source:
crash.net
Champ Car World Series champion Sebastien Bourdais has been voted as the
people's choice for SPEED Channel's 'Driver of the Year', after race fans chose
the Frenchman ahead of competition from NASCAR, NHRA and the IRL.
Bourdais, who won seven races and eight poles en route to his first title during
2004, fell short of taking the overall 'Driver of the Year' title however, as
the fan voting counted as just one of 19 votes in the balloting. The honour,
which was announced on SPEED Channel Monday night, went instead to NHRA Pro
Stock champion Greg Anderson.
Fans rewarded the Frenchman and his Newman/Haas Racing team for a stellar Champ
Car season which saw the sophomore driver qualify in the top three for each of
the year's 14 races. He set a series record by leading laps in nine consecutive
events and went on to score ten podium finishes. Bourdais' titlewinning campaign
also saw him boost his career totals to ten wins, 13 poles, and 17 podiums in
only two years of competition in the Champ Car World Series.
The 'Driver of the Year' title was decided amongst a panel of 18 leading
journalists and broadcasters from across the United States plus the fan vote on
SPEEDTV.com. Each quarter of the year, a similar voting process took place to
pick the 'Driver of the Quarter.' The fans also picked Bourdais as the top
driver in third-quarter balloting as he finished second in the overall vote
during the third and fourth quarters in 2004.