Jourdain Voted Most Improved Driver of 1997

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Jourdain Voted Most Improved Driver of 1997
©1997 SpeedCenter Internet Publishing, Inc.
Peer drivers choose young Mexican in his sophmore season
Young PPG Cup driver Michel Jourdain, Jr received one of CART's mostprestigious honors Saturday when his PPG Cup peers voted him the MostImproved Driver of the recently completed PPG CART World Seriesseason. The presentation was made during the CART Performance Awardsand Press Conference that preceded tonight's PPG CART World SeriesAwards Banquet in Los Angeles.
Jourdain turned in a solid season with Payton/Coyne Racing and isperhaps best remembered for running among the leaders at Laguna Seca.His first PPG Cup points-paying finish highlighted his sophomoreseason in the series, a 12th at Portland. He also finished just shyof the points at Toronto and Michigan with 13th place finishes.
Jourdain improved in the second half of the season when hisHerdez/Viva Mexico special was switched from a Lola to a Reynard. Heconcluded the season with eight consecutive top-20 qualifyingefforts, after qualifying outside the top 20 for the year's firstnine events. The best starting position came at the last race of theyear with a career-best fifth-place qualifying performance atCalifornia.
PPG CART World Series drivers annually vote for the most improveddriver in their ranks. Bryan Herta won the title last year.
Jourdain finished 29th in the PPG Cup championship with one point.
Source: CART News Service


		NOW AVAILABLE! — The Official Directory for CART Racing

		Jourdain Voted Most Improved Driver of 1997 ©1997 SpeedCenter Internet Publishing, Inc. Peer drivers choose young Mexican in his sophmore season Young PPG Cup driver Michel Jourdain, Jr received one of CART's mostprestigious honors Saturday when his PPG Cup peers voted him the MostImproved Driver of the recently completed PPG CART World Seriesseason. The presentation was made during the CART Performance Awardsand Press Conference that preceded tonight's PPG CART World SeriesAwards Banquet in Los Angeles. Jourdain turned in a solid season with Payton/Coyne Racing and isperhaps best remembered for running among the leaders at Laguna Seca.His first PPG Cup points-paying finish highlighted his sophomoreseason in the series, a 12th at Portland. He also finished just shyof the points at Toronto and Michigan with 13th place finishes. Jourdain improved in the second half of the season when hisHerdez/Viva Mexico special was switched from a Lola to a Reynard. Heconcluded the season with eight consecutive top-20 qualifyingefforts, after qualifying outside the top 20 for the year's firstnine events. The best starting position came at the last race of theyear with a career-best fifth-place qualifying performance atCalifornia. PPG CART World Series drivers annually vote for the most improveddriver in their ranks. Bryan Herta won the title last year. Jourdain finished 29th in the PPG Cup championship with one point. Source: CART News Service