Other open wheel
NA-F2000: Morioka Honored
Morioka Honored at USAC Banquet INDIANAPOLIS, Jan. 10 - Zak Morioka was among those honored at the 42nd annual "Salute to the USAC Champions" national recognition awards dinner Friday night at the Adam's Mark Hotel ...
Edited: Jan 2, 2010, 4:21 PM
Copy link
Share on Viber
Morioka Honored at USAC Banquet
INDIANAPOLIS, Jan. 10 - Zak Morioka was among those honored at the 42nd annual "Salute to the USAC Champions" national recognition awards dinner Friday night at the Adam's Mark Hotel here before a capacity crowd of about 400.
Morioka, who turned 19 on Nov. 6, walked away with all the awards for the U.S. Formula 2000 division, which is jointly sanctioned by the United States Auto Club (USAC) and the Sports Car Club of America (SCCA). The resident of Sao Paulo, Brazil and Miami, Fla., earned the series' "Oval Crown" championship in 1997 for its five oval-track races and then went on to earn the overall national championship in the 12-race series of oval, road course and street course events. Morioka won two races in 1997, which was the most competitive season in the series' history. Those victories came both on an oval (Pikes Peak Int'l Raceway in Colorado) and a road course (the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course).
Morioka thanked USAC; series administrators Formula Motorsports; his primary sponsors, Kentucky Fried Chicken of Brazil and A.M.E. Sports; spec engine manufacturer Ford; spec tire Yokohama; and his team, Hayes Motorsports of Aurora, Colo.
Morioka was presented two prestigious USAC championship rings for his national title and the Oval Crown by Formula Motorsports' Mike Foschi and emcee Bob Jenkins. He also received a letter of congratulations from U.S. Senator Richard Lugar and a certificate making him an honorary Secretary of State of Indiana by Sue Anne Gilroy.
Morioka's father, Jonas Morioka, was unable to attend the banquet so his son accepted two plaques on his behalf for being the winning car owner.
"It was a great evening," the young charger said. "It was a pleasure to be there and to celebrate racing with all the different divisions of USAC. I will cherish my championship rings and the other awards for the rest of my life, and I'm proud to be part of the USAC family."
-30-
We want your opinion!
What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?
Take our 5 minute survey.
- The Motorsport.com Team
Read and post comments
Read also :
Share Or Save This Story
Copy link
Share on Viber
Previous article NA-F2000: 1999 F2000 Schedule Announced
Next article NA-F2000: WDW race story
Top Comments
There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?
View More & Comment
Latest news
Final NASCAR Cup points standings after 2026 Homestead finale
NASCAR Cup
NAS NASCAR Cup
Homestead-Miami
11 min
Final NASCAR Cup points standings after 2026 Homestead finale
Official race results: NASCAR Cup Homestead season finale
NASCAR Cup
NAS NASCAR Cup
Homestead-Miami
43 min
Official race results: NASCAR Cup Homestead season finale
Ryan Blaney wins Homestead NASCAR Cup finale as Kyle Larson claims 2026 title
NASCAR Cup
NAS NASCAR Cup
Homestead-Miami
57 min
Ryan Blaney wins Homestead NASCAR Cup finale as Kyle Larson claims 2026 title
Winners and losers from F1's chaotic Brazilian Grand Prix
Formula 1
F1 Formula 1
Sao Paulo GP
1 h
Winners and losers from F1's chaotic Brazilian Grand Prix
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.
Subscribe now Already subscribed? Sign in here
Already disabled your adblocker?
Reload page
Manage Alerts
Subscribe