings is another former SuperNationals winner. Ron White (RWR / CRG) claimed the SuperPro victory back in 2002, the first year of the SuperNats at the Rio. Twenty years later, White is back for another shot at his second Vegas victory.

In total, 20 of top-25 are expected to be competing at the SKUSA SuperNationals, with a star-studded line-up of shifterkart pilots gathering for the ROK Vegas event, which could play a factor in the final standings for the EKN Shifterkart Driver Rankings.

Upcoming EKN TaG Driver Rankings Schedule

Shifterkart #1 – AJ Myers
Tampa, Florida

(Photo: On Track Promotions – otp.ca)

As mentioned earlier, Myers is a three-time SKUSA Pro Tour champion. He has contended for the title over the last five seasons, finishing runner-up in the two years he did not earn the crown. It is among the best five-year stretch of any shifterkart driver in North America. He has success at the SuperNationals as well, placing runner-up twice along with two other podium finishes, including his first in S5 and then placing as the top USA driver in KZ class back in 2014. What remains left is a victory at the at the SKUSA SuperNationals. It was believed that 2021 was the year, however, a DNF in the opening heat race after qualifying P1 put him further back on the SuperSunday grid. He did manage to come up from 13th to fifth. Is 2022 the year and Myers becomes the first USA driver to win since 2015?

Point Breakdown

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Shifterkart #2 – Marijn Kremers
Gemert, Netherlands

(Photo: On Track Promotions – otp.ca)

When you think of world talent coming to the SuperNationals, Marijn Kremers stands out. But you also think of Kremers when you begin the list of drivers yet to win at the SuperNats. The 2019 FIA KZ World Champion has finished runner-up over the last three editions of the SuperNationals, including a red flag situation that disrupted what looked to be a dominant performance back in 2018. The Dutch driver has spent many days here in the USA throughout the 2022 season racing with PSL Karting, earning his first SKUSA Pro Tour crown. Is that the answer to putting him on the top step of the podium come SuperSunday?

Point Breakdown

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Shifterkart #3 – Jake French
Rockwell, Texas

(Photo: Adrenaline Motorsports Media)

History at the SKUSA SuperNationals dates back to the 2008 edition when the event returned to the Rio. French was an emerging young talent, and a sweep of the SuperNats was on the horizon in the S5 Junior category. An issue early in the main event took him out of the race. Since then, French has seen a possible win in front of him again in 2017 and in 2019, however, placed runner-up in both main events. That elusive victory at the SuperNationals still remains for the Texan, who makes his 10th start in the headline shifterkart ranks in Las 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 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 October 24, 2022

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