Andy Hillenburg |
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Wikipedia: Andy Hillenburg
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History
The following section is an excerpt from Wikipedia's Andy Hillenburg page on 18 September 2018, text available via the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.
Andrew "Andy" Hillenburg is an American race car driver, team owner and track owner. He currently owns Fast Track Racing Enterprises, a racing team that competes in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series and the ARCA RE/MAX Series. He is credited with reviving North Carolina Speedway, now known as Rockingham Speedway after it lost its NASCAR dates in 2004.
Hillenburg was born in Indianapolis, Indiana. He began his racing career at age 11, when he competed in the Indianapolis soap box derby.
He won the state quarter midget championships in 1975-1979. Hillenburg won the ARCA Super Car Series Championship in 1995, with 3 time ARCA Champion Bob Dotter as Crew Chief. He won the 1995 and 1997 Daytona ARCA 200, the premiere event in the series.
He served as a test driver for the International Race of Champions and Team Racing Auto Circuit series. He competed in the 2000 Indianapolis 500, finishing 28th, and has sixteen Winston Cup starts nine Busch Series starts and four in the Craftsman Truck Series. His best finish in NASCAR was a third-place finish at the 1999 NAPA Auto Parts 300, where he finished 3rd in the #18 MBNA Pontiac Grand Prix for Joe Gibbs Racing.
As of 2008 he operates the Fast Track High Performance Driving School and is running a team for Bryan Silas as an entry in ARCA and the Camping World Truck Series. He also fielded a car driven by Frank Kimmel in the 2007 Daytona 500, but the entry did not make the field.
On October 2, 2007, Hillenburg purchased North Carolina Speedway in Rockingham, North Carolina for $4.4 million (USD). The track was put up for auction by Speedway Motorsports Inc. and chairman Bruton Smith. Rockingham had not hosted a NASCAR event since 2004, but Hillenburg hopes to bring lower-tier NASCAR series back to the track. On May 4, 2008 the ARCA RE/MAX Series raced at Rockingham in the Carolina 500 and again in 2009. Also in 2008, the USAR Hooters Procup Series had their final race of the season at the Rockingham Speedway, in a race called the American 200 (named in honor of the name for the first race run at the Rock in 1965, the American 500) on November 1, 2008. The track hosted its first NASCAR sanctioned race (a Camping World Truck Series race) since its 2004 closure on April 15, 2012. Rockingham became part of the regular schedule for that series, and they returned in 2013. However, Rockingham was removed from the series' 2014 schedule.
| Date | Article | Author/Source |
|---|---|---|
| 2 October 2007 | Statement From Andy Hillenburg On Purchase Of North Carolina Motor Speedway | Chris Knight |
| 18 September 2009 | Michelle Hillenburg Medical Update | Chris Knight |
| 24 February 2011 | Andy Hillenburg’s Fast Track Blue Collar Hero Driver Challenge Gaining Momentum | Chris Knight |
| Type & Item # | Name | Details |
|---|---|---|
| Die Cast - GMP 7031 | Andy Hillenburg Andy Hillenburg Luxaire Heating & Cooling Sprint Car | 1:18 scale, black #2, Production: 1,500 |