Kenny Habul

Kenny Charles Edward Habul (born 24 May 1973) is an Australian professional race car driver and businessman. Born in Sydney, Australia, a former resident of Etobicoke, Ontario, and a current resident of Mooresville, North Carolina, he is the president and CEO of SunEnergy1[1] which was ranked the fifth largest developer of utility-scale solar projects in the US by Solar Power World Magazine for 2017.[2] He is a current competitor in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship and is a former competitor in the V8 Supercar Development Series, Australian Formula 3 Championship and the CASCAR Super Series, and a part-time competitor in the NASCAR Xfinity Series.[3] In 2018 he won the inaugural Intercontinental GT Challenge Bronze Drivers' title.[4]

Kenny Habul
Habul celebrating winner the Intercontinental Bronze Driver's Title at Laguna Seca, 2018
Born (1973-05-24) 24 May 1973
New South Wales, Australia
Achievements2018 Intercontinental GT Challenge Bronze Drivers' Champion
AwardsP2 at the Bathurst 12 Hour
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 Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series career
1 race run over 1 year
2013 position108th
First race2013 Kroger 250 (Martinsville)
Wins Top tens Poles
0 0 0
NASCAR Pinty's 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.

Early years

Habul attended Merrimac High School and then progressed to Bond University where he completed a Law degree.[5]

Awards and Recognition

Habul has received wide recognition for his contributions to the solar industry as founder of SunEnergy1 and in his role as a sustainable construction consultant.

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.[6] Mr. Habul was selected to be a member of the NC Solar Center Advisory Board[7] and was invited to joined the advisory board of Aquesta Bank.

On December 18, 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 Parsons, Bud Moore, Cale Yarborough and Cotton Owners, all South Carolina natives, were also honoured.[8]

The Palmetto Patriot Award is given for one's commitment to public service within their state and community. The award is the highest the Lieutenant Governor of South Carolina can bestow.

Music

He is credited as a co-composer, along with 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.[9]

Sponsorship

Habul's SunEnergy1 became a primary sponsor on Chase Elliott's Hendrick Motorsports NASCAR Cup Series entry in 2016. The agreement was for three seasons where major SunEnergy1 branding would be on Elliott's Chevrolet for a minimum of four events.[10]

SunEnergy1 and Elliott went to victory lane for the first time at Watkins Glen in 2018 where Elliott started third and ran in the top five for most of the day before claiming his maiden victory over Martin Truex Jr to give Hendrick Motorsports its 250th victory.[11]

SunEnergy1 was the sponsor of Tristan Vautier's Mercedes-AMG GT3 when he won the outright Intercontinental GT Challenge Championship at Laguna Seca in 2018.[12]

Philanthropy

In 2015 Habul visited the Nationwide Children's Hospital in Ohio and a made a $US100,000 donation on behalf of his company SunEnergy1. It was part of the lead up to the Nationwide Children's Hospital 200 NASCAR event and part of a US $4 million fundraising effort.[13]

Habul and SunEnergy1 started a relationship with the 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.[14]

Racing career

Introduction

Habul is a passionate motorsport enthusiast and racer. His motorsport career started in karting at the age of six[15] and has since included stints 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.

His recent sportscar events have seen him team up and co-driver with some of the biggest names in the business including Bernd Schnider, Boris Said, Paul Morris, Maro Engel, Thomas Jaeger, Tristian Vautier and Jamie Whincup.

Formula Ford

In 1998, at age 25 and after spending several years building a business with his brothers, 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.[16]

Formula 3

In 2002, Habul stepped up to Formula 3 for the first time and competed in support races at the Gold Coast Indy 300. The following season Habul contested most of the championship rounds, finishing ninth outright in the national championship.[17][18]

CASCAR

Habul's move to Ontario, saw a motorsport discipline switch as well. Habul jumped from Formula 3, V8 Development Series and GT racing in Australia to CASCAR Super Series in Canada in a Chevrolet, sporting #75. In 2005, Habul contested three rounds of the series recording a best result of 10th.[19] Before the series was purchased by NASCAR in 2007, Habul recorded a career best of third.[20]

Xfinity Series

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.[21]

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,[22] while also sponsoring Chase Elliott in the Sprint Cup Series.[23]

Camping World Truck Series

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

WeatherTech SportsCar Championship

In 2016, Habul started his own team in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship. Driving in the GTD series, Habul started 2017 with an impressive finish at the 12 Hours of Sebring. SunEnergy1 Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 and team driver Tristan Vautier gave the Mercedes-AMG GT3 pole position in qualifying for the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring. This pole position, the first for Mercedes- AMG Motorsport Customer Racing, comes in just the second round of the 2017 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship. Vautier drove the No. 75 SunEnergy1 Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 to a top lap time of 1.59.738 on the 3.74-mile Sebring road course to top the GTD field.[24]

In 2018, Kabul continued his IMSA campaign in the SunEngery1 Mercedes-AMG GT3 competing in the Rolex 24hr Daytona in January, finishing 8th. For the Belle Isle race, Habul teamed up with Bernd Schneider.[25] The pair finished the weekend in 8th.[26]

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

In 2018 Habul entered the Intercontinental GT Challenge with the idea of experiencing some of the world's greatest race tracks and finished the season with the Bronze Drivers' championship.

The season started with Liqui Moly Bathurst 12 Hour in February, where Habul managed an outright podium with co-drivers Jamie Whincup, Vautier and Raffaele Marciello and left as the leading Bronze driver.

Habul then competed in the 24 hours of Spa with his Mercedes AMG GT3 finishing 20th overall but claiming 3rd in the Pro-Am class with his co-drivers Bernd Schneider, Thomas Jaeger, and Martin Konrad.

Habul then took top honors in the Suzuka 10 hour where his SunEnergy1 Mercedes came home first in class and 10th overall. Habul had teamed up with Mikaël Grenier and Luca Stolz for the 10 hour race.

He had the same driver combination when he arrived for the California 8 Hour at Laguna Seca in California in October.

Habul went into the final round with a 20-point lead in the Bronze Driver Championship and survived a day of high drama to clinch the inaugural title after finishing 27th outright and fourth in class despite losing more than two hours in the pits due to damage.[27]

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

Motorsports career results

NASCAR

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

Xfinity Series
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
2012 SunEnergy 1 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
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
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
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
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

Camping World Truck Series
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
2013 SunEnergy 1 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

* Season still in progress
1 Ineligible for series points

Complete WeatherTech SportsCar Championship results

(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 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 V8 GTD DAY
8		 SEB
10		 MOH
12		 DET
8		 WGL
8		 MOS LRP ROA VIR LAG PET 18th* 109*

*Season still in progress.

Complete Blancpain GT Series Sprint Cup results
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

2018 Intercontinental GT Challenge results
Year Round Circuit Co-drivers Manufacturer Overall

Position

 Class

Position

2018 1 Bathurst Raffaele Marciello
Tristan Vautier
Jamie Whincup		 Mercedes-AMG 2 2
2 Spa-Francorchamps Bernd Schneider

Thomas Jäger

Martin Konrad

 Mercedes-AMG 20 3
3 Suzuka Luca Stolz

Mikaël Grenier

 Mercedes-AMG 10 1
4 Laguna Seca Luca Stolz

Mikaël Grenier

 Mercedes-AMG 27 4

2019 Intercontinental GT Challenge results
Rnd. Circuit Co-drivers Manufacturer Overall Position Class Position
1 Bathurst Thomas Jäger

Dominik Baumann

 Mercedes-AMG Ret Ret
2 Laguna Seca
3 Spa-Francorchamps
4 Suzuka
5 Kyalami

References
  1. Brown, Dominic. "Solar Energy Promises New Jobs In The East". 30 January 2012. New Bern, NC: WCTI-TV. Accessed 11 August 2013.
  2. "2017 Top Solar Developers". solarpowerworldonline.com. 25 July 2017. Retrieved 15 November 2018.
  3. Stabley, Susan. "Mooresville mansion with a green mission". 14 September 2009. Charlotte, NC: Charlotte Business Journal. Accessed 11 August 2013.
  4. "Habul seals Intercontinental GT Challenge title - Speedcafe". Speedcafe. 29 October 2018. Retrieved 29 October 2018.
  5. "The ARCH Magazine | Issue 21 | 2018 Semester 1". Issuu.com. Retrieved 30 July 2018.
  6. "CBJ Energy Leadership Award nominations close next week". bizjournals.com. Retrieved 31 July 2018.
  7. "The N.C. Solar Center announces launch of new Industry Advisory Council - NC Clean Energy Technology Center". nccleantech.ncsu.edu. Retrieved 31 July 2018.
  8. "NASCAR Legends Honored with Prestigious Palmetto Patriot Award - Darlington Raceway". darlingtonraceway.com. Retrieved 10 September 2018.
  9. "Welcome Home - Zac Brown Band, Zac Brown | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved 31 July 2018.
  10. "SunEnergy1 becomes primary sponsor of Chase Elliott | Hendrick Motorsports". hendrickmotorsports.com. Retrieved 10 September 2018.
  11. "Elliott Earns First Career NASCAR Cup Series Win". Chase Elliott. Retrieved 10 September 2018.
  12. "WORLD WRAP: Audi win California 8 Hours - Speedcafe". Speedcafe. 29 October 2018. Retrieved 29 October 2018.
  13. "Habul donates $100,000 to Nationwide Children's Hospital | Official Site Of NASCAR". Official Site Of NASCAR. 18 August 2015. Retrieved 30 July 2018.
  14. Children, Feed the. "Kenny Habul Partners with Feed the Children to Bring Hope to Elizabeth City Residents". Feed the Children. Retrieved 30 July 2018.
  15. "Switched On | Ocean Road Magazine | Home Page". Ocean Road Magazine | Home Page. Retrieved 5 July 2018.
  16. "NatSoft". NatSoft.
  17. "Kenny Habul | Racing career profile | Driver Database". driverdb.com. Retrieved 5 July 2018.
  18. "Formula 3 Australia - The Official Site". 2 December 2003. Archived from the original on 2 December 2003. Retrieved 5 July 2018.
  19. "CASCAR Super Series Results for 2005 - Racing-Reference.info". racing-reference.info. Retrieved 5 July 2018.
  20. "CASCAR Super Series Results for 2006 - Racing-Reference.info". racing-reference.info. Retrieved 5 July 2018.
  21. "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.
  22. "SunEnergy1 to Sponsor JR Motorsports' No. 88 Entry in Five NXS Events". JR Motorsports. 17 February 2016. Retrieved 18 February 2016.
  23. "SunEnergy1 to Sponsor Elliott". Motor Racing Network. 3 February 2016. Retrieved 18 February 2016.
  24. "No. 75 SunEnergy1 Racing". motorsportsnewswire.com. Retrieved 28 March 2017.
  25. "Mercedes great Schneider 'felt like a rookie' in IMSA cameo". RACER. 5 June 2018. Retrieved 18 June 2018.
  26. "WORLD WRAP: Campbell heads GTE-Am field in Le Mans test - Speedcafe". speedcafe.com. Retrieved 18 June 2018.
  27. "Audi, Aussie on top at Laguna Seca - Liqui-Moly Bathurst 12 Hour". Liqui-Moly Bathurst 12 Hour. Retrieved 29 October 2018.
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