MESCO Partner to Honor KONI Challenge Rookie of the Year at Season’s End
MESCO Building Solutions isn't just building drivers of the future in the Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series presented by Crown Royal Cask No. 16; the series has expanded to the Grand-Am KONI Challenge Series and its Grand Sport (GS) and Street Tuner (ST) classes as well.
Drivers who have never competed in more than four KONI Challenge Series races prior to this season are eligible for the Rookie of the Year honors and the $10,000 to go with it. The driver's team must display the MESCO Building Solutions decal on its race car. Like the Rolex Series, the top driver - be it in the GS or ST class - will claim the honor. Over 25 drivers are currently in the running for the award.
Dirk Werner won last year's MESCO Building Solutions Rookie of the Year honors in the Rolex Series, and Tim George Jr. - who competed in the KONI Challenge Series last year with Automatic Racing - leads the Rolex Series Rookie of the Year standings this season.
The unique format of the MESCO Building for the Future Rookie of the Year allows for KONI Challenge GS and ST drivers to compete against each other for top rookie honors. Points are based on class finishing position, and are awarded in the same fashion as all of the other Rolex Series championships, with 35 points going to a first-place finisher, 32 for second, 30 for third, 28 for fourth and 26 for fifth, with points decreasing by one for each position from sixth (which pays 25 points) through 30th place (one point).
MESCO Building Solutions is a national manufacturer of metal building systems for the nonresidential building industry. The company specializes in commercial, industrial projects ranging in size from 5,000 square feet to over 1 million square feet. MESCO is a member of the NCI Building Systems. family, one of North America's largest integrated manufacturers of metal building products for the construction industry. NCI operates 45 manufacturing and distribution facilities located in 18 states, as well as Mexico and Canada.
The Grand American Road Racing Association, which operates and sanctions the Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series presented by Crown Royal Cask No. 16 and the Grand-Am KONI Challenge Series, is the premier road racing organization in North America. The 15-race 2008 Rolex Series and the 11-race KONI Challenge Series calendars deliver professional sports car racing to key markets throughout North America in addition to being televised in the United States and Canada on SPEED and distributed globally through ESPN International.
