Nicolas Hammann
Born: Elkhart Lake, WI
Age: 26
Growing up near Road America I was involved in racing at a young age, attending road races with my dad in the mid 1990’s. I began racing at age 6 at the local karting track in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin. I won three Road America karting championship in 2007-2009. Moving onto cars in 2010, I received my Sports Car Club of America competition license at age 16. The next few years I raced in the STU and STL category in SCCA. I raced two to three events every year at tracks like Mid-Ohio, Blackhawk Farms, Gingerman Raceway, and of course my hometown track, Road America.
After graduating from high school I began pursuing a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering with a motorsports concentration at University North Carolina, Charlotte. I always wanted to become a professional driver, and annually tried to get into a program called GT Academy. This program, sponsored by Nissan and Gran Turismo, took virtual gamers and gave them a chance to race professionally. On my third try, and as a sophomore in college, I was able to participate in GT Academy. I attended New York and Silverstone, and after a week of competition, I was able to win the 2014 GT Academy competition becoming a factory racing driver.
After winning I trained for three months in the United Kingdom with some of the world’s top driving instructors, in preparation for my first professional race the 24 hours of Dubai on January 9th and 10th. Myself along with four other racers finished second in class and fifth overall out of 96 entries in the Nissan GT-R GT3 car.
I then raced around the globe and in many different cars for the rest of 2015, racing in Moscow, Russia in the Blancpain Sprint Series in the GT-R GT3 and in the IMSA Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge in the Doran Racing Nissan 370Z. I had best finishes of fourth at my hometown track Road America and at Circuit of the Americas. I also raced at Lime Rock, Virginia International Raceway, and Road Atlanta in the Doran Racing 370Z. I also raced in World Challenge Touring Car and GTS divisions in a Nissan 370Z for Rearden Racing at track such as Laguna Seca and Sonoma Raceway. I returned to school at UNC Charlotte for mechanical engineering and continued my studies as well as continue racing.
In 2016 I raced in the Nissan Micra Cup Series in Canada finishing on the podium numerous times. I also made my NASCAR Xfinity debut at Watkins Glen and my hometown racetrack of Road America. Racing for an underfunded team I was able to finish a best finish of 28th at Watkins Glen. It was a dream come true to race in NASCAR where as I kid I could only dream of racing in!
For 2017 I again raced in the NASCAR Xfinity Series at Road America for Mike Harmon Racing and after having brake issues and handling issues we were only able to finish 29th.
In 2018 I graduated from UNC Charlotte with a degree in Mechanical Engineering with a Concentration in Motorsports in May of 2018. After graduating I started a full time position as a vehicle chassis/suspension development engineer for Honda Research and Development in Marysville, OH. At Honda I enjoy the balance of engineering and driving applying all the skills and information I learned both in the classroom and on the racetrack making the best Honda product possible for the road! At Honda I also race shifter karts and race in NASA in Honda Challenge with the Team Honda Research #93 Honda S2000.
For the 2019 racing season I got back behind the wheel of the #74 Throttlestop MHR NASCAR Xfinity Chevrolet Camaro for Road America. With the support of my local community in Elkhart Lake and Wisconsin we were able to finish 15th out of 38th behind some of NASCAR's elite teams/drivers! Finishing inside the top 15 in one of NASCAR's top divisions is a dream come true and I cannot thank each and every one of our sponsors who made this possible!
When not racing, I enjoy running, biking, sim racing, and working on cars. I also enjoy spending time with family and friends.
“Ever since I was a little kid I dreamed of becoming a professional racing driver. I never imagined I would be racing around the world in racing series such as NASCAR, Blancpain GT, and World Challenge. I have so many individuals to thank for helping me get to this point in my career and it is only the beginning. I cannot wait to see what happens next!" - Nic Hammann
Born: Elkhart Lake, WI
Age: 26
Growing up near Road America I was involved in racing at a young age, attending road races with my dad in the mid 1990’s. I began racing at age 6 at the local karting track in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin. I won three Road America karting championship in 2007-2009. Moving onto cars in 2010, I received my Sports Car Club of America competition license at age 16. The next few years I raced in the STU and STL category in SCCA. I raced two to three events every year at tracks like Mid-Ohio, Blackhawk Farms, Gingerman Raceway, and of course my hometown track, Road America.
After graduating from high school I began pursuing a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering with a motorsports concentration at University North Carolina, Charlotte. I always wanted to become a professional driver, and annually tried to get into a program called GT Academy. This program, sponsored by Nissan and Gran Turismo, took virtual gamers and gave them a chance to race professionally. On my third try, and as a sophomore in college, I was able to participate in GT Academy. I attended New York and Silverstone, and after a week of competition, I was able to win the 2014 GT Academy competition becoming a factory racing driver.
After winning I trained for three months in the United Kingdom with some of the world’s top driving instructors, in preparation for my first professional race the 24 hours of Dubai on January 9th and 10th. Myself along with four other racers finished second in class and fifth overall out of 96 entries in the Nissan GT-R GT3 car.
I then raced around the globe and in many different cars for the rest of 2015, racing in Moscow, Russia in the Blancpain Sprint Series in the GT-R GT3 and in the IMSA Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge in the Doran Racing Nissan 370Z. I had best finishes of fourth at my hometown track Road America and at Circuit of the Americas. I also raced at Lime Rock, Virginia International Raceway, and Road Atlanta in the Doran Racing 370Z. I also raced in World Challenge Touring Car and GTS divisions in a Nissan 370Z for Rearden Racing at track such as Laguna Seca and Sonoma Raceway. I returned to school at UNC Charlotte for mechanical engineering and continued my studies as well as continue racing.
In 2016 I raced in the Nissan Micra Cup Series in Canada finishing on the podium numerous times. I also made my NASCAR Xfinity debut at Watkins Glen and my hometown racetrack of Road America. Racing for an underfunded team I was able to finish a best finish of 28th at Watkins Glen. It was a dream come true to race in NASCAR where as I kid I could only dream of racing in!
For 2017 I again raced in the NASCAR Xfinity Series at Road America for Mike Harmon Racing and after having brake issues and handling issues we were only able to finish 29th.
In 2018 I graduated from UNC Charlotte with a degree in Mechanical Engineering with a Concentration in Motorsports in May of 2018. After graduating I started a full time position as a vehicle chassis/suspension development engineer for Honda Research and Development in Marysville, OH. At Honda I enjoy the balance of engineering and driving applying all the skills and information I learned both in the classroom and on the racetrack making the best Honda product possible for the road! At Honda I also race shifter karts and race in NASA in Honda Challenge with the Team Honda Research #93 Honda S2000.
For the 2019 racing season I got back behind the wheel of the #74 Throttlestop MHR NASCAR Xfinity Chevrolet Camaro for Road America. With the support of my local community in Elkhart Lake and Wisconsin we were able to finish 15th out of 38th behind some of NASCAR's elite teams/drivers! Finishing inside the top 15 in one of NASCAR's top divisions is a dream come true and I cannot thank each and every one of our sponsors who made this possible!
When not racing, I enjoy running, biking, sim racing, and working on cars. I also enjoy spending time with family and friends.
“Ever since I was a little kid I dreamed of becoming a professional racing driver. I never imagined I would be racing around the world in racing series such as NASCAR, Blancpain GT, and World Challenge. I have so many individuals to thank for helping me get to this point in my career and it is only the beginning. I cannot wait to see what happens next!" - Nic Hammann
