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| February 21, 2009 News |
| EKN Awards 2008: Team of the Year - Team Top Kart USA |
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 | Team of the Year - Team Top Kart USA
(Photo: On Track Promotions - otp.ca) |
With the eKartingNews.com Awards Week nearing the end, the final two honors will close out the program and the prominent Team of the Year award will take center stage today. On the strength of an amazing year filled with national championships, regional titles and races wins, all wrapped in a professional presentation, Team Top Kart USA is this year’s EKN Team of the Year.
The joint venture between the Top Kart dealers from across the country, which included Kartel Motorsports, Team PKS, Empire Karts, and their importer Grand Products, put together a strong united force that contended the top events of the 2008 season. Team Top Kart USA earned a national championship, multiple national wins, currently holds the number one spot in the EKN TaG Driver Rankings, and was honored with five nominations, including Team of the Year.
In the Stars of Karting program, the Top Kart chassis was among the lead group each weekend. Four drivers finished the year inside the top-10 of the championship standings. Chris Scribner led the way by earning the Western Division championship, finishing third overall thanks to a National Finals win. Kyle Wiegand, the number one TaG pilot according to the EKN Driver Rankings, was fourth overall with a string of podium finishes, while Chris Wehrheim ended the year fifth with two wins to his total. Rookie senior Neil Alberico had an impressive first year in TaG, placing seventh in the championship after earning his first Stars victory at the National Finals. He was also nominated for EKN Rising Star award.
The Junior squad was just a tough, adding more wins and championships by way of Brendan Phinny, Taylor Miinch, Tyler Thomas, and others. Phinny finished inside the top-five throughout the Stars of Karting season and went on to win the Junior Intercontinental A National Championship. In addition to the title, Phinny made his Senior debut at the end of the year at the SKUSA SuperNationals XII in the S3 category where he beat out a number of top talents, including NASCAR’s Jamie McMurray.
Miinch traveled all over the country, including parts of the world. It was a full 12 months of racing in 2008 for Miinch, including Florida Winter Tour, IKF Region 7, Gatorz Karting Cup, the IKF Grand Nationals, Rotax Grand Nationals, and the Stars of Karting. The Californian earned his first Stars victory at the Shawano, WI event, the same location at which he would finish second at the Rotax event to earn a spot on the Mazda America’s Team to the Rotax Grand Finals in La Conca, Italy. Miinch’s big weekend came at the IKF Grand Nationals at the Santa Maria Kart Track where Miinch would earn three Screaming Eagles as the top qualifier, three prestigious Duffys for his victories and an extra podium spot when he was honored as the Lake Speed Achievement of Excellence Award.
Thomas made the transition from the Cadet category to the Junior ranks in 2008 as was fast from the start. Thomas was among the front runners each weekend on the Stars of Karting program along with the WKA Manufacturer’s Cup Series. Thomas ended the year with a runner-up finish at the SKUSA SuperNationals XII in the competitive TaG Junior division.
A number of other drivers put Top Kart on top of the podium across the country at the regional and club levels to help them earn the Team of the Year honor. EKN would like to congratulate all the members – the drivers and the crews - of Team Top Kart USA for a solid effort in the 2008 season.
To discuss the EKN Awards 2008, please visit the Official Discussion Thread and also visit the Official Awards Page.
Former Team of the Year Winners
2007 - Champion Racing/Intrepid USA
2006 - Champion Racing/Leading Edge Motorsports
2005 - First Kart North America
2004 - Italian Motors
2003 - MRP Motorsport
2002 - Extreme Karting
2001 - Leading Edge Motorsports
2000 - Trackmagic Racing
1999 - Shift Kart / KLS Racing |
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