Alex Popow

Alex Popow Karaha (born 9 November 1975 in Lecheria) is a Venezuelan racing driver who last competed in the IMSA SportsCar Championship, having formerly competed in the American Le Mans Series and Rolex Sports Car Series for CORE autosport and Starworks Motorsport. Popow was champion of the LMPC class in the American Le Mans Series in 2012^[2] and obtained a class victory at the 12 Hours of Sebring in 2012, and an overall win the inaugural Brickyard Grand Prix at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in 2012.

Popow finished second overall in the 2012 24 Hours of Daytona, and most recently won the 2016 IMSA SportsCar Championship title alongside Renger van der Zande in the Prototype Challenge (PC) class.^[3][4]

Name

Popow's name, which is pronounced "pop-off", is the result of his Eastern European ancestry. During a broadcast on Speed Channel, it was revealed that his family name was originally Popov, but was changed to Popow upon his ancestors' immigration.

Early racing career

Popow began his racing career in his native Venezuela in 1996, winning the Eastern Division Championship for 2000cc cars. He repeated as champion one year later before moving up to the Fiat Palio Cup and Mustang Cup, where he reached success in both championships. Popow was the Expert Class champion in the Palio Cup in both 1998 and 1999, while also earning top honors in the Mustang Cup in 2000 and 2002.^[5]

Having won the Formula 2000 Venezuela Championship in 2005, Popow went on to form the first all-Venezuelan team to participate in the Panam-GP series, which took place in six countries, including Venezuela.

Bogota 6 Hours

Considered the most prestigious professional auto racing event in Colombia, Popow has also enjoyed success in the Bogota 6 Hours. He earned a second-place result in his debut in 1997, while also collecting runner-up finishes in 2004 and 2005. Popow was crowned champion of the race in 2011.

Off-road racing

Between 2007 and 2009, Popow competed in the AWA 4x4 Rally Championship, earning a third-place finish in the LUV D-MAX Trophy.

Rolex Sports Car Series

Popow made his Grand-Am debut in 2011, racing in the Rolex Sports Car Series for Starworks Motorsport team. He finished a season-high third at Watkins Glen with Ryan Dalziel and finished 20th in the Daytona Prototype points standings.

In 2012, Popow took his first victory in the inaugural Brickyard Grand Prix Indianapolis Motor Speedway, and obtained two second places and two fourth, so that finished sixth in the drivers' championship.

Popow with Ryan Dalziel achieved one win, two second places and two third in the 2013 Rolex Sports Car Series season, however the poor results obtained at the end of the season, did they finished eighth in the drivers' championship in the DP class. In 2013, Popow won the ‘Jim Trueman’ Award by a landslide and the Starworks Motosport was crowned ‘Sports Car Team of the Year’ by the SPEED Channel.

American Le Mans Series

Popow won the 2012 12 Hours of Sebring in his American Le Mans Series debut, teaming with Burt Frisselle and E. J. Viso in a CORE autosport Oreca FLM09 Prototype Challenge car.^[6] He then went on to win the following ALMS round at Long Beach with Ryan Dalziel.^[7]

Other racing

Popow competed in the Latin America Challenge Formula 2000 Championship, finishing third in 2010 and fourth in 2011. He also took part in the Mexican Supercup Seat Leon Championship in 2011, finishing second.

Additionally, Popow finished third in the 2012 Gulf 12 Hours at Abu Dhabi.

In August 2012, Popow made his NASCAR debut, driving in the Nationwide Series for TriStar Motorsports at Watkins Glen International.^[8]

Personal life

Popow is married to Lu-Ann Acosta-Rubio and has two children, including his namesake Alex, a junior formula racecar driver.^[9] He enjoys extreme sports in his free time.^[10]

Motorsports career results

NASCAR

(key) (Bold - Pole position awarded by time. Italics - Pole position earned by points standings. * – Most laps led.)

Nationwide Series

^* Season still in progress
¹ not eligible for series points

Complete WeatherTech SportsCar Championship results

References

1. ^ Dagys, John (16 November 2018). "2019 Preliminary Driver Ratings Released". Sportscar365. John Dagys Media. Retrieved 31 December 2025.
2. ^ "ALMS finishes tumultuous season: Year in review 2012". Autoweek. 2012-12-19. Retrieved 2026-04-13.
3. ^ "ALEX POPOW SE CONSAGRÓ CAMPEÓN EN PROTOTIPOS CHALLENGE" (in Spanish). 2016-10-02. Retrieved 2026-04-13.
4. ^ Kilbey, Stephen (2016-12-29). "2016 Champions In Pictures: IMSA Series’". www.dailysportscar.com. Retrieved 2026-04-13.
5. ^ "alexpopow.com"
6. ^ Dagys, John (17 March 2012). "Audi Dominates Sebring". SPEED.com. Archived from the original on 21 May 2012. Retrieved 17 July 2012.
7. ^ "coreautosport.com". Archived from the original on 2013-01-20.
8. ^ "Venezuelan Popow To Make Nationwide Debut". SPEED Channel. Fox Sports. August 10, 2012. Archived from the original on August 11, 2012. Retrieved 2012-08-10.
9. ^ "ALEX POPOW SE CONSAGRÓ CAMPEÓN EN PROTOTIPOS CHALLENGE" (in Spanish). comisiondeportivatouring.com. 2 October 2025. Retrieved 22 September 2025.
10. ^ "alexpopow.com"
11. ^ "Alex Popow – 2012 NASCAR Nationwide Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved April 7, 2023.

External links

• Official website (in Spanish)