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| January 31, 2011 News |
| EKN Awards Week 2010 Set For Mid-February |
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Each year, through the EKN Excellence Awards program, eKartingNews.com identifies those drivers and teams who we believe stood out during the previous season. The program, which was launched back in 1999 by EKN Publisher Rob Howden through his popular Shifter Kart Illustrated magazine, has evolved over the course of the past 12 years with the consistent goal of honoring the sport’s best. During the week of February 14-18, the website will host ‘EKN Awards Week 2010’ to recognize the five winners from the past season.
For this year’s EKN Awards 2010, the staff of the website will announce the winners and Honorable Mention selections for each of the five following categories - Driver of the Year, Team of the Year, Rising Star, Road Racer of the Year and Young Driver of the Year.
“The 2010 edition of the EKN Excellence Awards is another evolution of the program that began back in 1999,” stated EKN Managing Editor David Cole. “We have elected to merge the ‘Mechanic of the Year’ category into the ‘Team of the Year’ award as we are seeing a large number of successful wrenches within the sport that now remain loyal to one operation with multiple drivers. When we announce the Team of the Year, we will be sure to include those who stand out from among the rest. The program will also be brought totally in-house, as the past nomination and voting efforts by the community at large became more than a simple popularity contest than a true examination of the performances and results from the previous season. We want to ensure that those selected as the winners earned it both on and off the track over the course of the year.”
After having built its foundation in the pages of SKI, the program worked its way onto EKN after the site was purchased by the Howden Media Group. The nomination process moved to the website from the initial paper fax format sent to SKI subscribers. After seven years under the Super Kart Illustrated banner, the SKI Excellence Awards program move completely to the HMG website in 2006. In previous years, the winners were announced at selected karting events, such as the SKUSA SuperNationals and the KMI Kart Expo, however, the program went 100% online through the EKN website last year.
The top honor remains the Driver of the Year award. The winner and those selected as ‘Honorable Mention’ will make up the eKartingNews.com All-Star Team for 2010. Early winners of the prestigious Driver of the Year Award included Darren Elliott, Kyle Martin, and Scott Speed. Other driver awards include Rising Star, Road Racer of the Year, and Young Driver of the Year, while those working under the tents are acknowledged through the Team of the Year honor. An added bonus for EKN Awards 2010 will include EKN Awards swag that will be provided to the winners, such as shirts, decals and official logos to display on their respective websites.
The following is the description and nominations for the five EKN Awards 2010:
Driver of the Year
This award will be given to the driver who has displayed the finest overall performance throughout the year. The award is focused on senior-level competitors only. A nominee's on-track performance, their ability to work with their mechanic, off-track conduct and professionalism will be taken into account and their interaction with their team will be key as well.
Previous Winners:
2009 Marco DiLeo
2008 Michael Vincec
2007 Gary Carlton
2006 Gary Carlton
2005 Alex Speed
2004 Alan Sciuto
2003 Bobby Wilson
2002 Ron White
2001 Scott Speed
2000 Kyle Martin
1999 Darren Elliott
Team of the Year
Focused on the major racing series in North America, winning the Team of the Year Award requires a mix of on-track performances, team unity and cooperation under the tent, as well as a very high level of professionalism and presentation. Ideally, race results will come from more than a single class and will include a strong media presence.
Previous Winners
2009 J3 Competition
2008 Team Top Kart USA
2007 Champion Racing/Intrepid USA
2006 Champion Racing/LEM
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
Rising Star
The Rising Star Award is given to a competitor who is in their first or second season at the senior level of karting and is destined for greatness in the headline classes in the near future. Successful results at the regional level and consistent finishes at the national level are what are needed to be considered for this award.
Previous Winners
2009 Tyler Bennett
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
Road Racer of the Year
The Road Racer of the Year is given using the same criteria as the Driver of the Year. However, in keeping with the road racing community, the award is focused on success in multiple series and major road racing events throughout the year. Winning against the best drivers in each of the unique road race communities is a big plus.
Previous Winners
2009 Anthony Honeywell
2008 Jim Fry
2007 Jim Russell Jr.
2006 Nate Grindell
2005 Randy Fulks
2004 Chris Hegar
2003 Chad Dokken
2002 Dave Clift
2001 Ted Tackett
Young Driver of the Year
The only award available for drivers between the ages of 12-15 years old, the Young Driver of the Year is a sign of the future stars of the sport. The criteria is similar to the Driver of the Year in that it is given to the Junior driver who has displayed the finest overall performance throughout the year. The nominee's on-track performance, the ability to work with and provide feedback to his or her mechanic, off-track conduct and professionalism and also their interaction with the team will be taken into account. Maturity is also a key factor.
Previous Winners
2009 Nick Neri
2008 Phil DeLaO
2007 Jarvis Gennari
2006 Brett Smrz
2005 Zach Schiff
2004 Cole Whitt
2003 Cole Whitt
2002 Alan Sciuto
2001 Wade Van Hooser
2000 Preston Peebles
1999 Alex Speed |
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