¦ April 2, 2005
Schmidt now driven as Pro Series owner

Schmidt now driven as Pro Series owner

By GODWIN KELLY
MOTORSPORTS EDITOR / Last update: April 02, 2005

DAYTONA BEACH -- Sam Schmidt offers an amazing story of fortitude and resilience which personifies a true racer.

Paralyzed from the waist down after crashing hard in practice at Walt Disney World Speedway in 2000, Schmidt refused to give up his racing dream and started his own Indy Racing League team.

"I'd obviously rather be a paid driver, but this is the second-best thing," Schmidt said. "Winning races and championships as an owner is one step down to me."

Schmidt ran an IndyCar Series effort in 2001 and '02 but he didn't have enough funding to be competitive each week. So in 2003 he moved down a notch to the Menard's Infiniti Pro Series, which Schmidt compares to NASCAR's Busch Series.

Last season Schmidt Motorsports captured the Pro Series championship. He returns this season with a three-car lineup with drivers Jaime Camara, Chris Festa and Travis Gregg.

When you pit IndyCar Series mechanics with eager, young drivers, magic happens.

Schmidt, who has a masters degree in finance, said his wrenchmen and engineers have a dozen IRL championship rings between them which gives his team a sizeable advantage in the Pro Series.

"My guys, they're all over-qualified for the Indy Pro Series," Schmidt said.

The Pro Series will run Sunday as a preliminary event to the St. Petersburg Grand Prix, the first road-course race in IRL history.

"It's good for the series. It opens new opportunities, creates new spectators and markets," Schmidt said. "We need more races and more fan base in order to get more sponsors.

"Yes, it's a bit of a departure from original IRL philosophy. But this is just like any other business, you have to stay on top of the environment, which is constantly changing."

Schmidt made a major announcement earlier this week. With the help of Coca-Cola sponsorship dollars, he's going to take his resources and file an entry for the Indianapolis 500. He selected Richie Hearn to drive the car.

"The 500 is very unique and very special," said Schmidt, who undergoes 35 hours of rehabilitation each week at a facility near his Las Vegas home. "Being part of that race has been my dream since I was a kid.

"It's quite obviously that my passion has always been the Indy 500 and wanting to get there as a driver and wanting to have an opportunity to win," he added.

This will be Schmidt Motorsports only foray into IndyCar Series competition this season but the wheelchair-bound car owner is quick to point out that Chip Ganassi, who now fields two full-time IRL teams, won the open-wheel race in a one-shot deal in 2000.

"Indy has its own aero package on the cars," he said. "The only place they race this aero package on the cars is at Indy. There's no preseason testing, so everybody gets the same amount of track time as anybody else. I don't feel we're at a disadvantage."

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