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Kenny Habul

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Kenny Habul
Habul celebrating the 2018 Intercontinental GT Challenge Bronze Drivers' title at Laguna Seca
NationalityAustralia Australian
Born (1973-05-24) 24 May 1973 (age 51)
Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Racing licence FIA Bronze
Achievements2018 Intercontinental GT Challenge Bronze Drivers' Champion 2019 Intercontinental GT Challenge Bronze Drivers' Champion 2021 Intercontinental GT Challenge and 2022 Intercontinental GT Challenge Pro Am Drivers Champion
Awards2022 Bathurst 12 Hour and 2023 Bathurst 12 Hour Outright Winner
NASCAR Xfinity Series career
15 races run over 4 years
2016 position53rd
Best finish44th (2014)
First race2012 Sargento 200 (Road America)
Last race2016 Road America 180 (Road America)
Wins Top tens Poles
0 0 0
NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series career
1 race run over 1 year
2013 position108th
First race2013 Kroger 250 (Martinsville)
Wins Top tens Poles
0 0 0
NASCAR Canada Series career
7 races run over 2 years
Best finish27th (2006)
First race2005 ATTO 100 (Toronto)
Last race2006 CASCAR 100 (Montreal)
Wins Top tens Poles
0 2 0
Statistics current as of 27 August 2016.

Kenny Charles Edward Habul (born on 24 May 1973) is an Australian race car driver and a businessman. Born in Sydney, Australia, a former resident of Etadick, Ontario, Greenwich, CT, and a current resident of Mooresville, North Carolina, he is the president and CEO of SunEnergy1.[1] He has competed in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, the V8 Supercar Development Series, the Australian Formula 3 Championship, the CASCAR Super Series, and the NASCAR Xfinity Series.[2] In 2018, he won the inaugural Intercontinental GT Challenge Bronze Drivers' title.[3] He won the 2022 and 2023 Bathurst 12 Hour with his SunEnergy1 Racing team.[4]

Racing career

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Introduction

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Habul started his racing career with karting at the age of six.[5] His following career included racing in Formula Ford, Formula 3, V8 Supercars, CASCAR, NASCAR Trucks, NASCAR Xfinity Series and the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship. He also competed in the 2018 Bathurst 12-hour where he finished second outright. That race was the first in four endurance events for the year that made up the Intercontinental GT Challenge. After Bathurst, he headed to the 24 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps where he claimed another podium in the Bronze Driver class, before sealing a second Bronze driver win at the Suzuka 10 Hours in Japan in August. Habul wrapped up the inaugural Bronze driver title at the final round at Laguna Seca in California in October.

Formula Ford

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In 1998, after spending several years establishing his business career, Habul returned to racing in the Australian Formula Ford championship. The following year, Habul scored his first category podium in a qualifying sprint support race at the Gold Coast Indy 300 on the streets of Surfers Paradise in Queensland. He finished third behind 2014 IndyCar Champion and 2018 Indy 500 winner, Will Power and Bathurst 1000 podium-getter, Steve Owen.[6]

Formula 3

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In 2002, Habul moved to Formula 3 and competed in support races at the Gold Coast Indy 300. In the following season, Habul contested most of the championship rounds, finishing ninth outright in the national championship.[7][8]

CASCAR

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After moving to Ontario, Habul began racing stock cars, competing in the CASCAR Super Series. In 2005, Habul contested three rounds of the series recording a best result of 10th.[9] Before the series was purchased by NASCAR in 2007, Habul recorded a career best of third.[10]

Xfinity Series

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After making six starts in the Nationwide Series in 2012 and 2013, in June 2014 Habul announced that he had signed with Joe Gibbs Racing to drive a SunEnergy1-sponsored car in the series' events at Road America and the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course that year.[11]

Habul joined JR Motorsports in 2016 to compete in the road course races. Additionally, SunEnergy1 sponsored him and Josh Berry in the No. 88 Chevrolet Camaro,[12] while also sponsoring Chase Elliott in the Sprint Cup Series.[13]

Camping World Truck Series

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On 6 April 2013, Habul made his Camping World Truck Series debut with RSS Racing, driving the No. 93 Chevrolet Silverado at Martinsville.[citation needed]

WeatherTech SportsCar Championship

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In 2016, Habul started his own team in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship. Driving in the GTD series, Habul started 2017 by winning the pole in his class for the 12 Hours of Sebring.[14]

In 2018, Kabul continued his IMSA campaign by competing in the Rolex 24hr Daytona in January, finishing 8th.[citation needed] For the Belle Isle race, Habul teamed up with Bernd Schneider.[15] The pair finished the weekend in 8th.[16]

Intercontinental GT Challenge

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Kenny Habul after winning the Bronze Drivers' title Intercontinental GT Challenge

In 2018 Habul entered the Intercontinental GT Challenge in the Bronze category, starting the season at the Liqui Moly Bathurst 12 Hour in February, where he finished on the podium with co-drivers Jamie Whincup, Vautier, and Raffaele Marciello.[citation needed] At the 24 Hours of Spa he finished 20th overall and 3rd in the Pro-Am class with co-drivers Bernd Schneider, Thomas Jaeger, and Martin Konrad.[citation needed] He then won his class in the Suzuka 10 Hours, finishing 10th overall with co-drivers Mikaël Grenier and Luca Stolz for the 10 hour race;[citation needed] the same co-drivers joined Habul for the season finale 8-hour event at Laguna Seca Raceway, where after spending two hours repairing damage in the pits Habul clinched the Bronze Driver Championship title with a 27th place overall finish, fourth in class[17] In 2022, Habul won the 2022 Bathurst 12 Hour, driving with Konrad, Stolz and Jules Gounon.[4]

Personal life and awards

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Habul attended Merrimac High School, and then received a law degree from Bond University.[18]

In 2011, North Carolina State House Representative Ruth Samuelson awarded Habul with recognition on behalf of the NC Solar Center. He was also presented with the Energy Leadership Award in 2012 by the Charlotte Business Journal.[19] On 18 December 2010, Habul was commissioned a Palmetto Patriot by the Lieutenant Governor of South Carolina, Andre Bauer. At the same ceremony Darlington Raceway President Chris Browning and NASCAR Legends David Pearson, Bud Moore, Cale Yarborough and Cotton Owners, all South Carolina natives, were also honoured.[20]

Music

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Habul is credited as a co-composer, along with Zac Brown, Niko Moon and Ben Simonetti for the song Your Majesty, which appears as the eighth track on the Zac Brown Band's 2017 album, Welcome Home.[21]

Philanthropy

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Habul and SunEnergy1 started a relationship with Feed the Children in 2015 in a drive to provide 1,000 Elizabeth City-area families with food and essentials through the Albemarle Food Pantry.[22]

Images

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  • The SunEnergy1 Mercedes Benz at Rolex 24 at Daytona.
    The SunEnergy1 Mercedes Benz at Rolex 24 at Daytona.
  • The SunEnergy1 Mercedes Benz at COTA.
    The SunEnergy1 Mercedes Benz at COTA.
  • 2016 Xfinity Series car at Road America
    2016 Xfinity Series car at Road America
  • NASCAR driver Kenny Habul at the 2013 Johnsonville Sausage 200 Nationwide race at Road America.
    NASCAR driver Kenny Habul at the 2013 Johnsonville Sausage 200 Nationwide race at Road America.
  • The SunEnergy1 Mercedes-AMG in action
    The SunEnergy1 Mercedes-AMG in action

Motorsports career results

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NASCAR

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(key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)

Xfinity Series

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NASCAR Xfinity Series results
Year Team No. Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 NXSC Pts Ref
2012 SunEnergy1 Racing 75 Toyota DAY PHO LVS BRI CAL TEX RCH TAL DAR IOW CLT DOV MCH ROA
16 		KEN DAY NHA CHI IND IOW GLN
20 		CGV
34 		BRI ATL RCH CHI KEN DOV CLT KAN TEX PHO HOM 55th 62 [23]
2013 DAY PHO LVS BRI CAL TEX RCH TAL DAR CLT DOV IOW MCH ROA
18 		KEN DAY NHA CHI IND IOW GLN
34 		MOH
26 		BRI ATL RCH CHI KEN DOV KAN CLT TEX PHO HOM 56th 54 [24]
2014 Joe Gibbs Racing 20 Toyota DAY PHO LVS BRI CAL TEX DAR RCH TAL IOW CLT DOV MCH ROA
14 		KEN DAY NHA CHI IND IOW MOH
31 		BRI ATL RCH CHI KEN DOV KAN CLT TEX PHO HOM 44th 61 [25]
SunEnergy1 Racing 75 Toyota GLN
26
2015 Joe Gibbs Racing 20 Toyota DAY ATL LVS PHO CAL TEX BRI RCH TAL IOW CLT DOV MCH CHI DAY KEN NHA IND IOW GLN
29 		MOH
28 		BRI ROA
14 		DAR RCH CHI KEN DOV CLT KAN TEX PHO HOM 49th 61 [26]
2016 JR Motorsports 88 Chevy DAY ATL LVS PHO CAL TEX BRI RCH TAL DOV CLT POC MCH IOW DAY KEN NHA IND IOW GLN
17 		MOH
36 		BRI ROA
34 		DAR RCH CHI KEN DOV CLT KAN TEX PHO HOM 53rd 36 [27]

Camping World Truck Series

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NASCAR Camping World Truck Series results
Year Team No. Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 NCWTC Pts Ref
2013 SunEnergy1 Racing 93 Toyota DAY MAR
26 		CAR KAN CLT DOV TEX KEN IOW ELD POC MCH BRI MSP IOW CHI LVS TAL MAR TEX PHO HOM 108th 01 [28]

* Season still in progress
1 Ineligible for series points

Complete IMSA SportsCar Championship results

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(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year Team Make Engine Class 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Pos. Pts
2016 Stevenson Motorsports Audi R8 LMS Audi 5.2 V10 GTD DAY
7 		SEB LAG DET WGL MOS LRP ROA VIR COA PET 47th 25
2017 SunEnergy1 Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 Mercedes-AMG M159 6.2 L V8 GTD DAY
18 		SEB
3 		LBH COA
3 		DET
15 		WGL
15 		MOS
13 		LRP ROA
12 		VIR
16 		LAG
12 		PET
16 		20th 192
2018 SunEnergy1 Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 Mercedes-AMG M159 6.2 L V8 GTD DAY
8 		SEB
10 		MOH
12 		DET
8 		WGL
8 		MOS LRP ROA VIR LAG PET 18th 109
2021 SunEnergy1 Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo Mercedes-AMG M159 6.2 L V8 GTD DAY
2 		SEB
9 		MDO DET
10 		WGL
14 		WGL LIM ELK LGA LBH VIR PET 30th 778
2022 SunEnergy1 Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo Mercedes-AMG M159 6.2

L V8

GTD DAY
21 		SEB
 LBH
 LGA
 MDO
 DET
 WGL
 MOS
 LIM
 ELK
 VIR
 PET
 70th 128
2023 SunEnergy1 Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo Mercedes-AMG M159 6.2 L V8 GTD DAY
22 		SEB LBH MON WGL MOS LIM ELK VIR IMS PET 68th 125
2024 SunEnergy1 Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo Mercedes-AMG M159 6.2 L V8 GTD Pro DAY
13 		SEB LGA DET WGL MOS ELK VIR IMS ATL 13th* 201*

*Season still in progress.

Complete Bathurst 12 Hour results

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Year Team Co-drivers Car Class Laps Pos. Class
pos.
2018 Australia SunEnergy1 Racing Italy Raffaele Marciello
France Tristan Vautier
Australia Jamie Whincup 		Mercedes-AMG GT3 Pro-Am 271 2nd 2nd
2019 Australia SunEnergy1 Racing Austria Dominik Baumann
Germany Thomas Jäger 		Mercedes-AMG GT3 Pro-Am 204 DNF DNF
2020 Australia SunEnergy1 Racing Austria Dominik Baumann
Austria Martin Konrad
Australia David Reynolds 		Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo Pro-Am 290 20th 4th
2022 Australia SunEnergy1 Racing France Jules Gounon
Austria Martin Konrad
Germany Luca Stolz 		Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo Pro-Am 291 1st 1st
2023 Australia SunEnergy1 Racing Andorra Jules Gounon
Germany Luca Stolz 		Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo Pro 323 1st 1st
2024 Australia SunEnergy1 Racing France Jules Gounon
Germany Luca Stolz 		Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo Pro 275 2nd 2nd

Complete Blancpain GT Series Sprint Cup results

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Year Team Car Class 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Pos. Pts
2018 SunEnergy1 Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 Pro-Am ZOL
1 		ZOL
2 		BRH
1 		BRH
2 		MIS
1 		MIS
2 		HUN
1
15 		HUN
2
DNS 		NÜR
1 		NÜR
2 		5th 16.5

Complete Intercontinental GT Challenge results

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Year Car Class 1 2 3 4 5 Pos. Pts
2018 Mercedes-AMG GT3 Bronze BAT
2 		SPA
8 		SUZ
10 		LUG
13 		1st 83
2019 Mercedes-AMG GT3 Bronze BAT
Ret 		LUG SPA SUZ
12 		KYL 1st 25
2020 Mercedes-AMG GT3 Pro-Am BAT
13 		IND
9 		SPA SUZ
C 		KYL 20th 2
2021 Mercedes-AMG GT3 Pro-Am BAT
C 		SPA IND
8 		KYL
7 		1st 50
2022 Mercedes-AMG GT3 Pro-Am BAT
1 		SPA
28 		IND
7 		KYL
 1st 65
2023 Mercedes-AMG GT3 Pro BAT
1 		KYL
3 		SPA
 IND
 GUL
NC 		11th 40

References

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  1. ^ Brown, Dominic. "Solar Energy Promises New Jobs In The East Archived 1 February 2014 at the Wayback Machine". 30 January 2012. New Bern, NC: WCTI-TV. Accessed 11 August 2013.
  2. ^ Stabley, Susan. "Mooresville mansion with a green mission". 14 September 2009. Charlotte, NC: Charlotte Business Journal. Accessed 11 August 2013.
  3. ^ "Habul seals Intercontinental GT Challenge title – Speedcafe". Speedcafe. 29 October 2018. Retrieved 29 October 2018.
  4. ^ a b O'Brien, Connor (15 May 2022). "Gounon leads SunEnergy1 Racing to Bathurst 12 Hour glory". Speedcafe. Retrieved 16 May 2022.
  5. ^ "Switched On | Ocean Road Magazine | Home Page". Ocean Road Magazine | Home Page. 7 October 2017. Retrieved 5 July 2018.
  6. ^ "NatSoft". NatSoft.
  7. ^ "Kenny Habul | Racing career profile | Driver Database". driverdb.com. Retrieved 5 July 2018.
  8. ^ "Formula 3 Australia – The Official Site". 2 December 2003. Archived from the original on 2 December 2003. Retrieved 5 July 2018.
  9. ^ "CASCAR Super Series Results for 2005 – Racing-Reference.info". racing-reference.info. Retrieved 5 July 2018.
  10. ^ "CASCAR Super Series Results for 2006 – Racing-Reference.info". racing-reference.info. Retrieved 5 July 2018.
  11. ^ "SunEnergy1 sponsors Nationwide races for Joe Gibbs Racing". Comox Valley Echo. Courtenay, British Columbia. 6 June 2014. Archived from the original on 14 July 2014. Retrieved 7 June 2014.
  12. ^ "SunEnergy1 to Sponsor JR Motorsports' No. 88 Entry in Five NXS Events". JR Motorsports. 17 February 2016. Retrieved 18 February 2016.
  13. ^ "SunEnergy1 to Sponsor Elliott". Motor Racing Network. 3 February 2016. Retrieved 18 February 2016.
  14. ^ "No. 75 SunEnergy1 Racing". motorsportsnewswire.com (Press release). Retrieved 28 March 2017.
  15. ^ "Mercedes great Schneider 'felt like a rookie' in IMSA cameo". RACER. 5 June 2018. Retrieved 18 June 2018.
  16. ^ "WORLD WRAP: Campbell heads GTE-Am field in Le Mans test – Speedcafe". speedcafe.com. 4 June 2018. Retrieved 18 June 2018.
  17. ^ "Audi, Aussie on top at Laguna Seca – Liqui-Moly Bathurst 12 Hour". Liqui-Moly Bathurst 12 Hour. Retrieved 29 October 2018.
  18. ^ "Habul conquers the mountain like hero Brock". Bond University. Retrieved 12 March 2024.
  19. ^ "CBJ Energy Leadership Award nominations close next week". bizjournals.com. Retrieved 31 July 2018.
  20. ^ "NASCAR Legends Honored with Prestigious Palmetto Patriot Award – Darlington Raceway". darlingtonraceway.com. Archived from the original on 10 September 2018. Retrieved 10 September 2018.
  21. ^ "Welcome Home – Zac Brown Band, Zac Brown | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved 31 July 2018.
  22. ^ Children, Feed the. "Kenny Habul Partners with Feed the Children to Bring Hope to Elizabeth City Residents". Feed the Children. Archived from the original on 31 July 2018. Retrieved 30 July 2018.
  23. ^ "Kenny Habul – 2012 NASCAR Nationwide Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved 7 April 2023.
  24. ^ "Kenny Habul – 2013 NASCAR Nationwide Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved 7 April 2023.
  25. ^ "Kenny Habul – 2014 NASCAR Nationwide Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved 7 April 2023.
  26. ^ "Kenny Habul – 2015 NASCAR Xfinity Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved 7 April 2023.
  27. ^ "Kenny Habul – 2016 NASCAR Xfinity Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved 7 April 2023.
  28. ^ "Kenny Habul – 2013 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved 7 April 2023.
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