Paulie Harraka

Paul Peter "Paulie" Harraka (born September 15, 1989) is an American professional stock car racing driver and entrepreneur. He is a graduate of Duke University and a former representative of NASCAR's Drive for Diversity program.

Paulie Harraka
Harraka at Dover International Speedway in May 2014
Born	Paul Peter Harraka (1989-09-15) September 15, 1989 (age 35) Wayne, New Jersey
Height	5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)
Weight	165 lb (75 kg)
Achievements	2008 NASCAR Whelen All-American Series Champion
Awards	2009 NASCAR Camping World West Series Rookie of the Year
NASCAR Cup Series career
1 race run over 1 year
2013 position	75th
Best finish	75th (2013)
First race	2013 Toyota/Save Mart 350 (Sonoma)
Wins Top tens Poles 0 0 0
NASCAR Xfinity Series career
5 races run over 4 years
2014 position	64th
Best finish	64th (2014)
First race	2010 NAPA Auto Parts 200 (Montreal)
Last race	2014 Buckle Up 200 (Dover)
Wins Top tens Poles 0 0 0
NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series career
11 races run over 1 year
2012 position	28th
Best finish	28th (2012)
First race	2012 NextEra Energy Resources 250 (Daytona)
Last race	2012 Pocono Mountains 125 (Pocono)
Wins Top tens Poles 0 0 0
Statistics current as of May 31, 2014.

Personal life

Harraka was born in Wayne, New Jersey to a family of Syrian descent.^[1][2] Harraka attended Wayne Valley High School from his freshman through junior years, but spent his senior year at Lake Norman High School to be closer to NASCAR team Joe Gibbs Racing, where he worked as an engineering and research and development intern.^[3] During this time, Harraka lived with Kenny Francis, crew chief for Kasey Kahne.^[4]

After graduating from high school with a 4.38 GPA, Harraka opted to attend Duke University, stating “I think that in the modern age of racing, knowing all aspects of the business is crucial to being successful."^[5] After beginning his studies in Mechanical Engineering, Harraka transferred to Duke's Trinity School of Arts and Sciences, where he studied Markets and Management, Sociology, and History.^[6] Harraka is one of only two NASCAR drivers with University degrees, the other being Ryan Newman.^[7]

Racing career

Early career

Harraka first sat behind the wheel when he received a backyard fun kart from his family and started driving it around abandoned buildings. Harraka entered his first race on June 1, 1997, at Flemington Speedway, and despite being underage (Harraka was 7 and New Jersey law required that drivers be at least 8 years old), Harraka won.^[8] In a karting career that spanned from 1997 to 2005, Harraka amassed a World Karting Association Triple Crown, the Holley Future Star Award, 13 National Championships, and 6 World Championships, and 158 total wins in go-karts. In 2005 he moved from kart to legends car racing, where he won multiple races.^[9]

Harraka also won a popular karting event at Mark Dismore's karting facility in Indiana, the RoboPong 200 (now known as the Dan Wheldon Cup after the 2005 winner was killed in October 2011) karting event, teamed with on-sabbatical NASCAR driver Ricky Rudd.

NASCAR

Harraka qualifying at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in 2010

Harraka was invited to the Drive for Diversity Combine in the fall of 2006, where he impressed team owner Bill McAnally. McAnally hired Harraka to compete for his California-based team, despite Harraka still being in high school in New Jersey. Harraka traveled back and forth between New Jersey and California every weekend, and ultimately finished second in the All American Series in Roseville, California that year, winning the Rookie of the Year title. Harraka returned to the team in 2008, this time holding the duties of both driver and crew chief. The team would win 11 out of 23 races as well as the NASCAR Championship.^[10]

At the end of 2008, McAnally elected to move Harraka up to the NASCAR K&N Pro Series for the final two races of the season as preparation for a full run in 2009. In the last race of the season, second race for the team, he qualified on the pole and led 40 laps.^[11]

Over the next two seasons, Harraka competed full-time for McAnally, first under the NAPA Autocare banner, then with NAPA Filters sponsorship, with crew chief Duane Knorr. The team has won 3 races and has 15 top 5 finishes in 30 total races.^[12] They finished 4th and 3rd in the series championship in 2009 and 2010, respectively, with Harraka winning Rookie of the Year in 2009 and Move of the Race in 2010.

Harraka took 2011 off from racing to further his studies, but did run the K&N Pro Series West race at Infineon Raceway. For 2012, Harraka competed in the Camping World Truck Series, running for Rookie of the Year driving for Wauters Motorsports.^[13] Midway through the season, Harraka left Wauters Motorsports.^[14]

In September 2012, Harraka drove for Go Green Racing in the Nationwide Series at Richmond International Raceway.^[15] Harraka's final NASCAR start came at Dover Motor Speedway driving for TriStar Motorsports in the NASCAR Xfinity Series.^[16] Harraka then retired from NASCAR to focus on business interests.

Entrepreneurship

Paulie Harraka LLC

In 2011 Harraka partnered with a group of Fortune 500 CEOs, venture capitalists, and professional sports executives as a partner to launch innovative technology platforms that challenge conventional approaches to the sport and business of NASCAR. The investor group supported Harraka's NASCAR racing activities and entrepreneurial business ventures disruptive to NASCAR.^[17] In November 2013, Harraka delivered a talk chronicling his entrepreneurial ventures at TEDxBeaconStreet in Boston, making Harraka the only NASCAR driver ever to deliver a TED presentation.^[18]

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.)

Sprint Cup Series

NASCAR Sprint Cup Series results
Year	Team	No.	Make	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31	32	33	34	35	36	NSCC	Pts	Ref
2013	Go Green Racing	52	Ford	DAY	PHO	LVS	BRI	CAL	MAR	TEX	KAN	RCH	TAL	DAR	CLT	DOV	POC	MCH	SON 39	KEN	DAY	NHA	IND	POC	GLN	MCH	BRI	ATL	RCH	CHI	NHA	DOV	KAN	CLT	TAL	MAR	TEX	PHO	HOM	75th	01	[19]

Nationwide Series

NASCAR Nationwide Series results
Year	Team	No.	Make	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31	32	33	34	35	NNSC	Pts	Ref
2010	NEMCO Motorsports	87	Chevy	DAY	CAL	LVS	BRI	NSH	PHO	TEX	TAL	RCH	DAR	DOV	CLT	NSH	KEN	ROA	NHA	DAY	CHI	GTY	IRP	IOW	GLN	MCH	BRI	CGV 29	ATL	RCH	DOV	KAN	CAL	CLT	GTY	TEX	PHO	HOM	124th	76	[20]
2011	Randy Hill Racing	08	Ford	DAY	PHO	LVS	BRI	CAL	TEX	TAL	NSH	RCH	DAR	DOV	IOW	CLT	CHI	MCH	ROA	DAY	KEN	NHA	NSH	IRP	IOW	GLN	CGV	BRI	ATL	RCH 25	CHI	DOV	KAN	CLT	TEX	PHO 21	HOM		130th	01	[21]
2013	Go Green Racing	79	Ford	DAY	PHO	LVS	BRI	CAL 35	TEX	RCH	TAL	DAR	CHA	DOV	IOW	MCH	ROA	KEN	DAY	NHA	CHI	IND	IOW	GLN	MOH	BRI	ATL	RCH	CHI	KEN	DOV	KAN	CHA	TEX	PHO	HOM			85th	9	[22]
2014	TriStar Motorsports	44	Toyota	DAY	PHO	LVS	BRI	CAL	TEX	DAR	RCH	TAL	IOW	CLT	DOV 19	MCH	ROA	KEN	DAY	NHA	CHI	IND	IOW	GLN	MOH	BRI	ATL	RCH	CHI	KEN	DOV	KAN	CLT	TEX	PHO	HOM			64th	25	[23]

Camping World Truck Series

NASCAR Camping World Truck Series results
Year	Team	No.	Make	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	NCWTC	Pts	Ref
2012	Wauters Motorsports	5	Ford	DAY 19	MAR 22	CAR 26	KAN 27	CLT 30	DOV 17	TEX 28	KEN 17	IOW 33	CHI 19	POC 24	MCH	BRI	ATL	IOW	KEN	LVS	TAL	MAR	TEX	PHO	HOM	28th	223	[24]

¹ Ineligible for series points

K&N Pro Series West

NASCAR K&N Pro Series West results
Year	Team	No.	Make	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	NKNPSWC	Pts	Ref
2008	Paul Harraka	04	Chevy	AAS	PHO	CTS	IOW	CNS	SON	IRW	DCS	EVG	MMP 26	IRW					29th	382	[25]
	Bill McAnally Racing	12	Toyota												AMP 8	AAS 6
2009				CTS 17	AAS 3	PHO 8	MAD 4	IOW 2	DCS 13	SON 14	IRW 3	PIR 16	MMP 2	CNS 1	IOW 12	AAS 1*			4th	1951	[26]
2010				AAS 1*	PHO 29	IOW 18	DCS 5	SON 2	IRW 13	PIR 3	MRP 11	CNS 2	MMP 3	AAS 4	PHO 25				3rd	1707	[27]
2011				PHO	AAS	MMP	IOW	LVS	SON 12	IRW	EVG	PIR	CNS	MRP	SPO	AAS	PHO		77th	132	[28]
2013	Bill McAnally Racing	20	Toyota	PHO	S99	BIR	IOW	L44	SON 5	CNS	IOW	EVG	SPO	MMP	SMP	AAS	KCR	PHO	50th	39	[29]

ARCA Racing Series

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

ARCA Racing Series results
Year	Team	No.	Make	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	ARSC	Pts	Ref
2012	Venturini Motorsports	55	Toyota	DAY 26	MOB	SLM	TAL	TOL	ELK	POC	MCH	WIN	NJE	IOW	CHI	IRP	POC	BLN	ISF	MAD	SLM	DSF	KAN	128th	100	[30]

References

1. Caldwell, Dave (August 9, 2008). "From Go-Karts to Nascar, and Now Heading to College". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved December 9, 2023.
2. "The Mag: A new model for NASCAR". ESPN.com. March 20, 2012. Retrieved December 9, 2023.
3. Sullivan, William (October 27, 2008). "Harraka balances college with racing in NASCAR's minor league". NJ.com. Retrieved February 5, 2023.
4. Senior Writer. "Paul Harraka: NASCAR Drive for Diversity Ace and Master Juggler". Bleacher Report. Retrieved June 4, 2014.
5. Merritt, Richard. "NASCAR Winner | Duke Engineering News". Den.pratt.duke.edu. Archived from the original on March 1, 2014. Retrieved June 4, 2014.
6. Bridget Booher (May 9, 2012). "Paul Harraka: Pursuing the Pole Position | Duke Today". Today.duke.edu. Retrieved June 4, 2014.
7. Senior Writer (October 25, 2008). "Paul Harraka NASCAR's Next Martin Truex, Jr.?". Bleacher Report. Retrieved June 4, 2014.
8. Caldwell, Dave (August 9, 2008). "From Go-Karts to Nascar, and Now Heading to College". The New York Times.
9. "Motorsports Seminars by Victory Marketing Team - Guest Speakers - Paulie Harraka". Victorymarketingteam.com. Retrieved June 4, 2014.
10. Thursday Sep 11 2008 (September 11, 2008). "Harraka wins track championship in final week | The Press Tribune Newspaper". Thepresstribune.com. Retrieved June 4, 2014.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
11. Cunningham, Jason (October 25, 2008). "Qualifying: Harraka Earns 1st Pole | NASCAR Home Tracks". Hometracks.nascar.com. Retrieved June 4, 2014.
12. "Paulie Harraka Career Statistics". Racing-Reference.info. September 15, 1989. Retrieved June 4, 2014.
13. "Wauters Joins Team Ownership Ranks". SPEEDtv.com. Fox Sports. January 26, 2012. Archived from the original on January 28, 2012. Retrieved January 26, 2012.
14. "Paulie Harraka and Wauters Motorsports Part Ways Effective Immediately". YardBarker. Fox Sports. August 30, 2012. Retrieved August 31, 2012.
15. Adamczyk, Jay (September 3, 2012). "Harraka to drive for Go Green at Richmond". Jayski's Silly Season Site. ESPN. Archived from the original on February 15, 2012. Retrieved September 3, 2012.
16. Staff, Speedway Digest (May 16, 2014). "Paulie Harraka joins the TriStar Motorsports driver lineup at Dover". www.speedwaydigest.com. Retrieved February 5, 2023.
17. "The NASCAR dreams of Paulie Harraka - Magazine". The Boston Globe. June 23, 2013. Retrieved June 4, 2014.
18. Welch, Maura (November 13, 2013). "An Independently Organized TED Event | NASCAR Confidential". TEDxBeaconStreet. Archived from the original on September 12, 2015. Retrieved June 4, 2014.
19. "Paulie Harraka – 2013 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved July 24, 2020.
20. "Paulie Harraka – 2010 NASCAR Nationwide Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved July 24, 2020.
21. "Paulie Harraka – 2011 NASCAR Nationwide Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved July 24, 2020.
22. "Paulie Harraka – 2013 NASCAR Nationwide Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved July 24, 2020.
23. "Paulie Harraka – 2014 NASCAR Nationwide Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved July 24, 2020.
24. "Paulie Harraka – 2012 NASCAR Camping World Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved July 24, 2020.
25. "Paulie Harraka – 2008 NASCAR Camping World West Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved July 24, 2020.
26. "Paulie Harraka – 2009 NASCAR Camping World West Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved July 24, 2020.
27. "Paulie Harraka – 2010 NASCAR K&N Pro Series West Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved July 24, 2020.
28. "Paulie Harraka – 2011 NASCAR K&N Pro Series West Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved July 24, 2020.
29. "Paulie Harraka – 2013 NASCAR K&N Pro Series West Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved July 24, 2020.
30. "Paulie Harraka – 2012 ARCA Racing Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved July 24, 2020.

External links

• Paulie Harraka driver statistics at Racing-Reference