Follow us on Facebook!
ANDREW HANNULA IS READY FOR THE 2012 SEASON
Hannula Prepares for ARDC Competition
It would be hard to imagine anyone more anxious for the start of the 2012 racing season than Andrew Hannula.
Hannula returns to wingless competition this season, driving his family owned equipment in ARDC events. Hannula will forego his signature #89 in favor of a single digit car number this season. The black, silver and fluorescent red #9 will bear Hannula's name for the 2012 season. Hannula moved into the sprint car ranks with URC in 2007 and won Rookie of the Year honors from the club that season. A strong performance found the rookie driver in the top five in URC points but a flip at the New Egypt Speedway sidelined the team for several weeks, dropping Hannula from points contention.
Hannula has been racing as long as any 22 year old could. Starting with quarter midgets in 1994 at Wall, NJ, Hannula won over 200 events as he and his family traveled to various tracks to compete. Looking for a new challenge, Hannula “graduated” to Slingshots and then 270 Micro competition in 2002 at Borger’s Speedway. In 2005, Hannula moved up to 600cc Micro competition. Hannula collected many Micro Sprint feature wins while competing on tracks throughout Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware.
Hannula moved to the Indianapolis area following the 2008 season to pursue his interest in wingless competition.
Hannula is a fortunate young man. "My parents have poured every penny and every hour they have into making my dreams a reality," Hannula explains of his family's support. Now he also has the full support of his of his financee', Kayla Hulcher and her family. "Kayla's entire family is a racing family and they support me as well. Kayla loves it just as much as me," Hannula explains. "Just having our own team back together is quite an accomplishment!" The young couple has plans for a wedding before the end of 2012.
Hannula's ARDC entry is a "little unique." The car was originally built by Stealth and was former ARDC Champion, Andy Martin's back-up car. It was also Steve Buckwalter's ride in his first A Main at the Chili Bowl. The #9 will be powered by a Gaerte Ford prepared by J & D Performance, a connection that Hannula made while living in the Indianapolis area.
While Hannula continues to search for a major sponsor, the #9 is supported by several product sponsors. CSI Shocks, J & D Performance, DMI & Dave Ely and the Radical Design Group who have just completed the "look" for Hannula's 2012 ride.
Hannula expects to compete in most of the events on the ARDC schedule this season but knows that his work commitment will prevent him from some of the shows out of the area. Employed as a car salesman by Muller Toyota in Clinton, NJ, Hannula works on Saturdays and will go directly to the track from there. The nine Saturday night shows at Big Diamond Speedway were a welcome addition to this year's schedule for Hannula.
Still looking for that first ARDC victory, Hannula has come close on several occasions. One of the highlights of his racing career has been the first laps that he ran at the Williams Grove Speedway - a track where Hannula continues to perform well. With three ARDC races scheduled at Williams Grove, Hannula looks forward to returning to one of his favorite tracks for multiple events this season. The wrong choice in tires might have cost the 22 year old racer a possible win at the Grove last season.
Hannula hopes to take all that he has learned and put it to use this season with the hopes of finding Victory Lane!
No comments:
Post a Comment