Kenny Bräck

Kenny Bräck

Kenny Bräck at the 2011 Goodwood Festival of Speed
Nationality Sweden Swedish
Born (1966-03-21) March 21, 1966
Arvika, Värmland
Retired 2005
IRL IndyCar Series
Years active 1997–99, 2002–03, 2005
Teams Rahal Letterman Racing
Chip Ganassi Racing
A. J. Foyt Enterprises
Galles Racing
Starts 47
Wins 4
Poles 0
Best finish 1st in 1998
Previous series
2000–2002
1994–1995
1993
CART World Series
Formula 3000
Barber Saab Pro Series
Championship titles
1999
1998
1993
Indianapolis 500 winner
Indy Racing League champion
Barber Saab Pro Series champion
Awards
2005
2000
Scott Brayton award
CART Rookie of the Year

Kenny Bräck (born March 21, 1966 in Arvika, Värmland) is a race car driver from Sweden. Until his retirement from racing, he competed in the CART, Indy Racing League and the IROC series. He is the winner of the 1999 Indianapolis 500 and the 1998 driving champion of the Indy Racing League. He survived one of the racing sport's biggest accidents in Fort Worth, Texas 2003, in which a deceleration of 214g was measured. 18 months later he made a comeback at the Indy 500 and set the fastest qualifying time of the field. He retired from IndyCar racing after the race.

In 2009, he made a come back but now to rally, and competed in Rally X at X-Games 15 and won Gold. Bräck still drives occasionally and won The Dukerie's Stage Rally in Nottingham, England with co-driver Emil Axelsson in June 2011. The duo also won the Swedish classic "The Midnight Sun Rally" in July 2011. In September Brack took pole position and won the RAC Tourist Trophy race at the Goodwood Revival in an AC Shelby Cobra Daytona Coupé 1964 together with 8-time Le Mans winner Tom Kristensen. In September 2013 Bräck won The Whitsun Trophy race at the Goodwood Revival in a Ford GT 40 together with Red Bull F1 Racing's Adrian Newey.

Early career

He grew up in the little village of Glava, where his father taught him to drive cars on the lake-ice in the winters. A neighbor introduced Bräck to racing when he was 13 years of age, working in his business one summer, buying him a Go-Cart. Apart from the beginning of Bräck's career, he has managed his career himself, from finding sponsors, negotiating contracts to winning races.

Formula racing

He raced in Britain and Sweden in Formula Ford and Formula 3 (he was Swedish junior Formula Ford Champion in 1986), in Europe in Formula Opel Lotus, in Scandinavia and Europe in the Renault Clio Cup (Scandinavian Champion 1992) and in the USA in the Barber Saab Pro Series (Champion in 1993).

Ib 1994 he competed in the International Formula 3000. In 1995 he finished third in the International F3000 championship for Madgwick Racing. In 1996 he was Arrows Formula One test driver but decided to leave the team after mid season concentrating on his European F3000 campaign. Despite winning the last race on the road, after a controversial Clerk of the Course decision he eventually was disqualified from the event and had to settle for the runner-up position in the championship, driving for the British team Super Nova. Had he not been disqualified, Bräck would have been champion.

First appearance in the IRL

Bräck began his IRL career in 1997. He won the IRL championship in 1998, and the 1999 Indianapolis 500 driving for American racing legend A. J. Foyt. The following year he left Foyt's team to compete in the CART FedEx Championship Series.

CART career

Kenny Bräck
CART World Series
Years active 2000-2002
Teams Team Rahal
Chip Ganassi Racing
Starts 59
Wins 5
Poles 7
Best finish 2nd in 2001
Awards
2000 CART Rookie of the Year

In 2000 he switched to the CART with Team Rahal, winning the Rookie of the Year title that year. He finished 2nd in the driver's championship in 2001, winning a season-high 4 victories and 6 pole positions. However, he didn't have much success on road circuits which is what ultimately cost him that year's title to Gil de Ferran.

In 2001 Bräck also had a minor role in the Hollywood motion picture Driven, which starred Sylvester Stallone and Burt Reynolds.

In 2002, Bräck raced for Chip Ganassi Racing, and he ended the season by winning the CART season finale Mexico City G.P., which turned out to be his only win in major North American open wheel racing on a road or street circuit.

IROC

In 2001 he competed in the International Race of Champions series in the season called IROC XXV. The series is a stock car invitational in the United States. He finished third in the championship, the highest points position for a non-stock car driver.

Return to IRL

Bräck moved back to the IRL in 2003 with previous CART team owner, Bobby Rahal and his Rahal Letterman Racing team. Bräck scored 2nd place at the Twin Ring Motegi circuit in Japan. In the final race at Texas Motor Speedway, he suffered a serious crash that almost cost him his life. His car locked wheels with Tomas Scheckter's, flew into the catch fencing, and broke apart. Bräck's crash saw the highest recorded g-forces since the introduction of crash violence recording systems, peaking at 214 g.[1][2] He suffered multiple fractures, breaking his sternum, femur, shattering a vertebra in his spine and crushing his ankles. He spent 18 months recovering from his injuries. Though Brack returned to IRL a few times since then, the Texas wreck essentially ended his racing career in IRL.

He made his comeback to the 2005 Indianapolis 500, replacing an injured Buddy Rice (who, coincidentally, had replaced Bräck in 2004). He set the fastest qualification time in the field with an average speed of 227.598 mph (366.283 km/h), but started 23rd due to not qualifying on the first day. He retired from the race with a mechanical problem.

Retirement

As of 2011, Bräck lives in England and has retired from open wheel racing, although he manages young open wheel racing drivers such as Marcus Ericsson and occasionally drives in rallying. Bräck also spends his time currently as the lead member and songwriter of his rock band "Bräck", together with lead singer Franc Aledia. At the 2007 Indianapolis 500 the band Bräck cooperated with the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in celebrating American racing legend A. J. Foyt as part of his 50th anniversary at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. In May 2007 the band released its first album "Greatest hits, volume 1" featuring the song "Legend of the Speedway". A rock video, featuring Foyt's Indianapolis winning cars including the car Bräck won the race with in 1999 while driving for Foyt was also recorded. The video was directed by Allen Farst of Niche Productions, Dayton, Ohio.

Bräck is also on the board of directors of Mekonomen, Scandinavia's biggest distributor of car spare parts, listed on the Swedish stock exchange.[3]

In July 2013, Autosport magazine named Bräck one of the top 50 greatest drivers to have never raced in Formula One.

Other racing

Bräck was employed by Team Lanzante to drive one of the most prestigious cars, a 1964 AC Shelby Cobra Daytona Coupé, in the RAC Tourist Trophy race at the Goodwood Revival in September 2011. Only 6 original cars exist. Sharing the driving duties with 8-time Le Mans winner Tom Kristensen, Bräck qualified the car on pole position. The duo also won the race. In September 2013 Bräck, in partnership with Red Bull F1 Racing's Adrian Newey won the Goodwood revival 50 year anniversary The Whitsun Trophy, where Bräck performed a rain qualifying that became a YouTube sensation: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1jF__B1xpJY. The duo went on to win the race. Also in September Bräck co-drove Christian Glaesel's Ford GT40 in the SPA 6-Hours race, together with the owner and Olivier Ellerbrock. Bräck qualified the car on pole. Eventually the car finished in 5th place.

X Games

In 2009, 4 years after retiring from IndyCar racing Bräck made a surprise return to the wheel after receiving a special invitation to compete in the annual ESPN X Games 15 in Los Angeles. Bräck drove an Olsberg Ford Fiesta prepared by Swedish team Andreas Ericsson Motorsport. Bräck was the fastest qualifier and went on to win the competition outright in a head-to-head final against previous Rally Gold Medal winner and nine time overall X-Games Gold Medal winner Travis Pastrana. Bräck became the first specially invited driver to win the Rally Gold Medal. The late WRC star Colin McRae previously held the top spot with a second-place finish.

Rally

In 2011 Bräck won his second stage rally in his career, Dukerie's Rally outside Nottingham, England, in a Ford Escort Mk II BDG with Swedish co-driver Emil Axelsson. In July 2011 the duo won the Swedish classic "The Midnight Sun Rally" in the same car, in front of the previous year's winner Kenneth Bäcklund and rally world champion Björn Waldegård, www.midnattssolrallyt.se

Motorsports career results

Complete International Formula 3000 results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year Entrant 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 DC Points
1994 Madgwick International SIL
12
PAU
DNS
CAT
11
PER
11
HOC
9
SPA
3
EST
6
MAG
10
11th 5
1995 Madgwick International SIL
5
CAT
13†
PAU
4
PER
Ret
HOC
2
SPA
Ret
EST
3
MAG
1
4th 24
1996 Super Nova Racing NÜR
1
PAU
2
PER
Ret
HOC
1
SIL
1
SPA
5
MAG
2
EST
3
MUG
3
HOC
DSQ
2nd 49

American open–wheel results

(key)

IndyCar Series

Year Team Chassis Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 Rank Points
1996–1997 Galles Racing G-Force GF01 Oldsmobile Aurora V8 NHM LVS WDW PHX
11
INDY
33
TXS
18
PPIR
14
CLT
5
NH2
5
LV2
20
19th 139
1998 A.J. Foyt Enterprises Dallara IR8 Oldsmobile Aurora V8 WDW
13
PHX
14
INDY
6
TXS
3
NHM
18
DOV
10
CLT
1
PPIR
1
ATL
1
TX2
5
LVS
10
1st 332
1999 A.J. Foyt Enterprises Dallara IR9 Oldsmobile Aurora V8 WDW
22
PHX
24
CLT
C
INDY
1
TXS
13
PPIR
7
ATL
3
DOV
3
PPI2
10
LVS
2
TX2
16
2nd 256
2002 Chip Ganassi Racing G-Force GF05C Chevrolet Indy V8 HMS PHX FON NZR INDY
11
TXS PPIR RIR KAN NSH MIS KTY STL CHI TX2 42nd 19
2003 Team Rahal Dallara IR-03 Honda HI3R V8 HMS
11
PHX
5
MOT
2
INDY
16
TXS
4
PPIR
7
RIR
7
KAN
5
NSH
6
MIS
18
STL
19
KTY
19
NZR
5
CHI
21
FON
20
TX2
16
9th 342
2005 Rahal Letterman Racing Panoz GF09C Honda HI5R V8 HMS PHX STP MOT INDY
26
TXS RIR KAN NSH MIL MIS KTY PPIR SNM CHI WGL FON 34th 10

CART

Year Team Chassis Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 Rank Points
2000 Team Rahal Reynard 2Ki Ford XF V8t MIA
Ret
LBH
Ret
RIO
10
MOT
5
NZR
3
MIL
4
DET
Ret
POR
6
CLE
2
TOR
10
MIS
Ret
CHI
4
MDO
5
ROA
3
VAN
9
LS
5
STL
11
HOU
Ret
SRF
2
FON
Ret
4th 168
2001 Team Rahal Lola B01/00 Ford XF V8t MTY
5
LBH
Ret
TXS
NH
NZR
2
MOT
1
MIL
1
DET
9
POR
11
CLE
6
TOR
Ret
MIS
Ret
CHI
1
MDO
20
ROA
14
VAN
8
LAU
1
ROC
2
HOU
7
LS
Ret
SRF
5
FON
Ret
2nd 163
2002 Chip Ganassi Racing Lola B02/00 Toyota RV8F V8t MTY
18
LBH
5
MOT
17
MIL
8
LS
3
POR
15
CHI
18
TOR
2
CLE
4
VAN
18
MDO
6
ROA
14
MTL
18
DEN
7
ROC
8
MIA
13
SRF
4
FON
12
MEX
1
6th 114

Indianapolis 500

Year Chassis Engine Start Finish Team
1997 G-Force GF01 Oldsmobile Aurora V8 15 33 Galles Racing
1998 Dallara IR8 Oldsmobile Aurora V8 3 6 A.J. Foyt Enterprises
1999 Dallara IR9 Oldsmobile Aurora V8 8 1 A.J. Foyt Enterprises
2002 G-Force GF05C Chevrolet Indy V8 21 11 Chip Ganassi Racing
2003 Dallara IR-03 Honda HI3R V8 6 16 Team Rahal
2005 Panoz GF09C Honda HI5R V8 23 26 Rahal Letterman Racing

References

  1. http://www.kennybrack.com/pages/personal-info/2003.html
  2. Feel the G's: The Science of Gravity and G-Forces - by Suzanne Slade (page 37)
  3. Meknomen AB (2011). "Board of Directors". Mekonomen AB. Retrieved 2012-04-16.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Kenny Bräck.
Sporting positions
Preceded by
Robert Amren
Barber Saab Pro Series Champion
1993
Succeeded by
Diego Guzmán
Preceded by
Tony Stewart
Pep Boys Indy Racing League Champion
1998
Succeeded by
Greg Ray
Preceded by
Eddie Cheever
Indianapolis 500 Winner
1999
Succeeded by
Juan Pablo Montoya
Preceded by
Juan Pablo Montoya
CART Rookie of the Year
2000
Succeeded by
Scott Dixon
Awards
Preceded by
Helio Castroneves
Scott Brayton Award
2005
Succeeded by
Sam Hornish, Jr.
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