William Hynes (born January 31, 1972) is an American professional auto racing driver and entrepreneur. He races full-time in the Stadium Super Trucks and has also competed in sports car and touring car racing. He is the founder and former CEO of United Fiber & Data, and has also overseen other business ventures such as Think Loud and 120 York.
| Bill Hynes | |
|---|---|
| Nationality | American |
| Born | William Hynes January 31, 1972 New Brunswick, New Jersey |
| Stadium Super Trucks career | |
| Debut season | 2014 |
| Car number | 57 |
| Starts | 126 |
| Wins | 1 |
| Podiums | 6 |
| Poles | 0 |
| Best finish | 4th in 2022 |
| Finished last season | 9th (2023) |
| Previous series | |
| 2017–2019 | Aussie Racing Cars |
| Last updated on: May 20, 2024. | |
Early life
editHynes was born in New Brunswick, New Jersey on January 31, 1972.[1][2] He attended Union Catholic Regional High School before moving to Hillside High School as a sophomore, though he returned to Union Catholic after getting involved in a fight.[3] He graduated from Union Catholic in 1990.[1]
As a junior, he enlisted in the United States Army Reserve as a military police officer. After graduating high school, he served in the Gulf War and was stationed in Panama.[3]
In 1996 and 1997, Hynes was a corrections officer recruit in the New Jersey Juvenile Justice Commission. He was later employed as an operations manager for Velocity Express in Lehigh Valley and a warehouse distribution supervisor for a Coca-Cola bottling plant in Philadelphia.[1]
Business
editHynes, who has a degree in business administration, became a real estate agent in 2002, and had holdings in Arizona and Colorado. He founded 101st Holdings LLC and held two commercial properties before its closure due to the Great Recession. Other limited liability companies formed included ADS Builders East, Inner City Investments, BKS Investments, and BKS Technologies.[1]
In 2011, Hynes founded Think Loud Development, an urban development firm aimed at economically struggling areas in Pennsylvania, alongside members of the rock band Live.[4] The group also formed telecommunications company United Fiber & Data (UFD) in 2012.[1] Live departed Think Loud in 2015.[5]
In 2019, UFD constructed a 340-mile fiber-optic cable from Ashburn, Virginia to New York City.[6] He resigned from his position as UFD's CEO in November 2019 following an arrest on burglary and stalking charges, though he remained on the company's board. In October 2020, UFD, Powder Mill Foundation, and Louis Appell III sued Hynes and fellow ex-CEO Chad Taylor for misusing the company's funding. The case was amicably settled in August and Hynes cleared of any wrongdoing.[7]
In 2023, charges were filed against Hynes claiming he stole over $4 million from United Fiber & Data by funneling money into personal accounts and unrelated businesses he was also involved in.[8]
Racing career
edit
A longtime racing fan and friend of Michael Andretti, Hynes began supporting Andretti's IndyCar Series team Andretti Autosport through United Fiber & Data in 2013 as an associate sponsor.[9] UFD upgraded to a primary sponsorship on James Hinchcliffe's No. 27 car for 2014 on a one-year contract,[10] and also sponsored the team's Indy Lights driver Matthew Brabham.[11] The deal ended in 2015, which the Appell lawsuit alleged was worth $11 million a year and resulted in the company having to pay $9 million to the team.[9] UFD returned to Andretti Autosport in 2016 as sponsors for Marco Andretti and Carlos Muñoz, and the former gained further backing the next season after original sponsor H. H. Gregg was on the verge of bankruptcy.[12]
In 2014, he began racing in the Stadium Super Trucks at Honda Indy Toronto. After finishing seventh in his debut, he retired from the weekend's second race after four laps with a mechanical problem.[13][14] UFD sponsored his truck, and the Team UFD Racing banner was formed to support multiple trucks over the following seasons including series champions Brabham and Paul Morris, SST's first female driver Sara Price, and SST race winners Arie Luyendyk Jr. and E. J. Viso.[15][16][17] UFD also sponsored SST's 2017 race weekend at Watkins Glen International, dubbing it the UFD at The Glen.[18] Hynes recorded his first SST podium at the 2015 Valvoline Raceway round in Australia, where he started on the pole and finished third.[19]
In 2016, Hynes joined the newly formed EXR Racing Series, a supercar spec racing championship. He ran as high as second in points and finished fourth.[20][21] The following year, EXR's endurance racing program debuted its Mitjet EXR LV02 car at the 25 Hours of Thunderhill, where Hynes was one of the five drivers and also worked as crew chief.[22] In August, Hynes, Brabham, and Alexandre Prémat won the EXR class at the Utah Motorsports Campus 6 Hour Enduro.[23]
At the 2017 Clipsal 500 weekend, Hynes ran the SST races in addition to making his Aussie Racing Cars debut.[24] Later in the year at Barbagallo Raceway, he yielded his Aussie Racing Car to fellow SST drivers Sheldon Creed and Robby Gordon as he wanted to focus on SST.[25][26]
Hynes won his first career SST race in the 2018 season opener at Lake Elsinore Diamond. He initially finished ninth, but video review found that Hynes had taken his mandatory Joker Lap prior to the final lap while many of the leaders waited until said lap, which was not allowed, due to a miscommunication with race officials. Consequently, many of the leaders were bumped down the running order while Hynes was promoted to first place, which he shared with the original winner Apdaly Lopez.[27] He scored his third podium over a year later in the final race of the Gold Coast 600 round.[28]
2022 saw Hynes' best statistical season to date as he finished fourth in points with two podiums at Mid-Ohio and Bristol.[29][30]
Personal life
editHynes lives in Nazareth, Pennsylvania.[2]
He appeared in a season 14 episode of The Celebrity Apprentice in 2015.[1] In June 2020, he launched the ThrillCast podcast alongside Meg Jones. ThrillCast has sponsored his stadium truck.[31]
In September 2022 he pled no contest to felony criminal trespass, felony theft by deception, two counts of felony forgery, misdemeanor stalking, and misdemeanor simple assault for incidents in 2018/2019 regarding a former female employee with whom he had an intimate relationship. He was sentenced to house arrest,[32][33] which he completed in time for the 2023 SST season.[34]
Motorsports career results
editStadium Super Trucks
edit(key) (Bold – Pole position. Italics – Fastest qualifier. * – Most laps led.)
* Season in progress.
1 The race was abandoned after Matt Mingay suffered serious injuries in a crash on lap three.
2 Davey Hamilton Jr. led the most laps, but his disqualification resulted in Hynes receiving the bonus points.
3 Standings were not recorded by the series for the 2020 season.
References
edit- ^ a b c d e f "United Fiber & Data: Here's what we know about Bill Hynes". York Daily Record. October 14, 2020. Retrieved March 19, 2022.
- ^ a b "Bill Hynes". X Games. Archived from the original on February 28, 2019. Retrieved August 25, 2021.
- ^ a b "ThrillCast − #8 For the Record". PodBean (Podcast). September 7, 2020. Retrieved March 19, 2022.
- ^ "Think Loud Development Founder & CEO Bill Hynes - Giving Back". Think Loud Development (Press release). Issuu. September 26, 2015. Retrieved September 3, 2021.
- ^ Scheid, Lisa (August 2, 2015). "Think Loud Development makes quiet exit from Reading". Reading Eagle. Retrieved March 19, 2022.
- ^ "United Fiber & Data Completes Diverse Fiber-Optic Network from NYC to Ashburn, VA". United Fiber & Data (Press release). May 17, 2019. Retrieved September 3, 2021.
- ^ Berg, Joel (August 4, 2022). "Lawsuit settled over York fiber company". biznewsPA. Retrieved August 9, 2022.
- ^ "Former CEO of central Pa. Company embezzled millions: Police". 24 August 2023.
- ^ a b Scolforo, Liz Evans (October 7, 2020). "Appell, United Fiber & Data sue Live band members and felon who is former CEO". York Dispatch. Retrieved September 3, 2021.
- ^ Cavin, Curt (January 2, 2014). "Year in review: IndyCar". Autoweek. Retrieved September 3, 2021.
- ^ Andretti Autosport (October 20, 2013). "Pro Mazda champion joins United Fiber & Data for 2014 Indy Lights entry". Motorsport.com. Motorsport Network. Retrieved September 3, 2021.
- ^ DiZinno, Tony (March 30, 2017). "United Fiber & Data back, again, for Marco Andretti's car". NBC Sports. Retrieved September 3, 2021.
- ^ "Round 10 of 16 – Honda Indy, Toronto, Ontario – 7/19/14". Stadium Super Trucks. Retrieved August 25, 2021.
- ^ "Bill Hynes jumps behind the wheel of a Stadium Super Truck". Speedway Media. July 23, 2014. Retrieved August 25, 2021.
- ^ Nguyen, Justin (February 21, 2017). "Arie Luyendyk Jr. joins Team UFD". Overtake Motorsport. Retrieved March 19, 2022.
- ^ Fabrizio, Tony (September 14, 2016). "Super woman: Sara Price making impact on Super Trucks Series". ESPNW. ESPN. Retrieved March 19, 2022.
- ^ "2018 United Fiber & Data Driver Roster". Stadium Super Trucks. January 23, 2018. Retrieved March 19, 2022.
- ^ "Stadium SUPER Trucks UFD At The Glen". Stadium Super Trucks. September 2, 2017. Retrieved March 19, 2022.
- ^ "Sheldon Creed Wins Stadium SUPER Trucks Return To Dirt At Australia's Valvoline Raceway". Stadium Super Trucks. November 2, 2015. Retrieved March 19, 2022.
- ^ "EXR Series Driver's Feature: Meet Bill Hynes". EXR Racing Series. Retrieved September 3, 2021.
- ^ "EXR Racing Series - High-Performance, High-Level Racing for Amateur Racers". Racer. January 11, 2017. Retrieved September 3, 2021.
- ^ Becker, Brett (February 19, 2018). "Racing and Rock 'n' Roll". National Auto Sport Association. Retrieved September 3, 2021.
- ^ "WORLD WRAP: Briscoe claims IMSA class podium". Speedcafe. August 7, 2017. Retrieved September 3, 2021.
- ^ "American Bill Hynes set for double duties at Clipsal". Speedcafe. February 26, 2017. Retrieved March 19, 2022.
- ^ Herrero, Daniel (May 7, 2017). "Gordon, Creed to make ARC debuts in Perth". Speedcafe. Retrieved March 19, 2022.
- ^ "From Stadium Super Trucks to Aussie Racing Cars". Aussie Racing Cars. Archived from the original on June 7, 2017. Retrieved March 19, 2022.
- ^ Nguyen, Justin (February 7, 2018). "SST: Bill Hynes declared winner of Lake Elsinore race". Overtake Motorsport. Retrieved March 19, 2022.
- ^ Nguyen, Justin (October 27, 2019). "Matt Brabham sneaks by final-lap drama, wins SST Gold Coast Race 2". The Checkered Flag. Retrieved March 19, 2022.
- ^ Nguyen, Justin (July 2, 2022). "Gavin Harlien nets SST Mid-Ohio Race 1 win despite lap confusion". The Checkered Flag. Retrieved July 5, 2022.
- ^ Nguyen, Justin (September 4, 2022). "Gavin Harlien wins SST Bristol Race 1". The Checkered Flag. Retrieved November 14, 2022.
- ^ Nguyen, Justin (April 21, 2021). "SST Grand Prix of St. Petersburg entry list revealed". The Checkered Flag. Retrieved March 19, 2022.
- ^ Segelbaum, Dylan. "York CEO Bill Hynes arrested on charges related to assault, stalking, PFA violation". York Daily Record. Retrieved 2023-04-19.
- ^ Greene, Andy (2023-02-18). "How an Alleged Con Man Tore Apart One of the Nineties' Biggest Bands". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2023-04-19.
- ^ Nguyen, Justin (2023-04-07). "Bill Hynes set for 10th year in SST". The Checkered Flag. Retrieved 2023-05-24.
- ^ "Official 2014 Point Standings". Stadium Super Trucks. Retrieved August 25, 2021.
- ^ "2015 Official Point Standings". Stadium Super Trucks. Retrieved August 25, 2021.
- ^ "2016 Overall Point Standings". Stadium Super Trucks. Retrieved August 25, 2021.
- ^ "2017 Overall Point Standings". Stadium Super Trucks. Retrieved August 25, 2021.
- ^ "2018 Overall Point Standings". Stadium Super Trucks. Retrieved August 25, 2021.
- ^ "2019 Overall Point Standings". Stadium Super Trucks. Retrieved August 25, 2021.
- ^ "2020 Adelaide Results". Stadium Super Trucks. Retrieved August 25, 2021.
- ^ "2020 Race Results". Stadium Super Trucks. Retrieved August 25, 2021.
- ^ "2021 Overall Point Standings". Stadium Super Trucks. Retrieved October 1, 2021.
- ^ "2022 Overall Point Standings". Stadium Super Trucks. Retrieved April 20, 2023.
- ^ "2023 Overall Point Standings". Stadium Super Trucks. Retrieved May 20, 2024.
- ^ "2024 Overall Point Standings". Stadium Super Trucks. Retrieved May 20, 2024.