Sean Guthrie (born April 18, 1988) is an American racing driver from Albuquerque, New Mexico. The son of former

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 o ...

driver Jim Guthrie, he is a former

Firestone 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 progra ...

driver and currently competes part-time in the

NASCAR The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. The privately owned company was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1948, and ...

K&N Pro Series West The ARCA Menards Series West, formerly the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West, NASCAR AutoZone West Series, NASCAR Winston West Series and NASCAR Camping World West Series, is a regional stock car racing series owned and operated by the Automobile Racin ...

Career

Guthrie began his karting career at the age of eight. He won an IKF championship in 2002 and the SKUSA Long Track Nationals in 2003 and moved up to cars in

SCCA The Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) is a non-profit American automobile club and sanctioning body supporting road racing, rallying, and autocross in the United States. Formed in 1944, it runs many programs for both amateur and professional ...

Formula Ford Formula Ford, also known as F1600 and Formula F, is an entry-level class of single seater, open-wheel formula racing. The various championships held across the world form an important step for many prospective Formula One drivers. Formula For ...

in 2004. In 2005 he moved up to the Star Mazda Series and finished 14th in points in a season beset by mechanical problems. The team, owned by his father, decided to move up to the

Indy Pro Series 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 ...

in 2006, but Sean was forced to miss the first three races of the season as he was not yet the league-mandated 18 years old. He competed in 5 races with a best finish of 5th at Kentucky Speedway.Sean Guthrie
, ChampCarStats.com The team returned for 2007 for a full season. After crashing out of the first three races of the season, the team regrouped and finished the

Freedom 100 The Freedom 100 was an automobile race held annually at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana, as part of the Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires. The event was a support race for the IndyCar Series Indianapolis 500, and since 2 ...

and Sean registered a career-best 4th-place finish at the

Milwaukee Mile The Milwaukee Mile is a oval race track in the central United States, located on the grounds of the Wisconsin State Fair Park in West Allis, Wisconsin, a suburb west of Milwaukee. Its grandstand and bleachers seats approximately 37,000 spectato ...

a week later. In the

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 ...

race Sean suffered a heavy crash and the team's car had to be sent back to the manufacturer

Dallara Dallara is an Italian race car manufacturer, founded by its current President, Gian Paolo Dallara. After working for Ferrari, Maserati, Lamborghini and De Tomaso, in 1972 in his native village of Varano de' Melegari (Parma), Italy he created ...

in Italy for repairs. Sean injured both his foot and knee in the accident. Sean made three starts at the end of the season for Playa Del Racing as the team ran in cooperation with Guthrie. Until his suspension in April 2009, he drove for his father's team Guthrie Racing along with teammates Alistair Jackson and

Jesse Mason Jesse Mason (born April 25, 1984 is a Canadian racecar driver from Niagara Falls, Ontario. After karting and some amateur classes in Canada, Mason competed in the British Formula Three Championship National Class for Performance Racing in 2003 ...

. Sean finished 14th in the 2007 championship and returned to the series, now called the Firestone Indy Lights Series in

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

, finishing 10th in points. In April 2009 he was suspended from the Indy Racing League after the race at

Kansas Speedway Kansas Speedway is a tri-oval race track in the Village West area near Kansas City, Kansas, United States. It was built in 2001 and it currently hosts two annual NASCAR race weekends. The IndyCar Series also held races at the venue until 20 ...

in which he was penalized for driving through an accident zone too quickly and passing a car under the yellow flag and then refused to respond to the black flag. He made his return to the Firestone Indy Lights Series on October 9, 2009 at Homestead with Andersen Racing. After participating in dirt track racing throughout 2010, Guthrie again returned to Indy Lights for the season finale at Homestead with Andersen, finishing 10th. After driving in drifting for the 2011 season, Guthrie returned to professional motorsports in 2012, driving in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West at Sandia Motor Speedway in late September, finishing 22nd and last in his debut in the series.

Indy Lights

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Guthrie, Sean Living people 1988 births Racing drivers from Albuquerque, New Mexico Indy Lights drivers Indy Pro 2000 Championship drivers NASCAR drivers Drifting drivers International Kart Federation drivers Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing drivers