| By: Madison Kinner
Quinn and Connor Attrell have been around the Hyundai brand their entire lives, so when an opportunity arose to represent the Hyundai brand on the race track, they gladly took it.
Their father, Bob Attrell, opened a Hyundai dealership in Canada in 1991, and the family has run Hyundai Racing Canada for around 15 years.
In 2020, Bob Attrell bought the 2019 championship winning #98 Hyundai Veloster N in 2020 to race in Canada. Around the same time, he gave Connor and Quinn Attrell the opportunity to race.
“We saw some success, we were doing well,” Connor Attrell said. “He saw an opportunity for us to continue racing and we’ve had a ton of support through Hyundai Canada and Quaker State. It’s just been that kind of organic growth from giving us a shot and being able to see some success and keep pushing forward.”
Now, the team races two cars in the Sports Car Championship Canada series: the Veloster N and the Elantra N.
The Attrells said it’s an incredible opportunity to both race and sell Hyundai cars.
“It’s just been nice to be able to represent the brand, something that’s been such a major part of our lives, something we deal with every day,” Connor Attrell said. “The adage is ‘win on Sunday, sell on Monday.’ So it’s very much we drive what we sell, and it makes me feel very proud to represent the brand in this way.”
“My whole world is just Hyundai, Hyundai, Hyundai,” Quinn Attrell said. “I think it’s pretty cool how they want to offer support, allow us to be racing and show what the product is and how competitive we can be out there.”
Connor Attrell said the support from Hyundai and Bryan Herta Autosport has been incredible.
“I’m very, very appreciative to be a part of that and be able to sort of lean on the expertise that has been established with the team in the States,” Connor Attrell said.
Quinn Attrell said the Hyundai Driver Camps have been fun and influential.
“I think it gives us a lot more experience as drivers to improve us skillswise, shows us how to mentally prepare,” Quinn Attrell said.
While this season had its ups and downs for the Attrells, the brothers said they learned things that will help them going forward.
“I think one of the biggest things I’ve learned on sort of a personal level in the last year is even with the best laid plans and putting everything together, things don’t always go the way you
want them to,” Connor Attrell said. “And, in racing, there’s so many variables that you can put your best effort forward and have everything prepared and it can still not go really the way you want.”
“I would say I learned the importance of jumping at opportunities, and I would say that’s mainly on track, maybe being a little more aggressive and not waiting for an opportunity to arise but making the opportunity for myself,” Quinn Attrell said.
Next year, the team will race in the Sports Car Championship Canada series, and they hope to compete in a few IMSA races in the coming years.
“Our priority is to be able to show up for one of the IMSA races ideally and add to the field of Hyundais that have been dominating that series for so long,” Connor Attrell said.
Connor Attrell said it’s been exciting to see how Hyundai has used motorsports to evolve its image.
“I think the end brand has done a really good job on giving Hyundai an image in the automotive marketplace that is different from what they’ve had in the past and to view the branding from a sales perspective, you can see that shift in the consumers at this point,” Connor Attrell said. “So I’m just super proud to be able to represent Hyundai and the branding and want to continue to represent that on the racing side for as long as I can.”
Madison Kinner is a senior in journalism at Ohio State University and is the winner of the 2023 Rod Campbell award.
Attrell Racing is a Bryan Herta Autosport Track Support Team. |
