New Season, New Series, New Site
Jarvis Gennari Signs with Volkswagen TDI Cup
Posted on 3/4/2010 by Joey Gennari
The 2010 season has ushered in great changes for the Team Gennari crew and the driver of the #2 Lennox Motorsports VW TDI Cup Car. Some of these changes include a new sponsor, a new helmet, a redesigned website, but most of all -- a new series. Jarvis will be piloting a VW TDI Cup Car for the duration of the 2010 season. He's already secured a season-long sponsor in HVAC manufacturer Lennox. In February, Gennari made it through the rigorous 3-day trials that Volkswagen help in Las Vegas, NV to become one of the final 25 drivers for 2010. Sign up for our new newsletter on the right side of the website so you can keep up-to-date of all the happenings in 2010 and beyond. Thanks for everyone's support and keep the wheel on the ground!
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SSC East Signs Gennari
SSC East Signs 2007 JICA National Champion Jarvis Gennari
Posted on 12/21/2007 by Joey Gennari
With the start of the 2008 season just around the corner, the east-coast CRG team of SSC East has signed the top JICA pilot of the 2007 season to their lineup. Jarvis Gennari of Boca Raton, FL will be aboard the CRG line for the upcoming season, including the Florida Winter Tour and the Stars of Karting series.
Jarvis rose to the challenge of the national circuit during his first year of JICA competition with a national championship, but the accolades don’t stop there. The 14-year-old had already secured four FWT championships, included two in the junior ranks, a Rotax National Championship, nomination as one of Skip Barbers Elite 12 for the Karting Shootout, two bids to the Rotax Grand Finals as well as numerous regional championships and national podiums.
“We’ve got lots of testing to finish before the Winter Tour, but I think CRG is a good fit for me,” said Jarvis. The Florida-based Team Gennari crew said there focus is on improving their performance in the national series. Crew chief Joey Gennari said “We’re planning on being in the mix for the championships again this year with the help of the CRG and SSC East. Other than the chassis, not much else is changing. Dave at SSC East is still rebuilding our Rotax engines, Heavy-G will return on the JICA motors and Nate Grindell will return to wrench.”
“We are very excited to have Jarvis Gennari and the entire Gennari Racing Family joining our SSC East CRG Racing Team,” said Dave Davies, VP & General Manager of SSC East. “We have always admired Jarvis for the way that he handles himself on and off of the track.”
SSC East is the Eastern US Importer for CRG and Rotax Engines and the sole US Importer for Zanardi Chassis and Maxter Engines. From start to finish they can provide complete turnkey race packages and race instruction; test and tune days to complete on-track service and repair—and expert guidance provided every step of the way. Managed by a team of professional racers, SSC East is the one-stop "Pro Shop" that’s revolutionizing the sport of kart racing.
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Team Gennari Wraps Up 2007
Rollercoaster Year Comes to an End
Posted on 12/14/2007 by Joey Gennari
WOW. What a difference 12 months can make. Imagine Team Gennari transformed the season from a transition year, moving from MiniMAX to Junior, into a top 30 finish at the World Finals in Portugal. We had to correct the course a few times this year, changing chassis mid-season and later changing engine builders. We won the Florida Junior Championship, ended 7th in the FWT, 6th at the RGN, 29th at the World Finals, capping a very eventful season.
We learned lots of lessons, made some friends, made some not-so-friends, saw Europe for the first time, spent time with family, grew as a race team and a family-team. I'd like to take this opportunity to thank everyone involved in the 2006 season. Everyone that bent over backwards to make us successful, everyone that makes the community great. We're looking for more help in 2007, but we're also expecting great things from the year. Again, thanks to everyone who made it happen this year, and here's to another great year in 2007.
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2007 JICA National Champion
Vegas Finale Comes Down to the Wire
Posted on 10/23/2007 by Joey Gennari
The Team Gennari bid for the US JICA Championship came down to the final laps of final race of the season when Jarvis sealed the deal with a 7th place finish. “It wasn’t exactly how Hollywood would’ve written it, but you can’t ask for a more exciting finish,” said Chief Joey Gennari. The team would have to fight for every position during the weekend in order to win the championship, and in the end it came down to one kart.
Saturday’s qualifying put the Grindell-powered Tony Kart EVX in a solid 6th-place position for all three heats. Jarvis would be required to start on the outside of row 3 until Sunday afternoon, but all three starts were successful. His first heat race landed him 6th place points, one position behind Tony Kart USA teammate Gustavo Menezes. The second race only saw minor improvement with the 5th place finish, again one spot behind his teammate and points leader. The final heat finish of 4th secured a 5th place starting position for both finals, one position ahead of Gustavo and a full 6 positions ahead of Brendan Langlois, the championship runner-up.
The first final started with a bang, literally. Turn one mayhem lead Jarvis to the 2nd position. The kart was a few tenths of the pace though, and the leaders resumed their positions. Jarvis cross the line in 4th place, but the race wasn’t over yet. The tech shed decided 2nd and 3rd position weren’t in compliance, giving Jarvis the second place trophy. The final event of the weekend would decide the champion though, and race was on. Jarvis was now securely in second as Langlois had DNF’ed the first main. Both Tony Karts proved to be a bit off, but Gustavo was put to a disadvantage early as a wreck in turn 3 shoved him off course. Both fighting faster karts, Jarvis and Gustavo pushed to the end, but the last lap decided the points. As Tony Kart teammate Sam Jenkins slowed from an earlier wreck, Jarvis put one kart in-between himself and the points leader, but it wouldn’t be enough. Turn 3 became the final straw for Menezes as two CRG drivers slipped by.
It took a while for Stars to calculate the close points, but in the end Jarvis took home the Eagle. Well, technically they had to ship the huge trophy home. After the dust settled it became clear how close these two Tony Kart’s really were. Jarvis wants to thank his entire crew and all the support, especially from Tony Kart USA. Team captain Johnny Mislijevic and manager Cliff Kujala were instrumental in the success of the team this year. Team Gennari and Jarvis are now looking forward to positive results at this year’s Rotax World Finals in Dubai.
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World Wide Repeat
Second Bid to the World Finals, Strong US Performance
Posted on 9/8/2007 by Joey Gennari
In only his second attempt to qualify for the World Finals, Jarvis Gennari has completed the repeat performance of securing a spot on the US Rotax Team presented by Mazda. The stakes (and the altitude) couldn’t have been higher for the Team Gennari crew as they made the trek to the Mile High City for the 2007 Rotax US Grand Nationals. Coupled with the Tony Kart EVX chassis, a strong driving performance and an equally strong kart, Jarvis and crew managed to clinch the spot with a respectable second place finish after battling for the lead all weekend.
The podium was highly contested, though, and made for a interesting event. Leading out of the gate was South-Floridian Jose Zanella on the FA Kart, which is essentially the same chassis that Jarvis was riding. The two drivers were exchanging hundredths and thousandths in qualifying before Zanella had the lead by a fraction on the checkered flag. Later, penalties from the race official sent him back to sixth. Jarvis would start all of the 3 heat races from pole position.
The first heat was a bit of a struggle after Jarvis got started off on the wrong foot. A single slip-up allowed some of the drivers from the second and third row by. As they came across the stripe the 02 of Gennari settled for 5th, but vowed vengeance in the final two heats for the A group. And vengeance he got, finishing first in both events. Nate Grindell, EKN’s Road Racer of the Year, and TG’s newest mechanic had dialed the kart in for optimal handling and Jarvis was on cruise control.
The prefinal found Jarvis outside the pole position as Zanella had made up lost points with three heat victories. An early scuffle between the leaders meant opportunity for Jarvis though as he climbed to a comfortable 4-second lead over second place finisher Cody Robinson. The momentum didn’t roll as smoothly as the team would’ve hoped into the final though. Jarvis took the hole shot early on, but the hard-charging karts with fresh rubber started to make attempts at the lead. One finally stuck and Jarvis bobbled back to third. As he battled the third place kart, Zanella took the lead and ran. By the time Jarvis had found a clean line to pass on, it was too late. Jarvis crossed the line 2nd out of 34 karts.
Once cleared of tech, Gennari took the second rung of the podium and donned the World Finalist hat. His beaming smile was the result of months of hard work and preparation. So for the second year in a row there will be a Gennari on the flight to Dubai in November. Well, there will probably be more than one Gennari, but only one who can say he’s youngest driver to go ... twice ... in a row.
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Rookie Victory in New Castle
Jarvis Continues Bid for National Championship
Posted on 5/22/2007 by Joey Gennari
The 2007 Stars of Karting season continued with the second round of the tour commencing in New Castle, IN. A strong performance by Jarvis and the Tony Kart USA team in Norman set the stage for a repeat at the unfamiliar track in central Indiana. Having dominated the JICA class, the Tony Kart EVX chassis was up to the task at hand, but the question of Jarvis' ability was still doubted by many.
The opening day of the event found Jarvis familiarizing himself with the mile-long circuit which features a 950-foot straightaway. The team quickly realized the potential as he found himself second fastest in the first official session. The team quickly chipped away tenths, ending the day 7th fastest out of the 43 competitors. Of course, the team had some magic saved for the next day as Jarvis stole qualifying with a blistering 1:05.784, edging teammate Menezes by one tenth. Saturday was textbook for Jarvis as he gave Sergio Pena the only chance to lead a lap. He out-hustled the strong field by 1.6 seconds to take home his first Stars first-place trophy. He climbed atop the podium with long-time mentor Andre Martins to pose for a picture.
Sunday's event started just a bit different, finding Jarvis on the outside pole to Florida racer Spencer Pigot. Jarvis couldn't quite match the flyer Spencer laid down, but qualifying would be the least of the Tony Kart drivers problems on Sunday. The prefinal start brought problems as the field failed to find a pace that made the flagman happy. Two failed starts with Jarvis on the front row sent Jarvis back to 4th to give 3rd and 4th the same oppertunity. Two more failed starts by the "new" polesitters gave Jarvis even more problems as he was sent to sixth. After some dicing to gain position Gennari settled for the same spot he started in, 6th. The final event was a roller coaster of struggle, as a turn one incident gave the lead 7 a chance to break away. Jarvis spent the better part of the race attempting draft-passes, but ultimated settled for the 5th place finish, solidifying a top-3 points standing.
The non-believers are starting to loose reasons. Out-of-state? Check. National-level field? Check. New track? Check. This young rookie looks to be making a name for himself in the Stars series and he's doing it with the Tony Kart EVX chassis. Jarvis and his team would like to thank all the sponsors that make racing possible: Service Experts, Lennox International, and Donnely Mechanical as well as the entire Tony Kart USA team. Also, Tony Kart of Florida (tonykartflorida.com) the offical US Distributor of Tony Kart and OTK products. Visit Jarvis online at www.teamgennari.com.
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