(Photo: EKN)

It is the midway point of the 2023 season and the eKartingNews.com Shifterkart Driver Rankings presented by Skip Barber Racing School. Half of the results come from the second portion of 2022 with the first six months of 2023 included in the 12-month sliding scale of the program. The point totals have changed with inclusion of the SKUSA Pro Tour SpringNationals and the United States Pro Kart Series along with the removal of June 2022 events.

The top three remain unchanged with Marijn Kremers (PSL Karting / Birel ART) leading AJ Myers (Magik Kart USA) and Hunter Pickett (PSL Karting / Birel ART). Kremers and Myers lost points after the removal of their results from the SpringNationals last year, while Pickett improved his score by a few points. The gap is now 194 points between the top-two with Pickett now within 350 to Kremers.

The remainder of the top-five is unchanged with Jacob Gulick (GFC Karting) and Billy Musgrave (Factory Karts). Gulick improved his score based off his career first victories at the SKUSA Pro Tour from the SpringNationals in Utah. With Gulick gaining just over 50 points, Musgrave lost the same heading into the month of July.

Kyle Wick (GFC Karting) holds onto the sixth spot, closing in on the top-five. His two runner-up performances and victory at the USPKS Indiana Grand Prix. Top-five results at the upcoming SummerNationals will help improve his position. Improvement by Giorgio Carrara (International Motorsports / Lenzo Kart) over the month of June has him inching closer to the top-five as well, earning two top-six finishes during the month of June of the three main events with SKUSA and USPKS.

Jumping up into the top-10 after securing seven races over the last 12 months is Danny Formal (Rolison Performance Group / Kosmic). Formal recorded a best finish of fifth over the SKUSA SpringNationals weekend to slot himself into the eighth spot in the Driver Rankings, advancing 39 spots. He will have room to improve when he returns for the SummerNationals after missing the USPKS weekend. That moved Tahlon Yockel (Magik Kart USA) down to ninth, who lost points but recorded his career best finish at USPKS with a fifth-place result. Completing the top-10 is Filip Niemkiewicz (PSL Karting / Birel ART). The Colorado driver recorded two top-eight results at the SpringNationals to move him up four spots.

Dropping out of the top-10 is Keawn Tandon (GFC Karting) to 11th and Joshua Conquer (Maranello USA) down to 13th. Aside from Formal, Jordon Musser (PSL Karting / Birel ART) has also moved up 39 spots to reach the top-50 mark, now sitting 18th. Musser is a five-time SKUSA Pro Tour champion in the Master category, competing in the Pro division this season at USPKS and the Texas Sprint Racing Series.

Upcoming Events

Shifterkart #1 – Marijn Kremers
Gemert, Netherlands

(Photo: EKN – Nate Dean)

The first year for 2019 FIA Karting KZ World Champion Marijn Kremers in the USA was filled with victories and championships. A bit of a sophomore slump seems to be hitting the PSL Karting / Birel ART driver in 2023, yet remains in the top spot of the Driver Rankings. Four straight podium finishes on the SKUSA Pro Tour have him in the chase, however, he’s gone winless over the first two events. He has also gone winless on the USPKS calendar after three events. A strong weekend at the SummerNationals at the end of July will be key to staying in the #1 spot.

Point Breakdown

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Shifterkart #2 – AJ Myers
Tampa, Florida

AJ Myers (Photo: On Track Promotions – otp.ca)

Carrying the Red, White, and Blue in the Shifterkart category is AJ Myers. The Magik Kart USA pilot remains the top driver in the United States when it comes to six-speed action. It took until April for Myers to get that first victory winning the USPKS Texas Grand Prix after brake failure cost him a shot at the inaugural series victory in Orlando. Myers did not compete at the SpringNationals and was unable to replace the 2022 victory in Utah. That cost him the opportunity for valuable points in the Driver Rankings. As did missing out on the victory at the recent USPKS Indiana Grand Prix where he finished second. Next month at New Castle for the SummerNationals will be a key point in the EKN Driver Rankings.

Point Breakdown

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Shifterkart #3 – Hunter Pickett
Benicia, California

(Photo: ChallengeKarting.com)

It has been since 2017 that Hunter Pickett won on the SKUSA Pro Tour at the headline category. The PSL Karting / Birel ART pilot is inching closer and closer to that second career victory after celebrating a full season with the Red Army. One top-five result and three straight fourth-place finishes at the USPKS has him on the verge of battling for a victory. His pace at New Castle was the best it has been all season, and could be the momentum needed to battle for victories at the upcoming SummerNationals.

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 2023, 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 Vegas, 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 June 30, 2023

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