|
 |
| February 19, 2008 News |
| EKN Awards 2007: Young Driver of the Year - Jarvis Gennari |
| |
 | Young Driver of the Year - Jarvis Gennari
(Photo: EKN) |
As EKN Awards Week continues, the next category to be unveiled is our Young Driver of the Year (YDoY). One of the original four categories, the YDoY has been awarded to a number of drivers who have found success in their early years and carried that momentum as they grew older, names such as Alex Speed, Preston Peebles, Wade Van Hooser, Alan Sciuto, Cole Whitt, Zachary Schiff, and last year’s winner Brett Smrz. After a stellar year in 2007, Jarvis Gennari has added his name to the list of Young Driver of the Year award winners.
The Florida driver was strong throughout all 12 months of the year, beginning the season with an amazing Florida Winter Tour breakout campaign. Running in both the Rotax Junior and Junior Intercontinental A (JICA) classes on separate weekends, Gennari was on fire early, scoring three victories in Rotax and one in JICA for a total of nine podium finishes in 12 races - earning both class championships by the end of March. The depth of competition in these races was impressive and the performance certainly set the stage for a big year.
The Stars of Karting program began in the month of April with the Race of the Americas at Oklahoma Motorsports Complex, a track to which Gennari had never been, making his debut on the national scene running for Tony Kart USA in the JICA division on the Eastern schedule. Gennari was fast early on, qualifying eighth and earning a second row starting spot for the double-final event. In the first main, while running seventh, Gennari lost his nose cone - recording his only DNF of the Stars season. Later that day, Gennari would power to the front, leading his first Stars event and eventually finishing second to his teammate Gustavo Menezes.
The following Stars Eastern Division event at New Castle Motorsports Park, another venue Gennari had never seen in person, was his best weekend of the year. Saturday was all-Gennari as he dominated the day to earn his first Stars victory by nearly two seconds. On Sunday, Gennari battled hard in a seven-kart lead pack - including many of the national championship contenders - but settled for fifth place at the checkered.
Gennari followed that performance in August with a sixth and a fourth at the Eastern Division finale at USA International Raceway in Shawano, WI. In the end, the Tony Kart USA driver was runner-up in the Eastern standings, missing the championship by just 10 points.
Later that month, Gennari returned to his familiar Rotax package in hopes of defending his Rotax Junior Grand National championship. Run at The Track at Centennial outside Denver, Gennari was at the front all week long, ending with a respectable second place finish to earn his second straight trip to the Rotax Grand Finals as a representative of Mazda America’s Team.
Before heading overseas, Gennari had unfinished business in the Stars of Karting program. At the October Stars National Finals in Las Vegas, Gennari again was among the top runners. The first final saw Gennari advance up from fifth to place second, earning valuable points that put him into the middle of the championship fight. The final race of the weekend kept everyone guessing but Gennari kept the right number of karts between himself and the championship leader and when the checkered flag fell, his seventh place finish was enough to secure the JICA National Championship.
At the Rotax World Finals, held last year in Al Ain, United Arab Emirates, Gennari qualified for the main events, improving from last year’s finish of 29th to take a strong 19th against the best in the world to end his year.
EKN would like to congratulate Jarvis Gennari for his successful 2007 season and the Young Driver of the Year award. To discuss the EKN Awards 2007, please visit the Official Discussion Thread. |
|
|
Go Top
|
|
|
|
|
