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 Pekaracing NV, competing as PK Carsport, is a racing team that currently competes in the NASCAR Whelen Euro Series as well as the Belcar Trophy in conjunction with Russell Racing. The team has previously competed in other series such as the FIA ...

in the

NASCAR Whelen Euro Series The NASCAR Whelen Euro Series (formerly known as Racecar Euro Series and Euro-Racecar NASCAR Touring Series) is an official NASCAR stock-car racing series based in Europe. It is one of NASCAR's three international-sanctioned series, alongside the ...

. He previously competed full-time in the

, winning the championship twice in

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

and

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the Impeachment of Dilma Rousseff, impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses duri ...

. He also joint-held the record of the most

24 Hours of Zolder The 24 Hours of Zolder (24 uur van Zolder in Dutch) is a yearly sports car and touring car endurance race held at Circuit Zolder in Belgium. The race was initially held in 1983, and has run every year except for 1988. In 1989 a GT car won for th ...

wins with six.

Racing career

In 1988, Kumpen started

kart racing Kart racing or karting is a road racing variant of motorsport with open-wheel, four-wheeled vehicles known as go-karts or shifter karts. They are usually raced on scaled-down circuits, although some professional kart races are also held on fu ...

. He moved on to

Belcar The Belgian Racing Car Championship (formerly Belcar Endurance Championship or Belgian GT Championship) is a national sports car racing championship primarily in Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom ...

, 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

, a feat he would repeat in 2002, 2003, 2004, 2010 and 2012 for a record total of 6 victories. In 2000, he started competing in the

FIA GT Championship The FIA GT Championship was a sports car racing series organized by the Stéphane Ratel Organisation (SRO) at the behest of the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The championship was mostly concentrated in Europe, but throughout ...

for the

Paul Belmondo Paul Alexandre Belmondo (born 23 April 1963) is a French racing driver who raced in Formula One for the March and Pacific Racing teams. He was born in Boulogne-Billancourt, Hauts-de-Seine, the son of actor Jean-Paul Belmondo and grandson of scul ...

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). He also competed in the

24 Hours of Daytona The 24 Hours of Daytona, also known as the Rolex 24 At Daytona for sponsorship reasons, is a 24-hour sports car endurance race held annually at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. It is run on the Sports Car Course layo ...

and the

24 Hours of Le Mans The 24 Hours of Le Mans (french: link=no, 24 Heures du Mans) is an endurance-focused sports car race held annually near the town of Le Mans, France. It is the world's oldest active endurance racing event. Unlike fixed-distance races whose ...

. In 2014, he competed in the

for the

team, driving a

Holden VF Commodore The Holden Commodore (VF) is an executive car that was produced by Holden between June 2013 and October 2017. It was the second and last significantly restyled iteration of the fourth (and final) generation of the Holden Commodore to be manufa ...

. He won one race in the championship, and ended the season in first place, one point ahead of defending champion

Ander Vilariño Ander Vilariño Facal (born 6 November 1979 in Hondarribia) is a Spanish auto racing driver that is currently competing in the NASCAR Whelen Euro Series, driving the No. 22 Chevrolet Camaro for DF1 Racing. Vilariño is the most successful drive ...

. His win gave him a license to compete in the

2015 NASCAR K&N Pro Series East The 2015 NASCAR K&N Pro Series East is the 29th season of the K&N Pro Series East. It began with the Hart to Heart Breast Cancer Foundation 150 at New Smyrna Speedway on February 15 and ended with the Drive Sober 125 at Dover International Spee ...

, racing for Bill McAnally. On 7 June, as part of the Nexteer Automotive Road To Daytona program, he announced his intentions to compete in the

Xfinity Series The NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS) is a stock car racing series organized by NASCAR. It is promoted as NASCAR's second-tier circuit to the organization's top level Cup Series. NXS events are frequently held as a support race on the day prior to a ...

, running three races at

Iowa Speedway Iowa Speedway is a 7/8-mile (1.4 km) paved oval motor racing track in Newton, Iowa, United States, approximately east of Des Moines. It has over 25,000 permanent seats as well as a unique multi-tiered RV viewing area along the backstretc ...

, Phoenix International Raceway and Homestead-Miami Speedway. In 2016, he announced that he would run the

season opener at Daytona for Precision Performance Motorsports, driving the No. 46 Chevy. 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. Kumpen was also in discussions with

Rick Ware Racing Rick Ware Racing (RWR) is an American motorsports team which currently competes in the NASCAR Cup Series, WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, and the NTT IndyCar Series. History The organizational roots of RWR date back to Ware & Sons Racing wit ...

to make his Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series debut with the team in 2018, but it never materialised because of his doping suspension (NASCAR is a member of ACCUS, which honours FIA doping suspensions such as the one imposed by the Royal Automobile Club of Belgium). Kumpen is suspended for four years by the Royal Automobile Club of Belgium after he failed a drug test during the 2018

. 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.

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 The Vlaams Economisch Verbond (VEV) is a Flemish employers' organization and lobbying group. The main objectives of the organization were the development of the Flemish economy and to improve the status of Flemish as a business language in Fla ...

Limburg, and founder of

. 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. Anthony stayed on at the company after his father sold his share in 2013. Kumpen lives in Hasselt and is married to Griet Vanhees. They have one child, a son named Henri-Constant. Kumpen has a daughter, Laura, and a stepson, Thibeau, from his and his wife's previous relationships. He is the first cousin of Sophie Kumpen, the mother of the two-time F1 World Champion and 34 time race winner Max Verstappen. In 2010, Kumpen participated in ''Sterren op de Dansvloer'' (the Belgian version of '' Dancing with the Stars'') on vtm. He was voted out of the show in the third episode and finished as 8th out of 10 contestants.

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

Xfinity Series

K&N Pro Series East

Season still in progress
Ineligible for series points

Complete 24 Hours of Le Mans results

References

External links

Official website
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kumpen, Anthony 1978 births Living people Belgian racing drivers Sportspeople from Hasselt NASCAR drivers 24 Hours of Le Mans drivers 24 Hours of Spa drivers Phoenix Racing drivers Blancpain Endurance Series drivers W Racing Team drivers