Biography
Chris Gabehart
Date Of Birth: May 16, 1981
Hometown: Louisville, Kentucky
Residence: Indianapolis, Indiana
Occupation: Engineer Shock Specialist for Advanced Racing Suspension;
Professional Driver for Hendricks County Motorsports
Education: Bachelors degree in the school of Mechanical Engineering at
Purdue University
Since the early
days of his career, Chris Gabehart has had the desire to compete in racing on a
professional level. With the support of his family, the past thirteen years of
his life have been
dedicated to the execution of that goal. From the onset of Chris' racing career,
his father taught
him that detail is the key to maximizing performance. That mindset has been the
cornerstone for Chris'
entire career and has brought him to where he is today. At the age of twelve,
Chris competed in his
first full season of go-kart racing on the dirt ovals of Kentucky. Hand in hand
with his father, Chris learned
both how to race on the track and how to prepare his equipment to race off of
the track.
From 1995 - 2000, Chris' karting career would amass 1 ESPN2 "Saturday Night Lightning" Championship, 1 WKA Dirt
Oval National Championship, 4 WKA Pavement Oval National Championships and 1 WKA National Oval Drivers
Championship.
Early in his racing career, Chris realized the importance of not only doing what
it takes to be the best driver he
can be, but also doing whatever it takes to give him the best chance to win as a
driver. With this in mind,
he realized the vital tools that had been laid before him in his education and
took it upon himself to work
diligently within the classroom to try and learn everything he could about what
made racecars work.
In 1999, that same drive, desire and determination lead him to his decision to
go to Purdue University to study
Mechanical Engineering in order to gain further knowledge of the mechanical side
of racing.
With the commitment to college already made, in 2000 it was time for Chris to
make the next step in his racing
career into the USAC and NAMARS National Midget Series. For the next 2 years,
Chris gained valuable pavement
experience at the next level and got his first hands on experience with a
suspended vehicle, furthering his
knowledge base both as a driver and as a chassis analyst.
The 2003 season lead him into the seat of his first late model stock car in
races throughout the Midwest.
His first start was at the famed Salem Speedway in Salem, IN and yielded fast
time for the event and a third
place finish in the feature. The rest of the year was composed of selected
starts in the Sunoco Super Series to gain
valuable experience for the 2004 season.
In 2004, Chris competed full time in the Sunoco Super Series Super Late Model
Division. He earned the
Rookie Of The Year Championship Title and finished 5th overall in his first full
season. He completed the most laps
of all drivers in the series with an outstanding 88.5% for the year.
The 2005 season brought his first victory in the series at the famed Winchester
Speedway and again he finished 5th
overall in the points battle. The end of the year brought a respectable lead lap
15th place finish at the Snowball
Derby; just making the show at this event was quite an accomplishment. This season also brought with it a few
coveted awards as Chris was voted the CRA Sportsman of the Year in the CRA series; and voted by fans as Speed51's
Most Popular Driver. In May of 2005 he finished the race for his continued education by earning a Bachelor's Degree in
Mechanical Engineering from the University of Purdue.
2006 holds an array of new opportunities for Chris. He will be heading the new Driver Development Program at
Hendricks County Motorsports with driver Sondi Eden, contestant of Roush Racing’s Gong Show. That opportunity
will showcase his ability to focus outside the driver’s seat and exercise his talent as a coach, mentor and crew
chief to other young up and coming drivers. While working with Advanced Racing Suspension developing new
products during the day, his late afternoon and evenings are filled with set up and maintience of the HCM two
team cars. Chris himself plans to run selected events in the CRA series and several prestigious events around
the county in an effort to continue to advance the awareness of his skills behind the wheel of a racecar and
move him closer to his goal of competing as a driver at NASCAR’s top level. It looks like 2006 holds a full plate for
25 year old Gabehart..