Wade Cunningham facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Wade Cunningham |
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2011 Portrait
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| Nationality |  New Zealander |
| Born | 19 August 1984 Auckland, New Zealand |
| Related to | Mitch Cunningham (brother) |
| Firestone Indy Lights Series | |
| Years active | 2005–2010 |
| Teams | Brian Stewart Racing AFS Racing Alliance Motorsports Sam Schmidt Motorsports |
| Starts | 64 |
| Wins | 8 |
| Podiums | 30 |
| Poles | 9 |
| Best finish | 1st 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 is a talented racing driver from Auckland, New Zealand. He was born on August 19, 1984. Wade competed in the exciting IndyCar Series during 2011 and 2012. He is known for his success in junior racing categories.
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Wade Cunningham's Racing Journey
Starting in Karting and Indy Lights
Wade Cunningham began his professional racing career in a big way. In 2003, he won the Karting World Championship. This is a huge achievement in karting, which is like mini-car racing.
The next year, he moved to the United States. He raced in the Cooper Tires Formula Ford Zetec Championship. He finished 5th overall, showing his skill with four pole positions and seven podium finishes. A pole position means starting the race in first place. A podium finish means finishing in the top three.
In 2005, Wade joined the Indy Lights Series. This series is a step below IndyCar. He won the championship in his very first season with Brian Stewart Racing. Even though he only won one race that year, his consistent high finishes helped him win the title.
He continued with Brian Stewart Racing in 2006. He won three more races, including the famous Freedom 100 race. This race takes place at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Wade was the first driver from New Zealand to win it. He finished third in the championship points that year. He missed two races because of a sudden appendectomy (surgery to remove his appendix). If he had raced in those events, he might have won his second championship.
Wade also drove as a practice driver for A1 Team New Zealand. This was in the A1 Grand Prix series in New Zealand and China. In 2007, he returned to the Indy Lights Series with AGR-AFS Racing. He finished 3rd in the championship again.
Moving to the IndyCar Series
In December 2007, Wade got a chance to test an IndyCar Series car. This was a reward for his great results in Indy Lights. He drove a car usually driven by Marco Andretti at Sebring International Raceway.
Wade's brother, Mitch Cunningham, also started racing in the Firestone Indy Lights Series in 2008. He joined Brian Stewart Racing, the same team where Wade had found success. Wade also made a few starts in the series that year.
In 2009, Wade signed on to race full-time for Sam Schmidt Motorsports. He made history by becoming the first driver to win the Freedom 100 race a second time. He won it again in 2010, making him the only driver to win the Freedom 100 three times!
On February 11, 2011, Sam Schmidt Motorsports announced that Wade would make his debut in the Izod IndyCar Series. He had a three-race deal with the team. In his first race at Texas Motor Speedway, he qualified in 8th place. His best finish in IndyCar was 7th place at the Indy Kentucky 300. He finished very close to the lead, only 0.702 seconds behind.
Images for kids
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2011 Portrait
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Cunningham driving his Indy Lights car on the Streets of St. Petersburg in 2005
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Cunningham (inside) racing in Indy Lights in 2008
