William Hynes (born January 31, 1972) is an American professional

auto racing Auto racing (also known as car racing, motor racing, or automobile racing) is a motorsport involving the racing of automobiles for competition. Auto racing has existed since the invention of the automobile. Races of various sorts were organise ...

driver and entrepreneur. He races full-time in the

Stadium Super Trucks The Stadium Super Trucks (SST), formerly known as Speed Energy Formula Off-Road, is an American short course off-road racing series created by off-road racer and former IndyCar and NASCAR driver Robby Gordon in 2013. Sanctioned by the United State ...

and has also competed in

sports car A sports car is a car designed with an emphasis on dynamic performance, such as handling, acceleration, top speed, the thrill of driving and racing capability. Sports cars originated in Europe in the early 1900s and are currently produced by ...

and

touring car racing Touring car racing is a motorsport road racing competition with heavily modified road-going cars. It has both similarities to and significant differences from stock car racing, which is popular in the United States. While the cars do not move ...

. He is the founder and former CEO of United Fiber & Data, and has also overseen other business ventures such as Think Loud and 120 York. He is nicknamed "The Thrill".

Early life

Hynes was born in

New Brunswick, New Jersey New Brunswick is a city (New Jersey), city in and the county seat, seat of government of Middlesex County, New Jersey, Middlesex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. He attended

Union Catholic Regional High School Union Catholic Regional High School is a private Catholic high school located in Scotch Plains, in Union County, New Jersey, United States. Its motto promises to provide a "quality education in a faith-based environment." Founded in 1962 as se ...

before moving to Hillside High School as a sophomore, though he returned to Union Catholic after getting involved in a fight. He graduated from Union Catholic in 1990. As a junior, he enlisted in the

United States Army Reserve The United States Army Reserve (USAR) is a Military reserve force, reserve force of the United States Army. Together, the Army Reserve and the Army National Guard constitute the Army element of the reserve components of the United States Armed F ...

as a

military police Military police (MP) are law enforcement agencies connected with, or part of, the military of a state. In wartime operations, the military police may support the main fighting force with force protection, convoy security, screening, rear recon ...

officer. After graduating high school, he served in the

Gulf War The Gulf War was a 1990–1991 armed campaign waged by a 35-country military coalition in response to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. Spearheaded by the United States, the coalition's efforts against Iraq were carried out in two key phases: ...

and was stationed in

Panama Panama ( , ; es, link=no, Panamá ), officially the Republic of Panama ( es, República de Panamá), is a transcontinental country spanning the southern part of North America and the northern part of South America. It is bordered by Cos ...

. Hynes is a disabled veteran and honorably discharged. In 1996 and 1997, Hynes was a corrections officer recruit in the New Jersey Juvenile Justice Commission. He was later employed as an operations manager for Velocity Express in

Lehigh Valley The Lehigh Valley (), known colloquially as The Valley, is a geographic region formed by the Lehigh River in Lehigh County and Northampton County in eastern Pennsylvania. It is a component valley of the Great Appalachian Valley bound to the no ...

and a warehouse distribution supervisor for a

Coca-Cola Coca-Cola, or Coke, is a carbonated soft drink manufactured by the Coca-Cola Company. Originally marketed as a temperance drink and intended as a patent medicine, it was invented in the late 19th century by John Stith Pemberton in Atlanta ...

bottling plant in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

Business

Hynes, who has a degree in business administration, became a

real estate Real estate is property consisting of land and the buildings on it, along with its natural resources such as crops, minerals or water; immovable property of this nature; an interest vested in this (also) an item of real property, (more general ...

agent in 2002, and had holdings in Arizona and Colorado. He founded 101st Holdings LLC and held two commercial properties before its closure due to the

Great Recession The Great Recession was a period of marked general decline, i.e. a recession, observed in national economies globally that occurred from late 2007 into 2009. The scale and timing of the recession varied from country to country (see map). At ...

. Other

limited liability companies A limited liability company (LLC for short) is the US-specific form of a private limited company. It is a business structure that can combine the pass-through taxation of a partnership or sole proprietorship with the limited liability of a ...

formed included ADS Builders East, Inner City Investments, BKS Investments, and BKS Technologies. In 2011, Hynes founded Think Loud Development, an urban development firm aimed at economically struggling areas in Pennsylvania, alongside members of the rock band

Live Live may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Live!'' (2007 film), 2007 American film * ''Live'' (2014 film), a 2014 Japanese film *'' ''Live'' (Apocalyptica DVD) Music *Live (band), American alternative rock band * List of albums ...

. The group also formed telecommunications company United Fiber & Data (UFD) in 2012. Live departed Think Loud in 2015. In 2019, UFD constructed a 340-mile

fiber-optic cable A fiber-optic cable, also known as an optical-fiber cable, is an assembly similar to an electrical cable, but containing one or more optical fibers that are used to carry light. The optical fiber elements are typically individually coated with ...

from

Ashburn, Virginia Ashburn is a census-designated place (CDP) in Loudoun County, Virginia, United States. At the 2010 United States Census, its population was 43,511, up from 3,393 twenty years earlier. It is northwest of Washington, D.C., and part of the Washingt ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. He resigned from his position as UFD's CEO in November 2019 following an arrest on burglary and stalking charges, though he remained on the company's board. In October 2020, UFD, Powder Mill Foundation, and Louis Appell III sued Hynes and fellow ex-CEO Chad Taylor for misusing the company's funding. The case was amicably settled in August and Hynes cleared of any wrongdoing.

Racing career

A longtime racing fan and friend of

Michael Andretti Michael Mario Andretti (born October 5, 1962) is an American semi-retired auto racing driver and current team owner. Statistically one of the most successful drivers in the history of American open-wheel car racing, Andretti won the 1991 CART P ...

, Hynes began supporting Andretti's

IndyCar Series The IndyCar Series, currently known as the NTT IndyCar Series under sponsorship, is the highest class of regional North American open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars in the United States, which has been conducted under the auspices of ...

team

Andretti Autosport Andretti Autosport is an auto racing team that competes in the IndyCar Series, Indy Lights, Indy Pro 2000, and Formula E. The team also has a 37.5% ownership stake in the Australian Supercars Championship touring car team, Walkinshaw Andretti ...

through United Fiber & Data in 2013 as an associate sponsor. UFD upgraded to a primary sponsorship on

James Hinchcliffe James Douglas Meredith Hinchcliffe (born December 5, 1986) is a Canadian race car driver and commentator best known for competing in the IndyCar Series. Hinchcliffe won six races for Andretti Autosport and Schmidt Peterson Motorsports. In 2015, ...

's No. 27 car for 2014 on a one-year contract, and also sponsored the team's

Indy Lights Indy NXT, previously Indy Lights, is an American developmental automobile racing series sanctioned by IndyCar, currently known as Firestone Indy NXT Series for sponsorship reasons. Indy Lights is the highest step on the Road to Indy, a program ...

driver

Matthew Brabham Matthew Chase Brabham (born 25 February 1994) is an Australian-American racing driver. He competes full-time in Indy Lights, driving the No. 83 for Andretti Autosport. From 2015 to 2021, he was a regular in the Stadium Super Trucks, where he is a ...

. The deal ended in 2015, which the Appell lawsuit alleged was worth $11 million a year and resulted in the company having to pay $9 million to the team. UFD returned to Andretti Autosport in 2016 as sponsors for

Marco Andretti Marco Michael Andretti (born March 13, 1987) is an American auto racing driver who drives the No. 98 car for Bryan Herta Autosport, Andretti Herta Autosport part-time in the IndyCar Series. He is the third generation of the famous Andretti racin ...

and Carlos Muñoz, and the former gained further backing the next season after original sponsor

H. H. Gregg H. H. Gregg, Inc. (stylized as hhgregg or HHgregg on their website) is an American online retailer and former retail chain of consumer electronics and home appliances in the Midwest, Northeast, and Southeast United States, that operated stores in ...

was on the verge of bankruptcy. In 2014, he began racing in the

Honda Indy Toronto The Grand Prix of Toronto (known for sponsorship reasons as the Honda Indy Toronto) is an annual Indy Car race, held in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Originally known as the Molson Indy Toronto, it was part of the Champ Car World Series from 1986 t ...

. After finishing seventh in his debut, he retired from the weekend's second race after four laps with a mechanical problem. UFD sponsored his truck, and the Team UFD Racing banner was formed to support multiple trucks over the following seasons including series champions Brabham and Paul Morris, SST's first female driver

Sara Price Sara Price (born September 2, 1992) is an American racing driver, having competed in motocross, rallying, the X Games, Stadium Super Trucks and Extreme E. She currently races in Extreme E for Chip Ganassi Racing. Price has won 17 national motocr ...

, and SST race winners

Arie Luyendyk Jr. Arie Luyendyk Jr. (; ; born September 18, 1981) is a Dutch-American auto racing driver, television personality, and son of two-time Indianapolis 500 winner Arie Luyendyk. He has competed mostly in North America where his father lives and made ...

and

E. J. Viso Ernesto José "E. J." Viso Lossada (born March 19, 1985) is a Venezuelan professional racing driver. He has raced in the 2005 and 2006 GP2 Series seasons, and has also driven the third car for Spyker MF1 Racing. In 2007 he competed in the GP2 Se ...

. UFD also sponsored SST's 2017 race weekend at

Watkins Glen International Watkins Glen International, nicknamed "The Glen", is an automobile race track located in the town of Dix just southwest of the village of Watkins Glen, New York, at the southern tip of Seneca Lake. It was long known around the world as the hom ...

, dubbing it the UFD at The Glen. Hynes recorded his first SST podium at the 2015

Valvoline Raceway Sydney Speedway (known commercially as Valvoline Raceway and formerly as Parramatta Speedway, and often referenced as Sydney Speedway I to differentiate with its successor) was a dirt track racing venue on the site of the Granville Showgrounds ...

round in Australia, where he started on the pole and finished third. In 2016, Hynes joined the newly formed EXR Racing Series, a

supercar A supercar – also called exotic car – is a loosely defined description of street-legal, high-performance sports cars. Since the 2010s, the term hypercar has come into use for the highest performing supercars. Supercars commonly serve as t ...

spec racing championship. He ran as high as second in points and finished fourth. The following year, EXR's endurance racing program debuted its Mitjet EXR LV02 car at the 25 Hours of Thunderhill, where Hynes was one of the five drivers and also worked as crew chief. In August, Hynes, Brabham, and

Alexandre Prémat Alexandre Prémat (born 5 November 1982) is a French racing driver. He won the Pirtek Enduro Cup for Triple Eight Race Engineering alongside Shane van Gisbergen in 2016. He also won the 2019 Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000 with Scott McLaughlin, d ...

won the EXR class at the

Utah Motorsports Campus Utah Motorsports Campus is a race track facility located in Grantsville near Tooele, Utah, United States. It operated under the name of Miller Motorsports Park from 2006 until October 2015. The course has hosted auto, motorcycle, bicycle and kar ...

6 Hour Enduro. At the 2017

Clipsal 500 The Adelaide 500 (also known as the VALO Adelaide 500 for sponsorship reasons) is an annual motor racing event for Supercars held on the streets of the east end of Adelaide, South Australia between 1999 to 2020 and again from 2022. It is sometim ...

weekend, Hynes ran the SST races in addition to making his

Aussie Racing Cars Aussie Racing Cars (ARC) is an Australian motor racing category. ARC is a motorcycle powered silhouette racing car class created by former touring car racer Phil Ward and influenced by the American Legends category. Aussie Racing Cars was deve ...

debut. Later in the year at

Barbagallo Raceway Wanneroo Raceway, currently known as CARCO.com.au Raceway for naming rights reasons, is a motorsport circuit located in Neerabup, approximately north of Perth in Western Australia. It was built by the WA Sporting Car Club. The circuit was ...

, he yielded his Aussie Racing Car to fellow SST drivers

Sheldon Creed Sheldon M. Creed (born September 30, 1997) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, driving the No. 2 Chevrolet Camaro for Richard Childress Racing. He is a member of Drivers Edge Dev ...

and

Robby Gordon Robert Wesley Gordon (born January 2, 1969) is an American auto racing driver. He has raced in NASCAR, CART, the IndyCar Series, the Trans-Am Series, IMSA, IROC and the Dakar Rally. He is active in top-tier off road motorsports such as BITD, NO ...

as he wanted to focus on SST. Hynes won his first career SST race in the 2018 season opener at

Lake Elsinore Diamond Lake Elsinore Diamond, also referred to as Storm Stadium, is a baseball park in Lake Elsinore, California. It is primarily used for baseball and is the home field of the Lake Elsinore Storm minor league baseball team in the California League. Th ...

. He initially finished ninth, but video review found that Hynes had taken his mandatory Joker Lap prior to the final lap while many of the leaders waited until said lap, which was not allowed, due to a miscommunication with race officials. Consequently, many of the leaders were bumped down the running order while Hynes was promoted to first place, which he shared with the original winner Apdaly Lopez. He scored his third podium over a year later in the final race of the

Gold Coast 600 The Gold Coast 500 (formally known as the Boost Mobile Gold Coast 500) is an annual motor racing event for Supercars, held at the Surfers Paradise Street Circuit in Surfers Paradise, Queensland, Australia. The event has been a regular part o ...

round. 2022 saw Hynes' best statistical season to date as he finished fourth in points with two podiums at Mid-Ohio and Bristol.

Personal life

Hynes lives in

Nazareth, Pennsylvania Nazareth is a borough in Northampton County, Pennsylvania. The borough's population was 6,053 at the 2020 census. Nazareth is part of the Lehigh Valley metropolitan area, which had a population of 861,899 and was the 68th most populous metropoli ...

. He appeared in a season 14 episode of ''

The Celebrity Apprentice ''The Celebrity Apprentice'' is an American television reality competition series. It was a variation of ''The Apprentice'' series, hosted by then real estate developer (later 45th president of the United States) Donald Trump from 2008 to 2015, an ...

'' in 2015. In June 2020, he launched the ''ThrillCast'' podcast alongside Meg Jones. ''ThrillCast'' has sponsored his stadium truck.

Motorsports career results

Stadium Super Trucks

(

key Key or The Key may refer to: Common meanings * Key (cryptography), a piece of information that controls the operation of a cryptography algorithm * Key (lock), device used to control access to places or facilities restricted by a lock * Key (map ...

) (Bold – Pole position. ''Italics'' – Fastest qualifier. * – Most laps led.) The race was abandoned after

Matt Mingay Matt Mingay (born 20 March 1977) is an Australian stunt performer and racing driver. A veteran of the Stadium Super Trucks since 2015, he competes in the series' Australian counterpart Boost Mobile Super Trucks. In 2016, he suffered serious inj ...

suffered serious injuries in a crash on lap three.
Davey Hamilton Jr. led the most laps, but his disqualification resulted in Hynes receiving the bonus points.
Standings were not recorded by the series for the 2020 season.

References

External links

''ThrillCast''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hynes, Bill 1972 births Living people American military police officers Businesspeople from Pennsylvania Sportspeople from New Brunswick, New Jersey Stadium Super Trucks drivers Union Catholic Regional High School alumni United States Army reservists X Games athletes