Sam Schmidt

Background

After graduating from Pepperdine University, he became a successful businessman, eventually purchasing his father"s parts company in 1989 at the age of 25.

Career

He raced at a competitive amateur level, supported by his business income, but dreamed of someday driving in the Indianapolis 500. He first drove professionally in 1995 in the United States Army Reserve Hooters Pro Cup Series at the age of 31 which, by racing standards, is an unusually old age to begin a professional career. In 1997 he made his first IRL start and became a rising star in the league, raced in 3 consecutive Indianapolis 500"s, and netted his first victory from the pole at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in 1999, finishing fifth in series points that year.

During that offseason, while testing in preparation for the 2000 season, Schmidt crashed at Walt Disney World Speedway on January 6, 2000.

The accident rendered him a quadriplegic, and put him on a respirator for five months. After leaving the hospital, Schmidt, no longer able to actually drive a racecar, realized he needed to find a new passion and follow lieutenant

Inspired by meeting quadriplegic Formula One team owner Sir Frank Williams, he founded Sam Schmidt Motorsports, which has become the most successful team in the history of the Industry Lights series, winning the 2004 series championship with Thiago Medeiros, the 2006 title with Jay Howard, and the 2007 title with Alex Lloyd. Sam Schmidt Motorsports was a full-time IndyCar series team in 2001 and 2002, and continues to participate annually in the Indianapolis 500.

In the Firestone Industry Lights series, as of August 2009 the team had posted 30 victories out of 100 starts.

Since becoming a team owner, several drivers hired by Schmidt Motorsports have been involved in fatal and near-fatal accidents. Driver Dan Wheldon was killed in October 2011 during a race in Las Vegas. Driver Mikhail Aleshin suffered critical injuries requiring a two-week hospitalization as the result of an accident during practice for an August 2014 race in Fontana.

In May 2015, driver James Hinchcliffe received life-threatening injuries during a crash at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

In addition to the motorsports enterprise, Sam established the Sam Schmidt Paralysis Foundation to further the cause of paralysis research, treatment and quality-of-life issues. Sam now lives in the Las Vegas area and travels over 100 days per year despite his medical condition.

Achievements

• Nonetheless, he won Rookie of the Year honors. After acquiring the FAZZT Race Team IndyCar team in 2011, Sam Schmidt Motorsports returned full-time to the IZOD IndyCar Series, and on May 21, 2011, driver Alex Tagliani won the pole position for the Indianapolis 500, the first pole for the team