Harry Gottsacker (born July 28, 1999) is an American racing driver who currently competes for

Bryan Herta Autosport Bryan Herta Autosport is an American auto racing team that competes in the IndyCar Series and the Michelin Pilot Challenge. It is owned by former IndyCar driver Bryan Herta. The team won the 2011 Indianapolis 500 with driver Dan Wheldon. In 2016 ...

in the TCR class of the

Michelin Pilot Challenge The Michelin Pilot Challenge is a grand touring and touring car racing series run by the International Motor Sports Association. Originating from the Canadian Motorola Cup, the series was taken over by Grand-Am in 2001 to become the Grand-Am Cu ...

Career

Early career

Gottsacker was introduced to motorsports through his grandfather, who brought him to

drag racing Drag racing is a type of motor racing in which automobiles or motorcycles compete, usually two at a time, to be first to cross a set finish line. The race follows a short, straight course from a standing start over a measured distance, most c ...

events when Gottsacker was young. Gottsacker began racing himself through

karting 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 f ...

at age 13, competing in a wealth of SKUSA-sanctioned championships. At 14, he was selected to represent the United States at the

KZ2 KZ2 is a kart racing class using 125 cc water-cooled two-stroke engines yielding about . The engines are equipped with a 6-speed gearbox. Z2 is the second fastest of the KZ karting racing categories, and technical regulations are similar to faster ...

World Championship. Despite graduating from full-time karting at the end of 2017, Gottsacker continues to compete to maintain sharpness during the winter offseason.

Rallycross

For 2016, Gottsacker embarked upon a part-time campaign in the

Global Rallycross The TitansRX International Series (formerly known as Red Bull Global Rallycross or Global Rallycross) is a group of rallycross series, currently organised by racing driver Max Pucher and businessman Chip Pankow. The initial series was series ru ...

Championship, driving in the GRC Lites class for PMG Rallysport. In his rookie season, he registered five starts and a best finish of 5th, at both the

Fair Park Fair Park is a recreational and educational complex in Dallas, Texas, United States, located immediately east of downtown. The area is registered as a Dallas Landmark and National Historic Landmark; many of the buildings were constructed for th ...

and

Marine Corps Air Station New River Marine Corps Air Station New River is a United States Marine Corps helicopter and tilt-rotor base in Jacksonville, North Carolina, in the eastern part of the state. In 1972, the airfield was named McCutcheon Field for General Keith B. McCutcheon ...

events. Gottsacker ended the season 13th in the points classification, level on points with teammate

Parker Chase Parker B. Chase (born February 22, 2001) is an American professional racing driver who competes full-time in the International Motor Sports Association (IMSA) Michelin Pilot Challenge and driving the No. 98 Hyundai Veloster N TCR for Bryan Herta ...

Sports car racing

Alongside his Rallycross debut, Gottsacker completed a half-season with Performance Motorsports Group in the

Pirelli World Challenge The GT World Challenge America is a North American auto racing series launched in 1990 by the Sports Car Club of America. It has been managed by the Stephane Ratel Organisation since 2018, and has been sanctioned by the United States Auto Club s ...

for 2016. Driving a Ginetta G55 GT4, he finished a season-best fifth place at

Laguna Seca Laguna Seca may refer to: * Laguna Seca Formation, a geologic formation in California * Laguna Seca (Mexico), see Convention of London * Laguna Seca (Santa Clara County), a seasonal lake in California * Laguna Seca, Texas, United States * Rancho La ...

, finishing 13th in the GTS classification. Gottsacker expanded his relationship with

Ginetta Ginetta Cars Limited is a British specialist builder of racing and sports cars based in Garforth, Leeds, West Yorkshire. History 20th century Ginetta was founded in 1958 by four Walklett brothers (Bob, Ivor, Trevers and Douglas) in Woodbridge, ...

the following season, joining the marque's Young Driver Development Program for 2017. The first class, which included Gottsacker and fellow American driver Parker Chase, made up the backbone of

Century Motorsport Century Motorsport is a professional motor racing team based in Fenny Compton, Warwickshire, in the United Kingdom. They currently participate in the Ginetta GT4 Supercup, the British GT Championship, the Ginetta GT5 Challenge Championship, G ...

's factory-backed Ginetta GT3 entry into the

2017 British GT Championship The 2017 British GT Championship was the 25th British GT Championship, a sports car championship promoted by the Stéphane Ratel Organisation (SRO). The season began on 15 April at Oulton Park Oulton Park is a hard surfaced track used for moto ...

. Joining team boss

Nathan Freke Nathan Freke (born 8 September 1983) is a racing driver. He was the 2006 British Formula Ford Champion. Freke has held four British Kart Racing Championship Titles and in 2005 became the only driver ever to win an FIA/CIK Superkart Race in a Div ...

, Gottsacker would only compete in the first three rounds of the campaign, taking the Silver class victory in the opening round at

Oulton Park Oulton Park is a hard surfaced track used for motor racing, close to the village of Little Budworth, Cheshire, England. It is about from Winsford, from Chester city centre, from Northwich and from Warrington, with a nearby rail connection a ...

. Shortly before the round at

Snetterton Snetterton is a village and civil parish in Norfolk, England. The village is about east-northeast of Thetford and southwest of Norwich. The civil parish has an area of . The United Kingdom Census 2011, 2011 Census recorded a parish population o ...

, Chase and Gottsacker both withdrew from the program, citing a desire to pursue other motorsport ventures. Following his short tenure in British GT, Gottsacker began an additional part-time campaign in the Pirelli World Challenge, returning to Performance Motorsports Group. Entered into the GTSA class for the opening round at

St. Pete St. Petersburg is a city in Pinellas County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 258,308, making it the fifth-most populous city in Florida and the second-largest city in the Tampa Bay Area, after Tampa. It is the ...

, he scored the class victory in the second race of the weekend. In subsequent appearances in 2017, he was classified as a Pro driver, only eligible for the GTS class championship at large. Gottsacker returned to the championship at

Road America Road America is a motorsport road course located near Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin, United States on Wisconsin Highway 67. It has hosted races since the 1950s and currently hosts races in the NASCAR Cup and Xfinity Series, WeatherTech SportsCar Champ ...

, taking his first overall GTS podium at

Mid-Ohio Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course is a road course auto racing facility located in Troy Township, Morrow County, Ohio, United States, just outside the village of Lexington. Mid-Ohio has also colloquially become a term for the entire north-central regio ...

the following month. In May of that year, Gottsacker made his debut in the

IMSA SportsCar Championship The IMSA SportsCar Championship, currently known as the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship under sponsorship, is a sports car racing series based in the United States and Canada and organized by the International Motor Sports Association (IMS ...

, pairing with Chase in a TRG-entered Porsche 911 GT3 R in the GTD class. For 2018, Gottsacker stepped up to a full-time drive in the Pirelli World Challenge, joining Racers Edge Motorsports. The move was accompanied by a change in manufacturer, with Gottsacker piloting a GT4-homologated

SIN R1 The SIN R1 is a sports car made by Bulgarian manufacturers SIN Cars. The R1 features an FIA certified tube frame construction, carbon fiber body and an active rear spoiler. It came with 3 different engine choices – LS3 (6.2 liter N/A V8), LS7 L ...

, once again in the GTS class. He scored his first podium of the season at COTA in March, beginning his SprintX campaign on a high note. After a difficult round at

VIR Vir (; it, Puntadura, Dalmatian: ''Punta de Ura'') is an island on the Croatian coast of the Adriatic Sea with an area of 22 km2. It lies in Dalmatia, north of the city of Zadar. It is connected to the mainland via a road bridge. The mai ...

and a pair of strong finishes at Lime Rock, Gottsacker would score his first GTS victory at

Portland Portland most commonly refers to: * Portland, Oregon, the largest city in the state of Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States * Portland, Maine, the largest city in the state of Maine, in the New England region of the northeas ...

. After taking pole for the first race of the weekend, he would win race two, holding a nine-second gap over the second-placed

Panoz Avezzano The Panoz Avezzano is an American front-engine, rear-drive, V8-powered sports car manufactured in Georgia by Panoz, LLC. Intended for sale both as a road car and as a homologated racing vehicle, the racing-configured Avezzano GT4 was first entere ...

of Ian James and Matt Keegan. Gottsacker added another victory in the final round of the season at

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 ...

, but would miss out on the GTS class title by three points to

James Sofronas James Sofronas (born September 9, 1968) is an American racing driver and the founder of Global Motorsports Group. Motorsports career Sofronas began his racing career in the early 1990s, purchasing a Nissan NX 2000 which was eligible for the SC ...

and Alex Welch. To close his 2018 campaign, Gottsacker joined

Extreme Speed Motorsports Extreme Speed Motorsports was an American auto racing team based out of Riviera Beach, Florida. Founded by Scott Sharp and Patrón CEO Ed Brown, the team competed in the FIA World Endurance Championship, Tudor United SportsCar Championship, an ...

in the

IMSA Prototype Challenge IMSA Prototype Challenge (formerly IMSA Prototype Lites) is a racing series featuring two classes of single-seat prototype cars racing simultaneously. The series is sanctioned by the International Motor Sports Association (IMSA). Most races are ...

, finishing fourth in a one-off appearance at

Road Atlanta Road Atlanta (known for sponsorship reasons as Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta) is a road course located just north of Braselton, Georgia, United States. The facility is utilized for a wide variety of events, including professional and amateur spo ...

alongside co-driver Max Hanratty. 2019 saw Gottsacker swap manufacturers once again, joining ST Racing's BMW entry into the new

GT4 America Series The GT4 America Series is a sports car racing series based in the United States. In 2019, the series was relaunched with the explicit GT4 title, following the alignment in 2017 of the Pirelli World Challenge series "GTS" class with SRO GT4, and t ...

following the dissolution of the Pirelli World Challenge at the end of 2018. He and co-driver Jon Miller competed in the West Pro-Am sub-classification, taking the title at year's end after winning six of the ten races on the schedule. Sweeping the weekends at COTA and

Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...

, alongside one each at Laguna Seca and Portland, the duo claimed the title by a sizable 68 points over the sister BMW of Samantha Tan and Jason Wolfe. The following season, Gottsacker paired with Nick Wittmer, entering the championship's Silver Cup class. The duo collected four race victories, with two class wins at COTA and one each at VIR and

, en route to a second-place points finish. The championship came down to the final race of the season, with Gottsacker and Wittmer falling six points short of champions

Jarett Andretti Jarett Andretti (born December 13, 1992) is an American racing driver from Charlotte, North Carolina. He is the son of IndyCar and NASCAR driver John Andretti, and the grandson of Aldo Andretti, the brother of Mario Andretti. Racing career Andre ...

and Colin Mullan. Gottsacker returned to a reduced GT4 schedule in 2021, making only a one-off appearance for ST Racing at Road America. Joining fellow Hyundai TCR driver Tyler Maxson, the duo rebounded from a difficult first race to take the Silver Cup victory in the second race of the weekend. 2022 saw Gottsacker continue his relationship with the team, joining the team's customer debut of the BMW M4 GT3 at the

24 Hours of Dubai The Dubai 24 Hour Race is both a sports car and touring car automobile endurance race held annually at the Dubai Autodrome. It was inaugurated in 2006. Entrants and participants As with all races in the 24H Series, promoted by Dutch promoter C ...

. Later that year, Gottsacker took part in the

24 Hours of Spa The 24 Hours of Spa is an endurance racing event for cars held annually since 1924 at the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, Stavelot, Belgium. It is currently sponsored by TotalEnergies. History The Spa 24 Hours was conceived by Jules de Their a ...

and Indianapolis 8 Hours with the team, winning the Silver class in the latter as the only entrant. In early 2022, Gottsacker made his debut at the

12 Hours of Sebring The 12 Hours of Sebring is an annual motorsport endurance race for sports cars held at Sebring International Raceway, on the site of the former Hendricks Army Airfield World War II air base in Sebring, Florida, US. The event is the second round ...

, joining

Mühlner Motorsport Mühlner Motorsport is a Belgian auto racing team competing in the FIA GT1 World Championship.

as a late replacement for Moritz Kranz. Driving alongside Alec Udell and

Ugo de Wilde Ugo de Wilde (born 20 November 2002) is a Belgian racing driver. He currently races in the European Le Mans Series with Inter Europol Competition. Career Karting Born and raised in Brussels, De Wilde started his karting career in 2011. He compet ...

, the team finished ninth in the

LMP3 A Le Mans Prototype (LMP) is the type of sports prototype race car used in the 24 Hours of Le Mans, FIA World Endurance Championship, IMSA SportsCar Championship, European Le Mans Series and Asian Le Mans Series. Le Mans Prototypes were create ...

class following an accident.

TCR

To begin 2019, Gottsacker was contracted to drive the new-for-2019 Hyundai Veloster N TCR, serving as one of Hyundai's North America-based factory drivers for the 2019 Michelin Pilot Challenge season. Paired with

Mason Filippi Mason Filippi (born April 23, 1998) is an American auto racing driver who competes in the TCR class of the Michelin Pilot Challenge for Bryan Herta Autosport. He previously raced for Bryan Herta Autosport, finishing the Michelin Pilot Challenge i ...

, the two scored three podiums and one race victory in 2019, finishing second in the championship; 23 points adrift of the sister entry. Said victory came in dramatic fashion, after a drive-time penalty dropped the race-winning HART entry to the back of the TCR classification, elevating Filippi and Gottsacker to the race victory. Gottsacker returned to the team in 2020, paired with new co-driver Mark Wilkins. Gottsacker would match his second-place result from 2019, taking two victories and four total podiums. The duo swept the two rounds at Sebring, falling 11 points short of the sister No. 33 entry of

Gabby Chaves Gabriel "Gabby" Chaves (born 7 July 1993) is a Colombian-American racing driver, currently competing in the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship and the Michelin Pilot Challenge. He raced in the IndyCar Series and is the 2014 Indy Lights Champion. ...

and

Ryan Norman Ryan Norman (born March 19, 1998 in Aurora, Ohio) is an American racing driver. Norman is a former motocross rider and is currently competing in the Michelin Pilot Challenge, driving for Bryan Herta Autosport and won the 2020 IMSA TCR Championshi ...

. The following season saw Hyundai debut the Elantra N TCR, with Gottsacker continuing to pair with Wilkins, this time behind the wheel of

's No. 33 entry. The two claimed their only victory of the season at Laguna Seca, finishing fifth in the championship. Gottsacker returned to the team in 2022, this time in the team's No. 98 entry alongside long-time teammate Parker Chase. The two scored their first victory of the season at Mid-Ohio in May, registering two total podiums en route to a fifth-place finish in the class championship.

Personal life

Gottsacker is an avid

fisher Fisher is an archaic term for a fisherman, revived as gender-neutral. Fisher, Fishers or The Fisher may also refer to: Places Australia *Division of Fisher, an electoral district in the Australian House of Representatives, in Queensland *Elect ...

, and received his

Eagle Scout Eagle Scout is the highest achievement or rank attainable in the Scouts BSA program of the Boy Scouts of America (BSA). Since its inception in 1911, only four percent of Scouts have earned this rank after a lengthy review process. The Eagle Sc ...

certification while in high school.

Racing record

Career summary

^* Season still in progress.

Complete IMSA SportsCar Championship results

(

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 ...

) (Races in bold indicate pole position)

References

External links

Harry Gottsacker
at Motorsport.com {{s-end 1999 births Living people American racing drivers Global RallyCross Championship drivers British GT Championship drivers WeatherTech SportsCar Championship drivers 12 Hours of Sebring drivers 24H Series drivers Bryan Herta Autosport drivers Extreme Speed Motorsports drivers Michelin Pilot Challenge drivers