Nicolas Hammann

Hammann helped at his family's garage in Elkhart Lake.^[3] The village is the home of Road America. After his father quit racing, Hammann began racing karts as a six-year-old on the Karting Kettle (now the Briggs & Stratton Motorplex) at Road America.^[4][5] He won track championships in 2007, 2008, and 2009.^[6] In 2010, the 16-year-old got an SCCA license to race cars and competed in the STU and STL classes.^[6][4] He raced at Road America's June Sprints SCCA, along with Blackhawk Farms, Gingerman Raceway, and the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course.^[4] Hammann set the Kiel High School track and field record in the 800 meters and qualified for the state competition.^[4] After graduating from high school, he went to college to study mechanical engineering at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte,^[2] hoping to become a test driver.^[4] He graduated in May 2018 with an concentration in motorsports.^[7]

As he was finishing high school, Hammann heard about a racing competition on television show called GT Academy.^[4] The show gives PlayStation Gran Turismo video game drivers a chance to compete in a variety of scenarios on real racing tracks. Only the fastest 32 drivers on a specified course advance to the following round.^[4] He finished in the top 100 in high school then top 60 in his first year of college.^[4] At a Road America race, he met one of the previous winners of the show who was racing professionally after beginning his career as a parts delivery driver.^[4] The experience caused Hammann to see the potential of show and he began to take the competition very seriously; he studied other top competitors' lap times and frequently practiced.^[4] His mother gave him improved steering equipment as a Christmas present.^[4] Hammann raced over 3,400 miles (5,500 km) to obtain his best lap time and averaged nearly 300 miles (480 km) per day;^[4] his best time was in the fastest 20 (within the top 32 positions out of 450,000 competitors)^[4]) to advance to the next round in New York City.^[5] He took a break from college to compete 2014 show.^[2] Judges, including Danny Sullivan, interviewed Hammann to see how well he would represent Nissan, his fitness, and his skills.^[4] He made the top 12 and was entered in a week-long competition at Silverstone, England.^[5] Hammann won the competition.^[2]

After winning the show, Hammann was signed as a Nissan factory driver.^[2] He earned an International license and competed in the 2015 Dubai 24 Hour endurance race.^[8] His team of five drivers finished 5th overall (and second in the GT3 class)^[6] in a Nissan GTR GT3 car.^[9] He competed in several different classes at different tracks throughout the world including the Blancpain Sprint Series, IMSA Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge, and Pirelli World Challenge.^[6] For 2016, Hammann raced in the NISSAN MicraCup series in Quebec.

Hammann made his first NASCAR Xfinity Series start as a road course ringer at Watkins Glen International on August 6, 2016. Hammann had been working at his family garage when Mike Harmon came in to have a tire serviced for the 2015 Road America 180. He asked Harmon to let him know if he ever needs a driver and Harmon called the following year.^[10] He qualified to start 36th in the Mike Harmon Racing No. 74 for the Zippo 200 at the Glen.^[11] His car was involved with a Kyle Busch spin; he recovered until his race ended with an oil leak after completing 67 of 82 laps for a 28th-place finish.^[12] Hammann made his second start at the 2016 Road America 180 in his hometown. He qualified 33rd and passed several cars during the race.^[13] He completed a total of 22 (of the 48) laps with his race ending early with mechanical issues.^[13]

Hammann's parents are Gary and Debbie Hammann; he has two older sisters.^[4]