Sam Schmidt

Samuel Schmidt (born August 15, 1964) is a former Indy Racing League driver and NTT IndyCar Series and Indy Lights series team owner. Schmidt's brief IndyCar career included a win in 1999, but an accident before the 2000 season left him a quadriplegic. Schmidt was a co-owner of the Arrow McLaren IndyCar team.

Sam Schmidt
Schmidt in 2015
Born	(1964-08-15) August 15, 1964 (age 60) Lincoln, Nebraska
IndyCar Series
Years active	1997–1999
Teams	Blueprint Racing LP Racing Treadway Racing
Starts	26
Wins	1
Poles	1
Best finish	5th in 1999
Previous series
1995	USAR Hooters Pro Cup Series

Racing career

After graduating from Pepperdine University, Schmidt became a successful businessman, eventually purchasing his father's parts company in 1989 at the age of 25.^{[citation needed]} He raced at a competitive amateur level, supported by his business income, but dreamed of someday driving in the Indianapolis 500. Schmidt first drove professionally in 1995 in the USAR Hooters Pro Cup Series at the age of 31, where he won Rookie of the Year honors.^{[citation needed]}

Sam Schmidt with 2011 Indianapolis 500 pole winner Alex Tagliani, who drove for Schmidt's team

In 1997 Schmidt made his first Indy Racing League start and became a rising star in the league. He raced three consecutive years at the Indianapolis 500, and earned his first race victory, from pole position, at Las Vegas in 1999.^{[citation needed]} He finished 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.^[1] The accident rendered him a quadriplegic, and put him on a respirator for five months.^[2]

After leaving the hospital, Schmidt, no longer able to drive a racecar, realized he needed to find a new passion and follow it. Inspired by meeting tetraplegic Formula One team owner Sir Frank Williams, he founded Sam Schmidt Motorsports, which has become the most successful team in the history of the Indy Lights series,^{[citation needed]} 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 Indy Lights series, as of August 2009 the team had posted 30 victories out of 100 starts.^{[citation needed]}

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.^{[citation needed]}

Career results

Indy Racing League

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position)

Year	Team	Chassis	No.	Engine	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	Rank	Points	Ref
1996–97	Blueprint Racing	Dallara IR7	16	Oldsmobile Aurora V8	NHM	LVS	WDW	PHX 10	INDY 34	TXS 23	PPI					27th	76	[3]
	LP Racing		99									CLT 18	NH2 22	LV2 27
1998	LP Racing	Dallara IR8		Oldsmobile Aurora V8	WDW 9	PHX 7	INDY 26	TXS 18	NHM 12	DOV 17	CLT 14	PPIR 13	ATL 15	TX2 27	LVS 2	14th	186	[4]
1999	Treadway Racing	G-Force GF01C		Oldsmobile Aurora V8	WDW 27	PHX 9	CLT C1	INDY 30	TXS 3	PPI 2	ATL 22	DOV 5	PP2 5	LVS 1	TX2 22	5th	233	[5]

¹ The 1999 VisionAire 500K at Charlotte was cancelled after 79 laps due to spectator fatalities.

Other

• Schmidt won $16,350 on Press Your Luck over the course of three episodes between January 2–4, 1985.^[6][7][8]
• He established the Sam Schmidt Paralysis Foundation to further the cause of paralysis research, treatment and quality-of-life issues.^{[citation needed]}
• He was helped by Arrow Electronics to drive again by creating a 2014 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray that is controlled with head movement, voice commands, and by mouth sip/puff actions.^[9][10]
• Schmidt currently serves on the board of directors for BraunAbility, a leading manufacturer of wheelchair accessible vehicles and other mobility solutions.
• Schmidt is co-owner of Speed Vegas motorpark.^[11]