|
Here are some of the people working behind the scenes to put the SunTrust Racing Team out in front. Check back to meet other team members in future updates.
Adam Banet
Shop Duties: Front-Tire Changer
Date of Birth: 7/15
Place of Birth: New Albany, Ind.
Hometown: Floyd Knobs, Ind.
Current Residence: Indianapolis
Marital Status: Single
Children: None
Joined Wayne Taylor Racing in January 2008 . . . Was radio technician and support engineer at Target Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates IRL IndyCar Series team during the 2007 season . . . Attended the Jim Russell School mechanic training curriculum at Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, Calif., during the 2006 season . . . Prior to pursuing a career in racing, was a design engineer with General Electric Appliances in Louisville, Ky., from 2002 to 2006 . . . Earned undergrad and master's degrees in mechanical engineering at Purdue University prior to working full-time at GE.
Chris Bennett
Shop Duties: Gearbox and Sub -Assembly Mechanic
Pit Stop Duties: Deadman
Date of Birth: 11/21
Place of Birth: Indianapolis, Ind.
Hometown: Indianapolis, Ind.
Current Residence: Avon, Ind.
Marital Status: Single
Children: None
Joined Wayne Taylor Racing in December 2010 as a gearbox and sub-assembly mechanic . . . Came to the team after working the 2010 IndyCar Series season as a mechanic with KV Racing Technologies and driver Mario Morais . . . Worked as a mechanic with the Dreyer & Reinbold IndyCar Series team in 2009, and with Vision Racing and driver A.J. Foyt IV during the 2007 and 2008 IndyCar Series seasons . . . Began his professional racing career in January 2006 with Cheever Racing as a mechanic on its IndyCar Series, Firestone Indy Lights and GRAND-AM Rolex Sports Car Series teams . . . Personally races his family owned Dirt Superstock racecars at Lincoln Park Speedway in Putnamville, Ind. . . . Also builds street rods and custom cars.
Daniel Dunn
Shop Duties: Bodywork Manager
Pit Stop Duties: Fire Bottle
Date of Birth: 3/8
Place of Birth: Rochester, Minn.
Hometown: Mount Prospect, Ill.
Current Residence: Indianapolis, Ind.
Marital Status: Married to Stephanie
Joined Wayne Taylor Racing in March, 2010 . . . Was lead mechanic for Palm Beach International Raceway team and driver Richard Phillippe in the Indy Lights Series in 2009 . . . In 2007 and 2008, worked for Michael Crawford Motorsports in the Indy Lights Series . . . In 2006, was second mechanic with Walker Racing in the Formula Atlantic Series, where Simon Pagenaud won the series championship . . . Started racing career in 2004-2005 as a mechanic for the Skip Barber Racing School National Series based in Elkhart Lake, Wis., and Sebring, Fla . . . Was a Mercedes-Benz technician prior to starting his racing career . . . enjoys racing go-karts and playing hockey in his spare time.
Michelle Gibson
Shop Duties: Accounting/Office Manager
Date of Birth: 2/2
Place of Birth: Indianapolis, Ind.
Hometown: Indianapolis, Ind.
Current Residence: Brownsburg, Ind.
Marital Status: Married to Andrew
Children: Jayden
Joined Wayne Taylor Racing in January of 2008 . . . Most recent previous employment was as a staff accountant at Hat World from 2005 to 2008 . . . Enjoys spending time with family, reading, working with stained glass, and likes to spend time outdoors.
Dan Helman
Shop Duties: Chief Financial Officer
Pit Stop Duties: Fueler
Date of Birth: 5/31
Place of Birth: Warsaw, Ind.
Hometown: Orlando, Fla.
Current Residence: Orlando, Fla.
Marital Status: Married to Barbara
Children: Dana, Newt and Stacy
Joined Wayne Taylor Racing when it formed in fall 2006 . . . Dan is Wayne Taylor's longtime accountant and has joined Wayne's racing efforts during event weekends as his fueler . . . Worked his first Rolex 24 At Daytona in 1981 with a Porsche 914-6 team . . . While still holding down his full-time job as a CPA/Accountant, Helman continued to work when possible on other projects such as Rolex 24 At Daytona, 12 Hours of Sebring, IMSA GTP Lights, Buick Tiga, Camaro GTO, Porsche 911 and Cadillac LMP900 sports car racing programs.
Simon Hodgson
Shop Duties: General Manager
Pit Stop Duties: Logistics/Strategy
Date of Birth: 11/18
Place of Birth: Scarborough, North Yorkshire, England
Hometown: Indianapolis, Ind.
Current Residence: Indianapolis, Ind.
Marital Status: Married to Madoka
Children: James
Joined Wayne Taylor Racing in January 2007. . .Came from Super Aguri Fernandez Racing Team Manager post in the Indy Racing League. . .Held various positions, including Lead Mechanic, Chief Mechanic, and Team Manager with Ganassi Racing efforts in Champ Car, the Indy Racing League, the Grand American Rolex Series, and NASCAR. . .Was Lead Mechanic on Alex Zanardi's Champ Car championship effort while at Ganassi, then Chief Mechanic during Juan Montoya's Champ Car title-winning season. . .Began racing career working with Team Lotus, McLaren, Lotus Engineering and G-Force.
Sean Hopper
Shop Duties: Team Transport Driver/Tires
Pit Stop Duties: Back-Up Tire Changer
Date of Birth: 3/20
Place of Birth: Detroit, Mich.
Hometown: Noblesville, Ind.
Current Residence: Fishers, Ind.
Marital Status: Married to Noelle
Children: Ethan
Joined Wayne Taylor Racing in December 2010 as team transport driver after leaving Dreyer & Reinbold Racing in the IZOD IndyCar Series. Began racing career assisting various friends with their kart-racing efforts. In 2003, joined Cheever Racing with drivers Buddy Rice and Alex Barron as transport driver and fueler. In 2006, joined Vision Racing with driver Ed Carpenter. Moved with Carpenter to Dreyer & Reinbold for the 2010 season. Attended Ball State University after high school to pursue a career in criminal justice. His father was a private investigator. Enjoys spending time with family and fishing when not at the racetrack.
Travis Houge
Shop Duties: Crew Chief (Overall Car Preparation)
Pit Stop Duties: Front Tire Changer/Oversees Mechanical Adjustments, Issues
Date of Birth: 6/22
Place of Birth: Fairmont, Minn.
Hometown: Dolliver, Iowa
Current Residence: Avon, Ind.
Marital Status: Married to Katie
Children: Easton
Joined Wayne Taylor Racing when it formed in fall 2006 . . . Worked with Target Chip Ganassi Racing's Grand-Am program in 2005 as a fabricator and front-end assembly specialist along with being one of the team's tire changers . . . Worked two years in the NHRA for Don Prudhomme Racing as a Pit Crew Mechanic, which included building and maintaining top fuel engines and driving the car hauler to and from each event.
Paul Low
Pit Stop Duties: Stop Sign
Date of Birth: 1/4
Place of Birth: Stanton, Texas
Hometown: Midland, Texas
Current Residence: Midland, Texas
Marital Status: Married to JoAnna
Children: Elizabeth, Lauren, Audrey
Joined SunTrust racing as engine calibrator and track support specialist in January 2006 . . . From 2003 thorugh 2005 seasons, served in the same capacity for Chevrolet in the IndyCar Series . . . Started a summer job in high school with VDS Engines in 1988 and rose through the ranks at the company, which built engines for Mercedes-Benz in the Champ Car World Series (a.k.a. CART) through 1998 and then for General Motors' Oldsmobile brand in the IndyCar Series from 1999 through 2002 . . . Graduated from Midland (Texas) College, where he majored in Aviation Mechanics . . . Daughter Elizabeth is a rising star in the Junior Dragster circuit and was track champion at Thunder Raceway in Midland, Texas in 2009 . . . Dad Ronnie Low manages the Chaparral vintage IndyCar collection.
Bill Mullen
Shop Duties: Lead Mechanic
Pit Stop Duties: Driver Assist
Date of Birth: 12/28
Place of Birth: Hamilton, Ohio
Hometown: Hamilton, Ohio
Current Residence: Fairland, Ind.
Marital Status: Married to Laura
Children: Sean and Tess
Joined Wayne Taylor Racing when it formed in fall 2006 after spending over 20 years as a racing mechanic and crew chief. . . Joined Riley Technologies in 1995 and assembled all 30 Daytona Prototype cars through the 2006 season. . . Worked with SunTrust Racing team as crew support for the team's endurance races from 2004-2006. . . Served as crew chief for the MKIIIC program from 2002-2003, Cadillac team in 2000, Reebok Indy Racing League program in 1998, Corvette American Le Mans program in 1999 and with Danka/Wayne Taylor WSC team in 1996-1997. . . Worked with Derrick Walker's CART team.
Brian Pillar
Shop Duties: Race Engineer
Pit Stop Duties: Rear-Tire Assist
Date of Birth: 11/27
Place of Birth: Barrie, Ontario, Canada
Hometown: Aliston, Ontario, Canada
Current Residence: Indianapolis
Marital Status: Married to Stacie
Children: Mason
Joined Wayne Taylor Racing December 2007. . .Engineer for RealTime Racing and drivers Peter Cunningham and Pierre Kleinubing in the SCCA Speed World Challenge series from 2004 to 2007. Won the driver and manufacturers championships in 2005 and 2006. . .Engineer and crew chief for Techmark team in the SCCA World Challenge in 2003. . .Worked with Hyundai Motorsports in the Grand-Am Cup Series in 2001 and 2002. Drivers included Nic Jonsson. . .Began racing career with the Basi Motorsport school near Montreal in 2000. . .Designed Formula SAE race cars while working on mechanical engineering degree at Queens University in Kingston, Ontario, Canada.
|
An Equal Housing Lender - Member FDIC