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| March 03, 2010 News |
| EKN Awards 2009: Rising Star - Tyler Bennett |
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 | Rising Star - Tyler Bennett
(Photo: On Track Promotions - otp.ca) |
Over a six-week period from early February to late March, the eKartingNews.com Awards 2009 program will honor six winners in as many categories as one winner will be announced each week, beginning on February 17. The staff at the website produced five nominations for each of the six categories and then gave EKN’s viewers two weeks to submit their ballots to determine the winners in each category. The votes have now been tabulated and EKN is proud to release the winner of each category.
As one of the first categories of the EKN Awards program, originated in the pages of Shifter Kart Illustrated, the recipients of the Rising Star honor have become established names in the sport of karting and beyond. With a large number of up-and-coming talents within the karting community, a Rising Star nomination has become an excellent indicator of who may very well become the cream of the crop over the next few years. This year’s award winner - Tyler Bennett - did just that in 2009 to be named the next ‘EKN Rising Star’.
Bennett came into the 2009 season riding the momentum from a podium finish at the SKUSA SuperNationals XII in the S3 class - one of the most exiting shifter kart races in the history of the sport. Not much was known about Bennett at the time, as he had been an emerging talent in Utah’s local karting scene, except that he had earned his spot on the podium that day. Starting the ’09 season off with a title in the Ice Breaker Kart Championship running Spec Light (Stock Moto) at his home track of Miller Motorsports Park, Bennett began his assault on the 10-race Utah Kart Championship. Following a slow start to the campaign, Bennett finished the year on top of the standings with nine of ten finishes on the podium, including three feature wins.
With his results on the year, Bennett propelled himself upwards from 51st in the eKartingNews.com Driver Rankings in the Stock Moto category. Entering the SKUSA SuperNationals XIII as the number one driver in the country, the pressure was put on Bennett to perform. Just days before turning 20 years of age, the young Msquared Karting pilot did not disappoint. Up against some of the top shifter kart pilots in the country, Bennett qualified second overall and raced his way to a fourth starting spot in the main event following a win and two-runner-up performances.
Early on in the main event, Bennett mixed it up with the lead group in what became some intense moments during the course of the race. One of these moments would include Bennett, as another kart drove overtop the bow of Bennett’s PTK machine, dropping him to ninth and damaging the front-end of his ride. With grit and determination, Bennett muscle his jacked-up kart around the temp course in record time while demoting virtually every kart in his path. At the checkered, Bennett crossed the line third for his best career SuperNationals finish and capped off an impressive performance that secured his spot at the top of the EKN Driver Rankings. His showing also earned him a Jim Russell Championship Series Future Driver Selection scholarship, participating at Infineon Raceway back in December with rave reviews.
 | Bennett - a star in his Utah region - put in a stellar performance at the SKUSA SuperNationals XIII
(Photo: On Track Promotions - otp.ca) |
eKartingNews.com would like to congratulate Tyler Bennett for his successful 2009 season and the Rising Star award.
Former Rising Star Award Winners
2008 - Arie Ouimet
2007 - Connor De Phillippi
2006 - Mike Vincec
2005 - Cole Whitt
2004 - Kevin Lacroix
2003 - Wesley Boswell
2002 - Nick Bussell
2001 - Michael Abbate
2000 - Travis Irving
1999 - Josh Schreiber
Click over to the EKN Awards 2009 page for all information on this year's program |
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