Kenny Bräck
Bräck at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in 2004.
Nationality	Swedish
Born	(1968-03-21) March 21, 1968 (age 44) Arvika, Värmland
Retired	2005
IRL IndyCar Series
Years active	1997–1999, 2002–2003, 2005
Teams	Rahal Letterman Racing Chip Ganassi Racing A. J. Foyt Enterprises Galles Racing
Starts	47
Wins	4
Poles	0
Best finish	1st in 1998
Previous series
2000–2002 1994–1995 1993	CART World Series Formula 3000 Barber Saab Pro Series
Championship titles
1998 1993	Indy Racing League champion Barber Saab Pro Series champion
Awards
2005 1999	Scott Brayton award Indianapolis 500 winner

Kenny Bräck (born March 21, 1968 in Arvika, Värmland) is a race car driver from Sweden. Until his retirement from racing, he competed in the CART, Indy Racing League and the IROC series. He is the winner of the 1999 Indianapolis 500 and the 1998 driving champion of the Indy Racing League. He survived one of the racing sport's biggest accidents, 214 g's, in Fort Worth, Texas 2003. 18 months later he made a come back at the Indy 500 and set the fastest qualifying time of the field. He retired from IndyCar racing after the race. In 2009, he made a come back but now to rally, and competed in Rally X at X-Games 15 and won Gold. Bräck still drive occasionally and won The Dukerie's Stage Rally in Nottingham, England alongside co-driver Emil Axelsson in June 2011. The duo also won the Swedish classic "The Midnight Sun Rally" in July 2011. In September Brack took pole position and won the RAC Tourist Trophy race at the Goodwood Revival in an AC Shelby Cobra Daytona Coupé 1964 together with 8 time Le Mans winner Tom Kristensen.

Early career[link]

He grew up in the little village Glava, where his father taught him to drive cars on the lake-ice in the winters. A neighbor introduced Kenny to racing when he at 13 years of age worked in his business one summer holiday, buying him a Go-Cart. Apart from the beginning of Kenny's career, he has managed his career himself, from finding sponsors, negotiating contracts to winning races.^{[citation needed]}

Formula racing[link]

He raced in Britain and Sweden in Formula Ford and Formula 3 (he was Swedish junior Formula Ford Champion in 1986), in Europe in Formula Opel Lotus, in Scandinavia and Europe in the Renault Clio Cup (Scandinavian Champion 1992) and in the USA in the Barber Saab Pro Series (Champion in 1993).

1994 he competed in European Formula 3000. 1995 he finished 3rd in the European F3000 championship for Madgwick Racing. In 1996 he was Arrows Formula 1 test driver but decided to leave the team after mid season concentrating on his European F3000 campaign. Despite winning the last race on the road, after a controversial Clerk of the Course decision he eventually was disqualified from the event and had to settle for the runner-up position in the championship, driving for the British team Super Nova. Had he not been disqualified, Bräck would have been champion.

First Appearance in the IRL[link]

Bräck began his IRL career in 1997. He won the IRL championship in 1998, and the 1999 Indianapolis 500 driving for American racing legend A. J. Foyt. The following year he left Foyt's team to compete in the CART FedEx Championship Series.

CART career[link]

In 2000 he switched to the CART with Team Rahal, winning the Rookie of the Year title that year. He finished 2nd in the driver's championship in 2001, winning a season-high 4 victories and 6 pole positions. However, he didn't have much success on road circuits which is what ultimately cost him that year's title to Gil de Ferran

In 2001 Bräck also had a minor role in the Hollywood motion picture Driven, which starred Sylvester Stallone and Burt Reynolds.

In 2002, Bräck raced for Chip Ganassi Racing, and he ended the season by winning the CART season finale Mexico City G.P.

IROC[link]

In 2001 he competed in the International Race of Champions series in the season called IROC XXV. The series is an invitation-only stock car invitational in the United States. He finished third in the championship, the highest points position for a non-stock car driver.

Return to IRL[link]

Bräck moved back to the IRL in 2003 with previous CART team owner, Bobby Rahal and his Rahal Letterman Racing team. Bräck scored 2nd place at the Twin Ring Motegi circuit in Japan. In the final race at Texas Motor Speedway, he suffered a serious crash that almost cost him his life. His car locked wheels with Tomas Scheckter's, flew into the catch fencing, and broke apart. Kenny's crash saw the highest recorded g-forces since the introduction of crash violence recording systems, peaking at 214 g's^[1](almost 2100 m/s²; regular gravitational force is 9.8 m/s²).^[2] He suffered multiple fractures, breaking his sternum, femur, shattering a vertebra in his spine and crushing his ankles. He spent 18 months recovering from his injuries.

He made his comeback to the 2005 Indianapolis 500, replacing an injured Buddy Rice (who, ironically, had replaced Bräck in 2003). He set the fastest qualification time in the field with an average speed of 227.598 mph (366.283 km/h). He retired from the race with a mechanical problem.

Retirement[link]

As of 2011, Bräck lives in England and has retired from open wheel racing, although he manages young open wheel racing drivers such as Marcus Ericsson and occasionally drives in rallying. Bräck also spends his time currently as the lead member and song writer of his rock band "Bräck", together with lead singer Franc Aledia. At the 2007 Indianapolis 500 the band Bräck cooperated with the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in celebrating American racing legend A. J. Foyt as part of his 50th anniversary at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. In May 2007 the band released its first album "Greatest hits, volume 1" featuring the song "Legend of the Speedway". A rock video, featuring Foyt's Indianapolis winning cars including the car Bräck won the race with in 1999 while driving for Foyt was also recorded. The video was directed by Allen Farst of Niche Productions, Dayton, Ohio.

Bräck is also on the board of directors of Mekonomen, Scandinavia's biggest distributor of car spare parts, listed on the Swedish stock exchange.^[3]

X-Games[link]

In 2009, 4 years after retiring from IndyCar racing Kenny made a surprise return to the wheel after receiving a special invitation to compete in the annual ESPN X Games 15 in Los Angeles. Kenny drove an Olsberg Ford Fiesta prepared by Swedish team Andreas Ericsson Motorsport. Kenny was the fastest qualifier and went on to win the competition outright in a head-to-head final against previous Rally Gold Medal winner and nine time overall X-Games Gold Medal winner Travis Pastrana. Kenny became the first specially invited driver to win the Rally Gold Medal. The late WRC star Colin McRae previously held the top spot with a second place finish.

Rally[link]

In 2011 Kenny won his second stage rally in his career, Dukerie's Rally outside Nottingham, England in a Ford Escort Mk II BDG with Swedish co-driver Emil Axelsson. In July 2011 the duo won the Swedish classic "The Midnight Sun Rally" in the same car, in front of last year's winner Kenneth Bäcklund and rally world champion Björn Waldegård, www.midnattssolrallyt.se

Racing[link]

Kenny was employed by Team Lanzante to drive one of the most prestigious cars, AC Shelby Cobra Daytona Coupé 1964 in the RAC Tourist Trophy race at the Goodwood Revival in September 2011. Only 6 original cars exist. Sharing the driving duties with 8 time Le Mans winner Tom Kristensen, Kenny qualified the car on pole position. The duo also won the race.

Motorsports career results[link]

Complete International Formula 3000 results[link]

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

American open–wheel results[link]

(key)

IndyCar[link]

CART[link]