Story by: Jason Cuningham, NASCAR
Photo by: Getty Images for NASCAR
Daytona Beach, FL(November 8, 2012) –Kyle Larson has been named the 2012 Sunoco Rookie of the Year Award winner in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series.
The 20-year-old Larson captured the K&N Pro Series East championship on Nov. 3 at Rockingham (N.C.) Speedway following a rookie season in which he posted a series-high 12 top-10 finishes, highlighted by wins at Gresham Motorsports Park in Jefferson, Ga., on June 9 and at New Hampshire Motor Speedway on Sept. 22 in Loudon, N.H.
Larson, from Elk Grove, Calif., became just the third driver in the 26-year history of the K&N Pro Series East to earn the overall championship and Sunoco Rookie of the Year honors in the same season, joining Joey Logano (2007) and Ryan Truex (2009).
In his first season of asphalt stock-car racing, Larson garnered the Sunoco Rookie of the Race Award five times during the 14-race season and outdistanced Rev Racing teammate Bryan Ortiz by seven points for the season award. Jimmy Weller finished third in rookie points.
The 2012 season saw 46 different drivers earn Sunoco Rookie of the Year points in the K&N Pro Series East, nine of which exhausted their rookie eligibility.
The second driver from Rev Racing to earn Sunoco Rookie of the Year honors following Darrell Wallace Jr. in 2010, Larson also delivered the team and NASCAR’s Drive For Diversity initiative its first title in the NASCAR touring series ranks.
Larson will be recognized for his Sunoco Rookie of the Year Award as well as the season championship at the NASCAR Night of Champions Awards on Saturday, Dec. 8 at the Charlotte (N.C.) Convention Center in the NASCAR Hall of Fame.
