Kenny Habul
Kenny Charles Edward Habul 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 which was ranked the fifth largest developer of utility-scale solar projects in the US by Solar Power World Magazine for 2017. 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. In 2018 he won the inaugural Intercontinental GT Challenge Bronze Drivers' title.
Early years
Habul attended Merrimac High School and then progressed to Bond University where he completed a Law degree.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. Mr. Habul was selected to be a member of the NC Solar Center Advisory Board 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.
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.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.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.
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.
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.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.
Racing career
Introduction
Habul is a passionate motorsport enthusiast and racer. His motorsport career started in karting at the age of six 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.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.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. Before the series was purchased by NASCAR in 2007, 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 to drive a SunEnergy1-sponsored car in the series' events at Road America and the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course that year.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, while also sponsoring Chase Elliott in the Sprint Cup Series.
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.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. The pair finished the weekend in 8th.
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.
Images
Motorsports career results
NASCAR
Xfinity Series
Camping World Truck Series
Season still in progressIneligible for series points
Complete WeatherTech SportsCar Championship results
| Year | Team | Make | Engine | Class | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 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* |