Paulie Harraka
Harraka atDover International Speedway in May 2014
Born	Paul Peter Harraka (1989-09-15)September 15, 1989 (age 36) Wayne, New Jersey, U.S.
Height	5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)
Weight	165 lb (75 kg)
Achievements	2008NASCAR Whelen All-American Series Champion
Awards	2009NASCAR Camping World West Series Rookie of the Year
NASCARCup Series career
1 race run over 1 year
2013 position	75th
Best finish	75th (2013)
First race	2013Toyota/Save Mart 350 (Sonoma)
Wins Top tens Poles 0 0 0
NASCARO'Reilly Auto Parts Series career
5 races run over 4 years
2014 position	64th
Best finish	64th (2014)
First race	2010NAPA Auto Parts 200 (Montreal)
Last race	2014Buckle Up 200 (Dover)
Wins Top tens Poles 0 0 0
NASCARCraftsman Truck Series career
11 races run over 1 year
2012 position	28th
Best finish	28th (2012)
First race	2012NextEra Energy Resources 250 (Daytona)
Last race	2012Pocono Mountains 125 (Pocono)
Wins Top tens Poles 0 0 0
Statistics up to date as of May 31, 2014.

Paul Peter Harraka (born September 15, 1989) is an American former professionalstock car racing driver andentrepreneur. He is a graduate ofDuke University and a former representative ofNASCAR'sDrive for Diversity program.

Harraka was born inWayne, New Jersey to a family ofSyrian descent.^[1][2] Harraka attendedWayne Valley High School from his freshman through junior years, but spent his senior year atLake Norman High School to be closer toNASCAR teamJoe Gibbs Racing, where he worked as an engineering and research and development intern.^[3] During this time, Harraka lived withKenny Francis, crew chief forKasey Kahne.^[4]

After graduating from high school with a 4.38 GPA, Harraka opted to attendDuke 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 beingRyan Newman.^[7]

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, atFlemington Speedway, and despite being underage (Harraka was seven and New Jersey law required that drivers be at least eigh years old), Harraka won.^[8] In a karting career that spanned from 1997 to 2005, Harraka amassed aWorld 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 tolegends car racing, where he won multiple races.^[9]

Harraka also won a popular karting event atMark 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 driverRicky Rudd.

Harraka was invited to theDrive 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 theAll 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 eleven out of 23 races as well as the NASCAR Championship.^[10]

At the end of 2008, McAnally elected to move Harraka up to theNASCARK&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 theNAPA Autocare banner, then with NAPA Filters sponsorship, with crew chief Duane Knorr. The team has won 3 races and has fifteen top-five finishes in thirty 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 theK&N Pro Series West race atInfineon Raceway. For 2012, Harraka competed in theCamping World Truck Series, running for Rookie of the Year driving forWauters Motorsports.^[13] Midway through the season, Harraka left Wauters Motorsports.^[14]

In September 2012, Harraka drove forGo Green Racing in theNationwide Series atRichmond International Raceway.^[15] In 2013, Harraka made hisNASCAR Sprint Cup Series debut atSonoma Raceway, driving the No. 52Ford forGo Green Racing. Harraka's final NASCAR start came atDover Motor Speedway driving forTriStar Motorsports in theNASCAR Xfinity Series.^[16] Harraka then retired fromNASCAR to focus on business interests.

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]

Harraka went on to c0found Koloma, Inc with Dr. Thomas Darrah, a geochemist from Ohio State University,^[19] and Pete Johnson, a clean energy entrepreneur.^[20] Koloma is "a natural hydrogen company that leverages its technology, proprietary data, and human capital advantages to identify and commercialize these resources on a global scale."^[21][22] Geologic Hydrogen is considered by many to be at the cutting edge of the next frontier of energy.^[23] As Chief Business Officer, Harraka leads all financial, operational, and legal functions for the company, which has raised $400 million in investment capital.^[24]

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

¹ Ineligible for series points

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

Wikimedia Commons has media related toPaulie Harraka.

• Paulie Harraka driver statistics at Racing-Reference

• Living people
• 1989 births
• Sportspeople from Wayne, New Jersey
• Wayne Valley High School alumni
• Racing drivers from New Jersey
• NASCAR drivers
• ARCA Menards Series drivers
• Duke University Trinity College of Arts and Sciences alumni
• American people of Syrian descent
• Businesspeople from Passaic County, New Jersey
• 21st-century American businesspeople
• Stanford Graduate School of Business alumni

• CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list
• Articles with short description
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