biography

Paulie Harraka, though only 19 years of age, has built a racing resume that extends from go-karts to NASCAR Sprint Cup cars. Since he began racing in 1997, Harraka has won a total of 158 races in all types of cars, a World Karting Association Triple Crown, the Holley Future Star Award, 13 National Championships, and 6 World Championships in go-karts.

He moved from karts to Legends cars in 2005, on an invitation from H.A. "Humpy" Wheeler, then President of Lowe's Motor Speedway. Harraka capitalized by winning his first ever race at the Lowe's Motor Speedway Summer Shootout.

The triumph at Lowe's Motor Speedway paved the way for Harraka, who is of Syrian descent, to receive an invitation to the NASCAR Drive for Diversity Combine. He impressed team owner Bill McAnally there and the two paired up in 2007, winning NASCAR Rookie of the Year Honors on their way to a second place points finish. They continued their relationship into 2008, winning the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series Championship with 11 race wins! Moving up to the NASCAR Camping World West Series together, Harraka and McAnally just picked up their first win, at the NAPA/Toyota 150 at Colorado National Speedway.

Throughout his racing career, Harraka has developed a reputation for being extremely comfortable and skilled with the media. He's been featured in many, many print publications ranging from The New York Times and The Charlotte Observer to Sports Illustrated and Duke Magazine. Being a regular guest on Sirius Satellite Radio's "The Morning Drive", in addition to TV live appearances on Fox Business Network and recorded productions such as NASCAR Angels, where he has given pit tours to special guests, have allowed him to begin to develop a fan base spanning the nation. "Although I have always gotten a large amount of media attention for my success on the racetrack, my acceptance and enrollment into Duke has literally tripled the attention that I've gotten form the media, which has proved to be extremely valuable for my sponsors and team owners," said Harraka.

Although Harraka's burning desire to race and the extensive time that he has devoted to the sport, along with his success in the sport, would have made it easy for him to neglect his academics, quite the contrary is true. Harraka has made every effort to tie his academics and racing together. He is currently pursuing his undergraduate degree at Duke University. As a sophomore at Duke, Harraka's taking all of the classes that he can that will tie in with his motorsports career, including engineering, leadership, and business courses."I am a firm believer that doing anything less than your best is a waste of time and have thus sought out the most difficult, yet rewarding, challenges in both my education and my racing career, which is precisely why I am attending Duke University. I know that I will receive the best and most complete education at Duke. I also understand the increased value that I will have to corporate sponsors as a Duke graduate," he said of his decision.

Additionally, Harraka writes a weekly blog about his experiences at the racetrack. Beginning in 2009, Harraka's blog will be a weekly feature on NASCAR.com!