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 in the NASCAR Whelen Euro Series. He previously competed full-time in the NASCAR Whelen Euro Series, 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 trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...

. 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. He moved on to Belcar, 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 for the Paul Belmondo 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 layou ...

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 racing, sports car race held annually near the town of Le Mans, France. It is the world's oldest active Endurance racing (motorsport), endurance r ...

. In 2014, he competed in the NASCAR Whelen Euro Series for the PK Carsport team, driving a Holden VF Commodore. He won one race in the championship, and ended the season in first place, one point ahead of defending champion Ander Vilariño. 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

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Road To Daytona program, he announced his intentions to compete in the Xfinity Series, running three races at Iowa Speedway,

Phoenix International Raceway Phoenix Raceway is a 1-mile, low-banked tri-oval race track located in Avondale, Arizona, near Phoenix. The motorsport track opened in 1964 and currently hosts two NASCAR race weekends annually including the final championship race since 2020. P ...

and Homestead-Miami Speedway. In 2016, he announced that he would run the Xfinity Series 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 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 ...

, driving the No. 46 Chevy for PPM. Kumpen was also in discussions with Rick Ware Racing to make his

Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series The NASCAR Cup Series is the top racing series of the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR). The series began in 1949 as the Strictly Stock Division, and from 1950 to 1970 it was known as the Grand National Division. In 1971, ...

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 Limburg, and founder of PK Carsport. Paul Kumpen owned 50% of the shares of

Ridley Bikes Ridley Bikes was started in 1997 by Jochim Aerts, a frame builder and painter who had been producing frames for Belgian bicycle companies since 1990. In a few years, Ridley became the market leader in Belgium for racing bikes. They are the main bi ...

, 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 Hasselt (, , ; la, Hasseletum, Hasselatum) is a Belgian city and municipality, and capital and largest city of the province of Limburg in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is known for its former branding as "the city of taste", as well as its ...

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 Max Emilian Verstappen (; born 30 September 1997) is a Belgian-Dutch Auto racing, racing driver and the 2021 Formula One World Championship, 2021 and 2022 Formula One World Championship, 2022 Formula One World Champion. He Formula One drivers ...

. In 2010, Kumpen participated in ''Sterren op de Dansvloer'' (the Belgian version of ''

Dancing with the Stars ''Dancing with the Stars'' is the name of various international television series based on the format of the British TV series '' Strictly Come Dancing'', which is distributed by BBC Studios, the commercial arm of the BBC. Currently the forma ...

'') 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 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 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