Nur B. Ali (

Urdu Urdu (; , , ) is an Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in South Asia. It is the Languages of Pakistan, national language and ''lingua franca'' of Pakistan. In India, it is an Eighth Schedule to the Constitution of Indi ...

: نو ر علی ) (born October 12, 1974 in

Karachi Karachi is the capital city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, province of Sindh, Pakistan. It is the List of cities in Pakistan by population, largest city in Pakistan and 12th List of largest cities, largest in the world, with a popul ...

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

) is a

Pakistani American Pakistani Americans () are citizens of the United States who have full or partial ancestry from Pakistan, or more simply, Pakistanis in America. They can be from different ethnic groups in Pakistan like Punjabi or Muhajir. The term may also re ...

race car driver. He is the first Pakistani to become a professional racing driver, and a former two-time Southwest

Formula Mazda Formula Mazda is a class of relatively affordable open-wheel car formula racing. The original tube-frame Formula Mazda car had its own class in Sports Car Club of America, SCCA club racing from 1998 to 2019. The subsequent Pro Mazda Series ...

Series Champion. Ali also drove in the

A1 Grand Prix A1 Grand Prix Operations Ltd. operated as A1 Grand Prix (A1GP) was a "single-make" open-wheel auto racing series that ran from 2005 until 2009. It was unique in its field in that competitors solely represented their nation as opposed to themse ...

series for Team Pakistan.

Early life

Nur was interested in racing since he was four years old when he lived in Germany. He moved to

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

with his family when he was 8 years old and he currently resides in

Dallas Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...

suburb of Irving. Nur graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in International Relations from

American University The American University (AU or American) is a Private university, private University charter#Federal, federally chartered research university in Washington, D.C., United States. Its main campus spans 90-acres (36 ha) on Ward Circle, in the Spri ...

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

in 1998. He was Vice President of Washington, D.C. Federation of College Republicans in 1995 and interned for Congressman

Joe Barton Joseph Linus Barton (born September 15, 1949) is an American politician. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he represented in the United States House of Representatives, U.S. House of Representatives from 1985 t ...

, R-Texas, in Washington, D.C. in 1995.

Racing career

After graduating from college, Ali pursued a career racing by going to

Skip Barber Racing School The Skip Barber Racing School is an American racing and driving school. Skip Barber founded the school in 1975. History In 1975, Skip Barber started the Skip Barber School of High Performance Driving at Riverside International Raceway. In 19 ...

. When he completed the course and picked up his racing license, Ali took part in the Skip Barber Formula Dodge Southern Race Series and becoming the first racing driver from Pakistan. In 2000, Ali and his brother set up Ali Motorsports, so that he could compete in the Southwest

Series which he won in 2001 and 2002. Then in 2006, he joined racing series

where he raced for

A1 Team Pakistan A1 Team Pakistan was the representative team of Pakistan in the former A1 Grand Prix motor racing series. History 2005–06 A1 Grand Prix season, 2005–06 season A1 Team Pakistan was launched in front of the Lahore Fort. Pakistan's President ...

for a season. In late 2007, Nur decided to switch to

stock car racing Stock car racing is a form of Auto racing, automobile racing run on oval track racing, oval tracks and road courses. It originally used Production vehicle, production-model cars, hence the name "stock car", but is now run using cars specifical ...

, and after a successful test for Cunningham Motorsports, Ali drove in the 2008

Daytona ARCA 200 Stock car races in the ARCA Menards Series has been held at Daytona International Speedway as part of Speedweeks since 1964. The race, formally known as Daytona ARCA 200, is currently known for sponsorship reasons as the Chili's Ride the 'Dente ...

. In 2009, he drove again for Cunningham Motorsports. After joining the

ARCA RE/MAX Series The ARCA Menards Series is an American stock car series, the premier division of the Automobile Racing Club of America (ARCA). It is considered a minor, semi-professional league of stock car racing, used as a feeder series into the three national ...

, Texas Governor

Rick Perry James Richard Perry (born March 4, 1950) is an American politician who served as the 14th United States secretary of energy from 2017 to 2019 in the first administration of Donald Trump. He previously served as the 47th governor of Texas fr ...

presented Ali with an official commendation, and the Mayor of the city of

Southlake, Texas Southlake is a city located predominantly in Tarrant County with minor areas extending into Denton County in the U.S. state of Texas. Southlake is a suburb of Dallas/Fort Worth. As of the 2020 census, it had a population of 31,265. History ...

, proclaimed January 25, 2008 as Nur Ali Day. In 2012, Ali made his debut in the

NASCAR The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. It is considered to be one of the top ranked motorsports organizations in ...

Nationwide Series The NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS) is a stock car racing series organized by NASCAR. It is promoted as NASCAR's second-tier circuit to the organization's top level Cup Series. NXS events are frequently held as a support race on the day prior to a ...

, driving for

Rick Ware Racing Rick Ware Racing (RWR) is an American motorsports team which currently competes in the NASCAR Cup Series, American Flat Track, and National Hot Rod Association, NHRA. History The organizational roots of RWR date back to Ware & Sons Racing with R ...

in two events late in the season, but wrecked 3 cars in his first career start at

Kansas Speedway Kansas Speedway (formerly known as Kansas International Speedway in initial planning and construction stages) is a tri-oval Oval track racing#Intermediate, intermediate speedway in Kansas City, Kansas. The track, since its inaugural season of ...

and then was not cleared to race in his next attempt at

Texas Motor Speedway Texas Motor Speedway (formerly known as Texas International Raceway from September to December 1996) is a quad-oval Oval track racing#Intermediate, intermediate speedway in Fort Worth, Texas. It has hosted various major races since its inaugura ...

. He currently competes in the

Global RallyCross Championship Global Rallycross (known as Red Bull Global Rallycross for sponsorship reasons) was a rallycross series operated by businessmen Colin Dyne in conjunction with Sponsor RedBull. The series ran for seven seasons, primarily in North America, from 201 ...

Lites series.

Racing record

*(1) = Team standings.

NASCAR

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

Nationwide Series

ARCA Racing Series

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

Complete A1 Grand Prix results

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

Complete Global RallyCross Championship results

GRC Lites

Race cancelled.

References

Racing backgroundAli's ARCA racing test driveDay named after Nur Ali in SouthlakeDaytona: Nur Ali race report

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ali, Nur Living people 1974 births Sportspeople from Karachi Pakistani racing drivers NASCAR drivers ARCA Menards Series drivers A1 Team Pakistan drivers Indy Pro 2000 Championship drivers Racing drivers from Dallas American University School of International Service alumni Pakistani emigrants to the United States American sportspeople of Pakistani descent A1 Grand Prix drivers Performance Racing drivers