Wade Cunningham

Last updated

Wade Cunningham
Nationality Flag of New Zealand.svg New Zealander
Born (1984-08-19) 19 August 1984 (age 38)
Auckland, New Zealand
Related to Mitch Cunningham (brother)
Firestone Indy Lights Series
Years active2005–2010
Teams Brian Stewart Racing
AFS Racing
Alliance Motorsports
Sam Schmidt Motorsports
Starts64
Wins8
Podiums30
Poles9
Best finish1st in 2005
Previous series
2004 Formula Ford Zetec USA
Championship titles
2001
2003
2005		 Asia-Pacific Championship
World Karting Championship
Indy Lights Series

Wade Grant Cunningham (born 19 August 1984) is a racing driver from Auckland, New Zealand who competed in the IndyCar Series from 2011 to 2012

Contents

Racing career

Indy Lights

Cunningham driving his Indy Lights car on the Streets of St. Petersburg in 2005 WadeCunningham2005.jpg
Cunningham driving his Indy Lights car on the Streets of St. Petersburg in 2005

Cunningham's professional career began when he won the Karting World Championship in 2003.

The following year he moved to the United States and competed in the Cooper Tires Formula Ford Zetec Championship in which he finished 5th after winning four consecutive poles and seven podium finishes. He won the 2005 Indy Lights Series championship in his rookie season for Brian Stewart Racing despite only winning a single race.

He continued with the team in 2006 and won 3 more races, including the Freedom 100 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway (becoming the first driver from New Zealand to do so) and placed third in championship points despite missing two races due to an emergency appendectomy. While missing out on the drivers title the team was still able to claim their second consecutive entrants championship because they were able to replace Wade with a reserve driver for those events. He narrowly missed the title by 11 points and would have easily clinched his second drivers championship had he started either of those events.

He drove in the A1 Grand Prix series as practice driver for A1 Team New Zealand in the round in Taupō, New Zealand and China. [1] He returned to the Indy Lights Series in 2007 for AGR-AFS Racing where he finished 3rd.

IndyCar Series

Cunningham (inside) racing in Indy Lights in 2008 CunninghamBattistini2008.jpg
Cunningham (inside) racing in Indy Lights in 2008

In December 2007 Cunningham tested an IndyCar Series machine for the first time at Sebring as a reward for his results with their satellite team in the Indy Lights Series, driving the Andretti Green Racing IndyCar normally driven by Marco Andretti. [2]

Wade's brother Mitch made his Firestone Indy Lights Series debut (formerly the Indy Pro Series) in 2008 for Brian Stewart Racing, the same team with whom Wade had his initial success. Wade made a handful of starts in the series in 2008, both for Brian Stewart and in the Mid-Ohio double-header for the new Alliance Motorsports team.

He signed on to return to the series full-time in 2009 driving for Sam Schmidt Motorsports. Upon joining the team, he became the first driver to win a second Freedom 100 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Cunningham won again that race in 2010 in a one-race deal for the Schmidt team, becoming the only three-time winner of the Freedom 100.

Sam Schmidt announced 11 February that Cunningham would make his Izod IndyCar Series debut in 2011 with Sam Schmidt Motorsports in a three race deal. He qualified 8th on debut at Texas Motor Speedway for the Firestone Texas Twin 275s and posted a season and career best IndyCar finish at the Indy Kentucky 300 when he finished 7th a mere 0.702 seconds from the lead.

Racing record

Complete A1 Grand Prix results

YearEntrant12345678910111213141516171819202122DCPoints
2006–07 A1 Team New Zealand NED
SPR 		NED
FEA 		CZE
SPR 		CZE
FEA 		BEI
SPR 		BEI
FEA 		MYS
SPR 		MYS
FEA 		IDN
SPR 		IDN
FEA 		NZL
SPR
PO		 NZL
FEA
PO		 AUS
SPR 		AUS
FEA 		RSA
SPR 		RSA
FEA 		MEX
SPR 		MEX
FEA 		SHA
SPR
PO		 SHA
FEA
PO		 GBR
SPR 		GBR
SPR 		2nd93

American open–wheel racing results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position)

Indy Lights

YearTeam12345678910111213141516RankPoints
2005 Brian Stewart Racing HMS
4		 PHX
3		 STP
2		 INDY
2		 TXS
2		 IMS
2		 NSH
4		 MIL
2		 KTY
2		 PPIR
5		 SNM
2		 CHI
10		 WGL
3		 FON
1		1st504
2006 Brian Stewart Racing HMS
10		 STP1 STP2 INDY
1		 WGL
2		 IMS
16		 NSH
5		 MIL
2		 KTY
3		 SNM1
1		 SNM2
4		 CHI
1		3rd379
2007 AGR-AFS Racing HMS
24		 STP1
9		 STP2
2		 INDY
23		 MIL
12		 IMS1
4		 IMS2
21		 IOW
2		 WGL1
1		 WGL2
2		 NSH
4		 MDO
2		 KTY
3		 SNM1
16		 SNM2
11		 CHI
17		3rd423
2008 Brian Stewart Racing HMS
9		 STP1 STP2 KAN
5		 INDY
3		 MIL
12		 IOW WGL1 WGL2 NSH 19th169
Alliance Motorsports MDO1
12		 MDO2
2		 KTY SNM1 SNM2
Integra Motorsports w/ CGRT CHI
24
2009 Sam Schmidt Motorsports STP1
16		 STP2
11		 LBH
20		 KAN
2		 INDY
1		 MIL
6		 IOW
2		 WGL
19		 TOR
7		 EDM
6		 KTY
1		 MDO
14		 SNM
12		 CHI
4		 HMS
6		4th416
2010 Sam Schmidt Motorsports STP ALA LBH INDY
1		 IOW WGL TOR EDM MDO SNM CHI KTY HMS
3		15th87

IndyCar Series

YearTeamChassisNo.Engine123456789101112131415161718RankPointsRef
2011 Sam Schmidt Motorsports Dallara 99 Honda STP ALA LBH SAO INDY TXS1
29		 TXS2
20		 MIL IOW TOR EDM MDO NHM SNM BAL MOT 37th36 [3]
17 KTY
7		 LVS
C
2012 A. J. Foyt Enterprises Dallara DW12 41 STP ALA LBH SAO INDY
31		 DET TXS MIL IOW TOR EDM MDO SNM BAL 28th29 [4]
14 FON
14

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References

  1. ↑ SuperPoints A1GP Taupo, New Zealand: Driver sign-on, A1GP.com, 18 January 2007
  2. ↑ "Cunningham tests with Andretti Green". autosport.com. 21 December 2007. Retrieved 22 December 2007.
  3. ↑ "Wade Cunningham – 2011 IZOD IndyCar Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved 1 August 2023.
  4. ↑ "Wade Cunningham – 2012 IZOD IndyCar Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved 1 August 2023.
Sporting positions
Preceded by Infiniti Pro Series Champion
2005		Succeeded by
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