Kraig Mummert

Kraig Robert Mummert (born on September 23, 1989 in Murfreesboro, Tennessee) is an American race car driver who will drive for MT Motorsports during the 2013 TM Master Cup season, which is an Independent's Trophy campaign for the team. For the 2011 season, Mummert was the driver of the third car for Bolden Speedstable, being promoted to the #6 car after Woody Watts' horrendous season-ending crash at the 2011 Round of Daytona. Mummert finished 29th in TM Master Cup points in his first season. In 2012, Mummert drove for James Dalton Racing, leaving the team midway through the season because of the car's performance and the team's effort, which Mummert saw as poor. MT Motorsports loaned Mummert to Bolden and Dalton, respectively. Mummert is a former Continental Racing League driver, having competed in the league's Modified Division throughout most of the 2009 season and part of the 2010-2011 season. Mummert is married to former racer Jennifer Mummert. The couple have an infant son, also named Kraig.

Early years
Mummert was born in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, to his father, Mark, a retired doctor, and his mother, Stephanie, a funeral home director. Mummert's parents have been married since 1982. His only sibling, younger brother Thomas, was born in 1994. Kraig graduated from Riverdale High School in Murfreesboro in 2008. Thomas graduated from Riverdale in 2012, having played football and baseball at the school, and is currently a freshman at Belmont University in Nashville, where he plays baseball on a scholarship.

Kraig's racing career began at the age of 10, when he began karting in the Southeastern Karting Championship. Mummert won three races in 2000, his first year, and finished 4th in points. In 2001, Mummert won the championship, winning a season-high nine of the 20 races held. He clinched the championship with one race to go. Mummert repeated his title in 2002, winning seven times. His most memorable race in the series occurred in this season. Mummert won a wet race in Ocala, Florida by one full lap, leading start-to-finish, being only one of four drivers to finish a race that 27 drivers started. The one-lap margin of victory remains an SEKC record. Mummert's final season in the series, 2003, saw him go out a champion, winning a single-season record 10 races, firmly cementing his legacy as the greatest driver in the history of the SEKC. In 2005, the series christened a new trophy to give to its points champions, the Mummert Cup. At the time of having this honor bestowed upon him, Mummert was only 15. He personally presents the trophy each year at the SEKC's awards banquet.

In 2004, Mark Mummert purchased an old warehouse in Murfreesboro, founding Mummert Racing. Mark also purchased a late model car and a legends car for his son to race. The family toured the Southeast, with Kraig racing both his legends car and late model car on the same nights. He raced the legends car to help his steering with his late model car, and his overall hand-eye coordination. Kraig adapted his skills as a kart racer to the legends car, winning 13 legends races all across the region in 2004. His late model record wasn't as good that year. Mummert failed to win a race, had only one Top-5, and just four Top-10s. He recorded 13 DNFs.

Mummert's late model luck changed in 2005. He won four late model races, each at a different track: Bowman Gray Stadium, South Boston Speedway, Myrtle Beach Speedway, and Fairgrounds Speedway in Nashville. The latter win was emotional for Mummert, as he considers Fairgrounds Speedway his home track. His legends record also improved, as he won 16 races, five of them at Fairgrounds Speedway alone.

Mummert stored away his legends car in early 2006, wanting to focus solely on his late model career. The move was wise; Mummert won 10 races that year, three of which came in Nashville. Mummert got even better in 2007. This time around, he won 16 late model races, and the late model track championship at the Fairgrounds, where he won nine of his 16 races.

In 2008, Mummert purchased a modified car in addition to his late model. Whenever getting a chance, he would race in the Modified Division at Bowman Gray Stadium, where he won two of the eight races he competed in. He won 13 late model races, finishing second in points at Fairgrounds Speedway. It was his modified racing, though, that caught the attention of Middle Tennessee Motorsports owner Fred Caldwell, who was looking for a new driver for his #14 car in the CRL Modified Division. In October 2008, Mummert was signed to a three-year deal with the team. The cable television network BBC America signed on as the car's sponsor the following month.

In response to his son moving up to a series that tours across the United States and Canada, Mark Mummert built a second warehouse on the Mummert Racing property, turning it into a museum, displaying all of Kraig's racing trophies and awards, as well as his race cars from over the years. The older warehouse remains a race shop.

2009
In 2009, his rookie season in the CRL, Kraig Mummert was tabbed by the weekly publication, This Week in Modifieds, as a contender for the series championship. Mummert said the championship was a goal, but getting experience was also important. Preseason testing went well, giving the team confidence. But the results didn't reflect this early on.

In the season opener at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, Mummert finished 24th out of 26 cars. He was the last car running, and also two laps down. For the next race at Watkins Glen International, Mummert gained a teammate, Kristian Jeffries. Mummert publicly expressed enthusiasm over this, saying another car could help the entire team through information-sharing. It also helped that Mummert and Jeffries had been friends since their late model days. Mummert finished 18th at Watkins Glen, one lap down, having spun earlier in the wet race. Mummert was pleased with the improved result.

In the next race at Richmond International Raceway, Mummert nearly scored his first points in the CRL, only to get caught up in a late-race incident with Rallen Hayden and Landon Rody, that led to a massive post-race brawl between the latter two drivers and their pit crews. Mummert managed to finish 14th, two spots out of the points. Though upset with Rody, Mummert was pleased with further improvement.

The fourth race of the season would be held at Fairgrounds Speedway in Nashville, Mummert's home track. Mummert was eager to do well in front of the home crowd. He excited the crowd during qualifying, placing the 14 car on the outside of the front row. But when the race started, Mummert fell through the order, and finished 24th, two laps down. Mummert was so upset, he left the track in tears. The next race at Bristol Motor Speedway, which Mummert considers his second home track, as it sits in Northeast Tennessee, saw Kraig score his first points in the CRL with an 8th place finish, despite being the first car one lap down to the winner, Alan Musico. Mummert was relieved to get over the first big hurdle of scoring points, but lashed out at lapped cars for preventing teammate Jeffries from scoring his first points, as well.

Mummert's hopes were understandably high heading into the CRL's biggest race, the British Columbia Grand Prix. But Mummert returned to poor form with a 28th place finish, nearly 100 seconds behind race winner Tina Lee. In the following race at Dover International Speedway, Mummert finished 20th after starting 11th. The next race at Grand Detour of Southern Illinois culminated in what Mummert called the worst moment of his career. Qualifying 25th, Mummert's engine let go as soon as the field moved off of the grid. He retired without having taken the green flag, which gave him the first DNS of his entire racing career. Mummert finished 18th, one lap down, at Iowa Speedway, before recording his second career points-paying finish at Charlotte Motor Speedway, coming across the line 12th, good enough for one point. Mummert did not compete in the following two races at Mosport International Raceway's half-mile oval and the airport runway at Edmonton City Centre Airport, as MT Motorsports decided to help develop the skills of young Jon Halks.

The 13th race of the season at the Portland International Raceway saw Mummert make a grand return after his two-race break. Starting 22nd, Mummert passed Holden Roberts for the lead on Lap 13 of the 25-lap race, holding off a charging Randy Robinson to capture his and MT Motorsports' first CRL Modified Division wins. The win was bittersweet, as Jeffries was being taken out of the 45 car, with plans of being placed in a stock car for the team. Halks was to be Mummert's new teammate. Mummert's first radio communication to his team after taking the checkered flag was memorable:


 * "YES! FUCK, YES! AFTER ALL THE SHIT WE'VE BEEN THROUGH, WE EARNED THIS! ENJOY IT, GUYS! YES!"

Mummert's trophy from this race is prominently displayed at the Mummert Racing museum.

In the next race at Evergreen Speedway, Mummert finish 22nd, one lap down, while Halks surprised everyone by winning the race, passing Axel Andersson with 19 laps remaining, recording MT Motorsports' second straight win and the first for Halks and the 45 car. Despite the disappointing finish, Mummert stated that it was great for the entire team that both cars had now won races.

Mummert would score points in the final three races of his rookie season. He finished 9th at Martinsville Speedway, scoring four points. For the final two races of the season, Mummert ran a special paint scheme to honor Scottish actor David Tennant's time as The Doctor, the lead character in the popular science-fiction television series, Doctor Who. Tennant was leaving the role during the off-season, handing it over to Matt Smith. The scheme seemed to be good luck, as Mummert finished 11th at Darlington Raceway, good enough for two points, and 6th in the season finale at Rockingham Speedway, picking up eight points. It was Mummert's best finish of the season outside of his win at Portland. He finished 22nd in the final drivers' points, with a 42-point total.

At CRL All-Star Week at Bent Twig Raceway in Savannah, Georgia, Mummert drew the 5th starting spot for the Converse All-Star Open. He finished in the exact same spot, ending his season with only his second Top-5 finish of the season, albeit in a non-points race.

2010-2011
Mummert was looking forward to his sophomore season, believing he and his team truly had overcome all necessary obstacles to make a championship run. Mummert was ineligible for the season-opening exhibition race, the inaugural Red Robin Invitational at Irwindale Speedway, because he had failed to win a pole position during the 2009 season.

New rules regarding the race weekend format, with the introduction of pre-qualifying and qualifying races, would cause the team to struggle early on. Only the Top 12 cars in 2009 Owners' Points would be locked into the first three races of the season, with the 2010-2011 Owners' Points coming into play for the fourth race of the season. Teammate Halks, in his first full season with MT Motorsports, was in the same boat as Mummert. For the first points-paying race of the season, also at Irwindale, Mummert and Halks both failed to qualify, finishing 21st and 23rd, respectively, in the qualifying race, as only the Top 18 would get into the main race.

It was no better for the second weekend of the season, the CRL's first-ever visit to Phoenix International Raceway. Mummert finished 38th in the qualifying race, while Halks finished 19th, having been passed for the final transfer spot, 18th, on the final lap, by Shane Spain.

Mummert would again fail to qualify, this time at New Hampshire, where he finished last -- 40th -- in the qualifying race, dropping out after an accident. To make matters worse, Halks not only made the field, he won the main race in dominant fashion, lapping everyone but second place finisher Landon Rody.

For Race 4 at North Wilkesboro Speedway, Mummert qualified for a main race for the first time in 2010-2011, but could only muster a 26th place finish at weekend's end, as Halks picked up his second consecutive win. Mummert would fail to qualify for the next race at Carbondale Raceway.

Mummert would then fail to qualify for the 6th race of the season at Salem Speedway. Frustrated, Mummert stepped aside to allow Lane Cranston, a member of MT Motorsports' Driver Development Program, to race the car at Watkins Glen and Grand Detour. Cranston failed to qualify for Watkins Glen, but then qualified for the main race at Grand Detour, where he finished 9th, to score the first four points of his CRL career.

Mummert decided to let Cranston have the car permanently. But Cranston's 9th place finish at Grand Detour would be his only points-paying finish of the season. Mummert remains employed by MT Motorsports.

In 2010, Fred Caldwell was approached by Bolden to ask if Mummert could drive the third car for Bolden's brand new TM Master Cup Series team. Caldwell agreed to loan Mummert to the team, whose full-time drivers are Woody Watts and Luciano Soveral.

Mummert attempted to make the field for the 2010 ARLA Elite Series season finale at Rockford Speedway. Mummert, who drove for MT Motorsports at this event, drew pole for the 8th heat race of the weekend. After two incidents during the race, Mummert finished last out of eight cars, ending his weekend.

TM Master Cup Series
Mummert's first attempt at a TM Master Cup Series race came in 2011, where he attempted to make his debut in the series' most prestigious race, the Karjala Grand Prix. The weekend opened with two qualifying sessions, in which the five fastest cars from each would qualify in the first five rows of the main race's starting grid. Mummert was not fast enough in either session, so it was onto pre-qualifying. Mummert was in the second of three pre-qualifying races. The Top 14 from each would move onto the qualifying races. Mummert was sitting 11th with three laps remaining, when the piston failed. He finished 22nd, failing to pre-qualify.

Mummert made his TM Master Cup debut at the 2011 Round of Ohio, replacing teammate Watts, who was severely injured in the previous race, the Round of Daytona. After going a lap down, Mummert made up the lap and finished 11th, good enough for 18 points in his debut.

After crashing out of the Round of Wisconsin at Road America, Mummert finished fifth, his first Top 5, at the Round of Quincy at Grand Detour. Mummert led most of the race, but a late-race pit stop left him mired in traffic, and he couldn't make it back to the front in time. Mummert then failed to pre-qualify for the Round of Indianapolis, finishing 18th, four places out of the final transfer spot (14th), in the first pre-qualifying race.

Mummert returned in the next race, the Round of Michigan. After getting only cosmetic damage from an incident midway through the race, and avoiding other crashes, Mummert found himself running in second, and catching the leader, Mathias Taube. However, a cut tire would end Mummert's hopes of victory. He only lost one lap, and finished 11th in the running order, before being promoted to 10th after Zach Duff, who originally finished sixth, was excluded from the results for intentionally wrecking Chris Johaanes after the checkered flag. In the Round of Quebec at Trois-Rivieres, Mummert finished 20th, good enough for one point, spending the race mostly in the back of the pack, thanks to the street circuit's tight straights.

Mummert then finished 10th at the Round of British Columbia, after being only one of 23 to take the Monday restart because he had completed the seven laps that were in the books when the red flag was thrown due to heavy rain. During the brief Sunday run, Mummert slid off-course in Turn 14 while running second. At the Round of Japan, Mummert was involved in an early collision with teammate Soveral and Tom Delgado. Mummert's car was only slightly damaged, and he led a number of laps before finishing fifth.

At the Round of Brazil, Mummert struggled, finishing 18th, the last car on the lead lap, scoring four points, and leading two laps during pit stops. Mummert and the rest of the drivers were affected, though, by the death of Scott Hamilton, killed in an accident during the race.

Mummert's season ended prematurely at the Round of Decatur. He finished third in the second pre-qualifying race behind eventual season champion Adrian Devereux and Alan Hodges. In the qualifying race, though, Mummert was hit by Gaspar de Sousa in the first corner, collecting Joao Paolo Vidal, Ziggy Waldemar, and Cyrus LaTerza. Mummert ended up finishing 40th, the first car one lap down, bringing his weekend, and season, to a frustrating end.

For 2012, Mummert was loaned to James Dalton Racing, opting to race for them over Katzev Engineering. Mummert finished in the points in only four of 13 races he took part in, his best finish being an 11th at the Round of Russia. A pit lane collision with Peter Short, Michael Madrigal, and Michael Sykes during the Round of Quincy led Mummert to ask for an early release from the team, which he was granted. Mummert was harshly punished over the incident: he was suspended for the Round of Wisconsin, and docked 60 points. As Mummert had only scored 48 points through 13 races, this dropped his point total to -12. Mummert returned to MT Motorsports for the remainder of the season, attempting to qualify for both the Round of Indianapolis and Round of Decatur, failing to get past the pre-qualifying stage on either weekend.

For 2013, Mummert will lead MT Motorsports's Independents' Trophy campaign in its first TM Master Cup Series season as a regular competitor.

Personal life
While a student at Riverdale, Mummert met Jennifer Putnam, herself a racing driver. The two ended up racing against each other in late model events, with Putnam edging out Mummert for the win in a 2006 race in Louisville, Kentucky. The pair started out as friends, but had mutual feelings for one another. After their 2008 graduation, the pair began dating. Mummert and Putnam became engaged in July of 2009, and married on December 19 of the same year. The couple live in a neighborhood in Murfreesboro, near the Mummert Racing shop, where Mummert spends a lot of his free time. The couple say they are each other's best friend, with Mummert telling This Week in Modifieds in August 2010, "We love coming home to each other. We're just comfortable together. I couldn't see myself with someone else. Don't want to. I've been in love with Jennifer since I met her, and I knew I'd marry her after the first time I talked to her. I met my wife when I was 15, and I knew she would be my wife someday at that same age. How lucky was I?"

On January 3, 2012, Mummert and Putnam publicly announced that they were expecting their first child. Kraig James Mummert was born on August 6, 2012. The elder Mummert calls his son "Lil' Kraig" on Twitter. The couple say they want at least two more children.

Putnam was scheduled race in the CRL's new Developmental Division in 2012, driving, coincidentally, her husband's old #14 car, which was moved down to the new division, as it lost its BBC America sponsorship, and the team felt it needs more development. However, Putnam's pregnancy put her on the sidelines. She was replaced by Shane Williams. In December 2012, Putnam announced her retirement from racing to be a stay-at-home mother. She has also begun using her married name in public.