Kenny Charles Edward Habul (born 24 May 1973 in

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

) is an Australian

racing driver Auto racing (also known as car racing, motor racing, or automobile racing) is a motorsport involving the racing of automobiles for competition. In North America, the term is commonly used to describe all forms of automobile sport including non ...

and a businessman. CEO of solar energy provider SunEnergy1, Habul is a two-time winner of the

Bathurst 12 Hour The Bathurst 12 Hour, currently known as the Meguiar's Bathurst 12 Hour for sponsorship reasons, is an annual endurance race for Group GT3, GT and Production car racing, production cars held at the Mount Panorama Circuit, in Bathurst, New South ...

and the inaugural

Intercontinental GT Challenge The Intercontinental GT Challenge is a sports car racing series developed by the Stéphane Ratel Organisation, SRO Group in 2016. It consists of international Endurance racing (motorsport), endurance races for grand tourer racing cars complying w ...

Bronze Drivers' champion.

Racing career

Introduction

Habul started his racing career with karting at the age of six. His following career included racing in

Formula Ford Formula Ford, also known as F1600 and Formula F, is an entry-level class of single-seater, open-wheel formula racing. The various championships held across the world have historically been an important step for many prospective Formula One dri ...

Formula 3 Formula Three (F3) is a third-tier class of open-wheel formula racing. The various championships held in Europe, Australia, South America and Asia form an important step for many prospective Formula One drivers. History Formula Three (adop ...

V8 Supercars The Supercars Championship, also known as the Repco Supercars Championship under sponsorship and historically as V8 Supercars, is a touring car racing category in Australia and New Zealand, running as an International Series under Fédération I ...

CASCAR The Canadian Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (CASCAR) was an auto racing sanctioning body for amateur and professional stock car racing in Canada. The company was founded in 1981 and was headquartered in Delaware, Ontario. In 2006, NASCA ...

, NASCAR Trucks,

NASCAR Xfinity 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 NASCAR Cup Series, Cup Series. NXS events are frequently held as a Undercard, support ...

and the

IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship The IMSA SportsCar Championship, currently known as the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship under sponsorship, is a sports car racing series based in the United States and Canada and organized by the International Motor Sports Association (I ...

. 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

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 The Gold Coast Indy 300 was an annual open-wheel motor race event that took place at the Surfers Paradise Street Circuit on the Gold Coast, Queensland, Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia from 1991 to 2008. The challenging track, alongside a str ...

on the streets of Surfers Paradise in Queensland. He finished third behind 2014

IndyCar IndyCar, LLC (stylized as INDYCAR), is an auto racing sanctioning body for American open-wheel car racing headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana. The organization sanctions two racing series: the premier IndyCar Series with the Indianapolis ...

Champion and 2018 Indy 500 winner,

Will Power William Steven Power (born 1 March 1981) is an Australian racing driver who competes in the IndyCar Series, driving the No. 12 Dallara-Chevrolet for Team Penske. He won the 2018 Indianapolis 500 and has won the IndyCar Championship twice, in ...

and Bathurst 1000 podium-getter, Steve Owen.

Formula 3

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.

CASCAR

After moving to Ontario, Habul began racing stock cars, competing in the

CASCAR Super Series The CASCAR Super Series was Canada's premier stock car touring division. It was sanctioned by CASCAR. The series ended after the 2006 season after NASCAR purchased CASCAR, and NASCAR used it as the basis for the NASCAR Pinty's Series. General T ...

. In 2005, Habul contested three rounds of the series recording a best result of 10th. Before the series was purchased by

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 ...

2007 2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year. Events January * January 1 **Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...

, Habul recorded a career best of third.

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 Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR) is an American professional stock car racing organization founded by Pro Football Hall of Fame coach Joe Gibbs. His son, J. D. Gibbs, ran the team with him until his death in 2019. Founded in Huntersville, North Carolina, ...

to drive a SunEnergy1-sponsored car in the series' events at

Road America Road America is a motorsport Road racing, road course located near Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin on Wisconsin Highway 67. It has hosted races since the 1950s and currently hosts races in the IndyCar Series, IMSA SportsCar Championship, Sports Car Club ...

and the

Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course is a road course auto racing facility located in Troy Township, Morrow County, Ohio, United States, just outside the village of Lexington. It hosts a number of racing series such as IndyCar, IMSA WeatherTech Sportsc ...

that year. Habul joined

JR Motorsports JR Motorsports (pronounced "Junior Motorsports") is an American professional stock car racing team based in Mooresville, North Carolina, co-owned by Dale Earnhardt Jr., Kelley Earnhardt Miller, L. W. Miller, L.W. Miller, and Rick Hendrick. It c ...

in 2016 to compete in the road course races. Additionally, SunEnergy1 sponsored him and

Josh Berry Joshua William Berry (born October 22, 1990) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 21 Ford Mustang (seventh generation), Ford Mustang Dark Horse for Wood Brothers Raci ...

in the No. 88

Chevrolet Camaro The Chevrolet Camaro is a mid-size American automobile manufactured by Chevrolet, classified as a pony car. It first went on sale on September 29, 1966, for the 1967 model year and was designed to compete with the Ford Mustang. The Camaro sha ...

, while also sponsoring

Chase Elliott William Clyde "Chase" Elliott II (born November 28, 1995) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 9 Chevrolet Camaro (sixth generation)#ZL1, Chevrolet ZL1 for Hendrick Mo ...

in the

Sprint Cup Series The NASCAR Cup Series is the top racing series of the NASCAR, National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR), the most prestigious stock car racing series in the United States. The series began in 1949 as the Strictly Stock Division, ...

Camping World Truck Series

On 6 April 2013, Habul made his

Camping World Truck Series The NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series is a pickup truck racing series owned and operated by the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR), and is the only series in NASCAR to race production pickup truck-based stock cars. The series i ...

debut with

RSS Racing RSS Racing (also known as Ryan Shane Sieg Racing) is an American professional stock car racing team that currently competes in the NASCAR Xfinity Series. The team is owned by Rod Sieg and Pamela Sieg. The team currently fields three cars: the No ...

, driving the No. 93

Chevrolet Silverado The Chevrolet Silverado is a range of trucks manufactured by General Motors under the Chevrolet brand. Introduced for the 1999 model year, the Silverado is the successor to the long-running Chevrolet C/K model line. Taking its name from the to ...

at Martinsville.

WeatherTech SportsCar Championship

In 2016, Habul started his own team in the

. Driving in the GTD series, Habul started 2017 by winning the pole in his class for the

12 Hours of Sebring The 12 Hours of Sebring is an annual motorsport Endurance racing (motorsport), endurance race for Sports car racing, sports cars held at Sebring International Raceway, on the site of the former Hendricks Army Airfield World War II air base in S ...

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

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 Jamie David Whincup (born 6 February 1983) is an Australian professional racing driver competing in the Supercars Championship. He currently is team principal for Triple Eight Race Engineering. He has driven the No. 88 Holden Commodore (ZB), Ho ...

, Vautier, and Raffaele Marciello. At the

24 Hours of Spa The 24 Hours of Spa is an endurance racing event for cars held annually since 1924 at the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, Stavelot, Belgium. It is currently sponsored by CrowdStrike. History The Spa 24 Hours was conceived by Jules de Their and ...

he finished 20th overall and 3rd in the Pro-Am class with co-drivers Bernd Schneider, Thomas Jaeger, and Martin Konrad. He then won his class in the

Suzuka 10 Hours The Suzuka 1000km, also known as the Suzuka Summer Endurance Race, is an annual sports car endurance race that has been held at the Suzuka Circuit in Mie Prefecture, Japan since 1966. After a five-year hiatus, the event is scheduled to return in ...

, finishing 10th overall with co-drivers

Mikaël Grenier Mikaël Grenier (born October 17, 1992) is a Canadian racing driver from Stoneham-et-Tewkesbury. Career After karting, Grenier moved to Formula BMW Americas in 2008 with Apex-HBR Racing Team, finishing fourth in points with a pole at Road Amer ...

and

Luca Stolz Luca Stolz (born 29 July 1995) is a German racing driver who currently competes in the ADAC GT Masters and GT World Challenge Europe. Career Stolz began his racing career in 2007, competing in the Cadet class of the Belgian Karting Championship. ...

for the 10 hour race; the same co-drivers joined Habul for the season finale 8-hour event at

Laguna Seca Raceway Laguna Seca Raceway (branded as WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, and previously Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca for sponsorship reasons) is a paved road racing track in central California used for both auto racing and motorcycle racing, built in 1957 ...

, 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 In 2022, Habul won the 2022 Bathurst 12 Hour, driving with Konrad, Stolz and

Jules Gounon Jules Jean-Louis Gounon (born 31 December 1994 in Aubenas) is an Andorran-based French people, French professional racing driver. He is best known for his victories in the Spa 24 Hours, 24 Hours of Spa in 2017 24 Hours of Spa, 2017 and 2022 24 Ho ...

Personal life and awards

Habul attended Merrimac High School, and then received a law degree from

Bond University Bond University is Australia's first private university, private not-for-profit university and is located in Robina, Queensland, Robina on the Gold Coast, Queensland. Since its opening on 15 May 1989, Bond University has primarily been a teachi ...

. In 2011, North Carolina State House Representative

Ruth Samuelson Ruth Culbertson Samuelson (November 4, 1959 – January 23, 2017) was a Republican member of the North Carolina General Assembly, representing the 104th district in the North Carolina House of Representatives from 2007 to 2015. From 2000 to 2004 ...

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 American City Business Journals, Inc. (ACBJ) is an American newspaper publisher based in Charlotte, North Carolina. ACBJ publishes ''The Business Journals'', which contains local business news for 44 markets in the United States with each market ...

. 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.

Music

Habul is credited as a co-composer, along with

Zac Brown Zachry Alexander Brown (born July 31, 1978) is an American singer, songwriter, and musician. He is best known as the co-founder and lead singer of the country Zac Brown Band, as well as electronic dance music group Sir Rosevelt. In 2019, Brown ...

Niko Moon Niko Moon (born Nicholas Cowan; September 20, 1982) is an American country pop singer and songwriter formerly signed to RCA Nashville. He has written songs for Dierks Bentley, Zac Brown Band, Rascal Flatts, and Morgan Wallen. He was also a membe ...

and Ben Simonetti for the song Your Majesty, which appears as the eighth track on the

Zac Brown Band Zac Brown Band is an American country music band based in Atlanta, Georgia. The lineup consists of Zac Brown (lead vocals, guitar), Jimmy De Martini (fiddle, vocals), John Driskell Hopkins (bass guitar, guitar, baritone guitar, banjo, ukulele, ...

's 2017 album, Welcome Home.

Philanthropy

Habul and SunEnergy1 started a relationship with

Feed the Children Feed the Children, established in 1979 and headquartered in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, is a non-profit organization focused on alleviating childhood hunger. Its mission is "providing hope and resources for those without life's essentials." The orga ...

in 2015 in a drive to provide 1,000

Elizabeth City Elizabeth City is a city in Pasquotank county, United States. As of the 2020 census, it had a population of 18,629. Elizabeth City is the county seat and most populous city of Pasquotank County. It is the cultural, economic and educational h ...

-area families with food and essentials through the Albemarle Food Pantry.

Images

"> File:SE175MBDaytona.jpg, The SunEnergy1 Mercedes Benz a
Rolex 24 at Daytona
File:SE175MBCotaP.jpg, The SunEnergy1 Mercedes Benz a
COTA
File:88 Kenny Habul 2016 Road America 180.jpg, 2016 Xfinity Series car at

File:Kenny Habul Road America 2013.jpg, NASCAR driver Kenny Habul at the 2013 Johnsonville Sausage 200 Nationwide race at Road America. File:The SunEnergy1 Mercedes-AMG.jpg, 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

Camping World Truck Series

Season still in progress
Ineligible for series points

Complete IMSA SportsCar Championship results

( key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap) *Season still in progress.

Complete Bathurst 12 Hour results

Complete Blancpain GT Series Sprint Cup results

Complete Intercontinental GT Challenge results

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Habul, Kenny 1973 births Living people Racing drivers from Queensland NASCAR drivers Supercars Championship drivers Australian Formula 3 Championship drivers 24 Hours of Daytona drivers WeatherTech SportsCar Championship drivers Joe Gibbs Racing drivers GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup drivers Mercedes-AMG Motorsport drivers JR Motorsports drivers 24H Series drivers Porsche Carrera Cup Australia drivers Racing drivers from Sydney 24 Hours of Spa drivers