Anthony Kumpen

Anthony Kumpen (born 3 November 1978) is a Belgian professional racing driver and team manager. Kumpen currently works as the team manager for PK Carsport in the NASCAR Whelen Euro Series. He previously competed full-time in the NASCAR Whelen Euro Series, winning the championship twice in 2014 and 2016. He also joint-held the record of the most 24 Hours of Zolder wins with six.

Anthony Kumpen
Kumpen (right) with teammate Maxime Dumarey in 2015
Nationality Belgian
Born (1978-11-03) 3 November 1978
Hasselt, Belgium
Related toMax Verstappen (Nephew)
NASCAR Whelen Euro Series career
Debut season2014
TeamsPK Carsport
Car number24
Starts55
Championships2 (2014, 2016)
Wins10
Podiums27
Poles6
Fastest laps7
Best finish1st in 2014, 2016
Finished last season23rd in 2018
Previous series
20152017
2015
20112013
2010
20012003
2001
19992009
NASCAR Xfinity Series
NASCAR K&N Pro Series East
Blancpain Endurance Series
FIA GT1 World Championship
American Le Mans
Rolex Sports Car Series
FIA GT Championship
Championship titles
2014, 2016NASCAR Whelen Euro Series
NASCAR Xfinity Series career
6 races run over 3 years
2017 position51st
Best finish51st (2017)
First race2015 U.S. Cellular 250 (Iowa)
Last race2017 Mid-Ohio Challenge (Mid-Ohio)
Wins Top tens Poles
0 0 0
24 Hours of Le Mans career
Years20012004
TeamsPaul Belmondo Racing, Team Carsport Holland / Racing Box, Carsport America, Taurus Sports Racing
Best finish40th (2001)
Class wins0

Racing career

Kumpen's car after his win in Elite 1 race two at Raceway Venray 2015.

In 1988, Kumpen started kart racing. He moved on to Belcar, the Belgian Racing Car Championship, in 1998, winning the GT2 championship in his first year, and the GT championship in 1999. He won several more Belgian GT and GTA championships over the next decade. In 2000, he won the overall classification at the 24 Hours of Zolder, a feat he would repeat in 2002, 2003, 2004, 2010 and 2012 for a record total of 6 victories.[1]

In 2000, he started competing in the FIA GT Championship for the Paul Belmondo Racing team. His first victory in a race in this championship followed in 2002. More victories followed in 2005 (2), 2006, 2008 and 2009 (2).[2]

He also competed in the 24 Hours of Daytona and the 24 Hours of Le Mans.[3]

In 2014, he competed in the NASCAR Whelen Euro Series for the PK Carsport team, driving a Holden VF Commodore. He won one race in the championship, and ended the season in first place, one point ahead of defending champion Ander Vilariño.[4]

His win gave him a license to compete in the 2015 NASCAR K&N Pro Series East, racing for Bill McAnally.[5] On 7 June, as part of the Nexteer Automotive Road To Daytona program, he announced his intentions to compete in the Xfinity Series, running three races at Iowa Speedway, Phoenix International Raceway and Homestead-Miami Speedway.[6] In 2016, he announced that he would run the Xfinity Series season opener at Daytona for Precision Performance Motorsports, driving the No. 46 Chevy.[7] He continued his part-time slate in the Xfinity Series in 2017, adding two races at Daytona and Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, driving the No. 46 Chevy for PPM.[8] Kumpen was also in discussions with Rick Ware Racing to make his Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series debut with the team in 2018,[9] but it never materialised.

Kumpen is suspended for four years by the Royal Automobile Club of Belgium after he failed a drug test during the 2018 24 Hours of Zolder.[10] During his suspension, he moved to a management role in PK Carsport and is currently working as the team manager for the Euro Series operations of the team.[11]

Personal life

Kumpen is the son of Paul Kumpen, a former race pilot, Belgian Rallycross Champion 1987 with Porsche 911 BiTurbo 4x4, director of the building company Kumpen, president of VOKA Limburg, and founder of PK Carsport. Paul Kumpen owned 50% of the shares of Ridley Bikes, and Anthony worked as a commercial director for the company, which became the largest bike manufacturer in Belgium.[12] Anthony stayed on at the company after his father sold his share in 2013.[12]

Kumpen lives in Hasselt and is married to Griet Vanhees. They have one child, a son named Henri-Constant.[13] Kumpen has a daughter, Laura, and a stepson, Thibeau, from his and his wife's previous relationships.[14] He is the first cousin of Sophie Kumpen, the mother of F1 driver Max Verstappen.[15]

In 2010, Kumpen participated in Sterren op de Dansvloer (the Belgian version of Dancing with the Stars) on vtm.[16] He was voted out of the show in the third episode and finished as 8th out of 10 contestants.[17]

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.)

Whelen Euro Series – Elite 1

NASCAR Whelen Euro Series – Elite 1 results
Year Team No. Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 NWES Pts
2014 PK Carsport 24 Chevy VAL
3
VAL
4
BRH
4
BRH
2
TOU
7
TOU
8
NÜR
5
NÜR
3
UMB
2
UMB
5
BUG
1
BUG
2
1st 656
2015 VAL
5
VAL
3
VEN
16
VEN
1*
BRH
5
BRH
5
TOU
18
TOU
9
UMB
4
UMB
10
ZOL
3
ZOL
3
4th 610
2016 VAL
1*
VAL
4
VEN
2
VEN
1**
BRH
1**
BRH
10
TOU
4
TOU
5
ADR
1*
ADR
2
ZOL
1**
ZOL
7
1st 657
2017 VAL
23
VAL
4
BRH
1**
BRH
7
VEN
1**
VEN
2
HOC
2
HOC
1*
FRA
6
FRA
16
ZOL
3
ZOL
3
2nd 609
2018 VAL
3
VAL
2
FRA
4
FRA
5
BRH
4
BRH
23
TOU
18
TOU
18
HOC HOC ZOL ZOL 23rd 200

Xfinity Series

NASCAR Xfinity 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 NXSC Pts
2015 Rick Ware Racing 15 Chevy DAY ATL LVS PHO CAL TEX BRI RCH TAL IOW CLT DOV MCH CHI DAY KEN NHA IND IOW
28
GLN MOH BRI ROA DAR RCH CHI KEN DOV CLT KAN TEX 52nd 53
Precision Performance Motorsports 55 Chevy PHO
24
HOM
27
2016 46 DAY
26
ATL LVS PHO CAL TEX BRI RCH TAL DOV CLT POC MCH IOW DAY KEN NHA IND IOW GLN MOH BRI ROA DAR RCH CHI KEN DOV CLT KAN TEX PHO HOM 70th 15
2017 DAY
22
ATL LVS PHO CAL TEX BRI RCH TAL CLT DOV POC MCH IOW DAY KEN NHA IND IOW GLN MOH
16
BRI ROA DAR RCH CHI KEN DOV CLT KAN TEX PHO HOM 51st 36

K&N Pro Series East

NASCAR K&N Pro Series East results
Year Team No. Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 NKNPSEC Pts
2015 Bill McAnally Racing 99 Toyota NSM
14
GRE BRI IOW BGS LGY COL 40th 53
Marsh Racing 36 Chevy NHA
21
IOW GLN MOT VIR RCH DOV

* Season still in progress
1 Ineligible for series points

Complete 24 Hours of Le Mans results

Year Team Co-Drivers Car Class Laps Pos. Class
Pos.
2001 Paul Belmondo Racing Grégoire de Galzain
Jean-Claude Lagniez
Chrysler Viper GTS-R GTS 44 DNF DNF
2002 Team Carsport Holland
Racing Box
Mike Hezemans
Gabriele Matteuzzi
Luca Capellari
Chrysler Viper GTS-R GTS 93 DNF DNF
2003 Carsport America Mike Hezemans
David Hart
Pagani Zonda GR GTS 10 DNF DNF
2004 Taurus Sports Racing Phil Andrews
Calum Lockie
Lola B2K/10 LMP1 35 DNF DNF

References

  1. "SPORTWEEKEND: Monza en Zolder". Autowereld.be (in Dutch). 10 September 2012. Retrieved 21 November 2014.
  2. "Anthony Kumpen". driverdb.com. Retrieved 27 November 2014.
  3. "Anthony Kumpen". racingreference.info. Retrieved 27 November 2014.
  4. Estrada, Chris (14 October 2014). "NASCAR: Belgium's Kumpen takes Whelen Euro Series title at Le Mans". NBC.
  5. "Anthony Kumpen volgend seizoen in het Nascar: "Dit is een unieke kans"". De Morgen (in Dutch). Belga. 18 November 2014.
  6. "Anthony Kumpen To Debut In XFINITY Series". NASCAR Home Tracks. 7 June 2015. Archived from the original on 8 June 2015. Retrieved 8 June 2015.
  7. "NASCAR Euro champion Kumpen to race Xfinity season-opener at Daytona". Motorsport.com. 15 January 2016. Retrieved 23 January 2016.
  8. "NWES Champ Set For Xfinity Series Campaign". NASCAR Home Tracks. 20 January 2017. Archived from the original on 2 February 2017. Retrieved 22 January 2017.
  9. "Episode #54 – If we knew it was in The Lakes – MOATF Podcast". MOATF Podcast. 2018-05-24. Retrieved 2018-06-03.
  10. "EURONASCAR-FAHRER UND -TEAMS 2019: DIE SILLY SEASON LÄUFT" [Euro NASCAR Drivers and Teams 2019: The Silly Season is On]. Motorvision TV (in German). Retrieved 14 March 2019.
  11. "Dylan Derdaele met PK Carsport naar EK NASCAR op derde wagen!". autosport.be (in Dutch). Retrieved 16 August 2019.
  12. "CEO koopt familie Kumpen uit bij Ridley bikes". Gazet van Antwerpen (in Dutch). Belga. 15 November 2013. Retrieved 21 November 2014.
  13. verhoogen, Inne. "Griet Vanhees is mama van Henri-Constant". Deredactie.be (in Dutch).
  14. jva (4 June 2011). "Racepiloot Anthony Kumpen gehuwd met babe Griet Vanhees". Het Nieuwsblad (in Dutch).
  15. Bonardel, Cécile (18 August 2014). "Verstappen's son in F1 in 2015". 24h-lemans.com. Retrieved 24 November 2014.
  16. "Anthony Kumpen" (in Dutch). vtm. 2010. Retrieved 21 November 2014.
  17. "Anthony Kumpen mag niet meer dansen". De Standaard (in Dutch). 16 April 2010.
Sporting positions
Preceded by
Ander Vilariño
NASCAR Whelen Euro Series Champion
2014
Succeeded by
Ander Vilariño
Preceded by
Ander Vilariño
NASCAR Whelen Euro Series Champion
2016
Succeeded by
Alon Day
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