 Andrew started his racing career at the age of 4 1/2 in Quarter Midgets. He won over 200 races on both asphalt and dirt. He also won a QMA Grand National Championship. After 8 years he moved on to a 270cc micro sprint where he won 15 features over the course of 3 years. These all came at multiple race tracks. In 2005 he continued to climb through the ranks and began driving a 600cc micro sprint. He won 9 feature events in just 2 years of competition.
In 2007 Andrew made his next big move. His family purchased a 360 sprint car. Even though the obstacle of a limited budget was present he managed to secure enough sponsorship to purchase the car on his own, a remarkable task at such a young age. It wasn’t a fairytale story for the youngster either. Just 2 months before the season started he suffered a house fire with his family. This was also where his race shop was located.
While being “homeless” would stop many, it couldn’t stop this young man as they worked out of a trailer for the beginning of the season and still was successful. He overcame all these obstacles plus learning to drive the bigger race car and nearly won in just his fifth attempt. Towards the end of the season Hannula moved to Charlotte, NC to go to UNC  Charlotte for mechanical engineering. He was chasing his dreams when another obstacle presented itself. His father had suffered a heart attack and Andrew knew he had to return home to help his mother being he was an only child. He continued to race with some help and finished the year winning in the second to last race of the season. He impressed many people throughout the year and was named the prestigious 2007 URC Rookie of the Year.
In 2008 Andrew made the transition to the wingless ARDC midgets at the end of the season.The future looks bright for this outstanding young talent. He is extremely talented and focused on his goals. In 2009 he will run a full schedule with ARDC and hopefully compete in the 2010 Chili Bowl in January. |
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