View source for Sam Schmidt

{{short description|American racing driver}}
{{BLP Sources|date=May 2016}}
{{Infobox racing driver
|name              = Sam Schmidt
|image             = Sam Schmidt - Carb Day 2015 - Sarah Stierch.jpg
|caption           = Schmidt in 2015
|birth_date        = {{bda|1964|8|15}}
|birth_place       = [[Lincoln, Nebraska]]
|death_date        = 
|last series       = [[IndyCar Series]]
|years active      = 1997–1999
|teams             = {{ubl|[[Blueprint Racing]]|[[LP Racing]]|[[Treadway Racing]]}}
|starts            = 26
|wins              = 1
|poles             = 1
|best finish       = 5th
|year              = [[1999 Indy Racing League season|1999]]
|prev series       = [[CARS Pro Cup Series|USAR Hooters Pro Cup Series]]
|prev series years = 1995
}}

'''Samuel Schmidt''' (born August 15, 1964) is a former [[IndyCar|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.

==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.{{cn|date=September 2018}} 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 [[CARS Pro Cup Series|USAR Hooters Pro Cup Series]] at the age of 31, where he won [[Rookie of the Year (award)|Rookie of the Year]] honors.{{cn|date=September 2018}}

[[File:Schmidt & Tagliani 20110521.jpg|thumb|left|Sam Schmidt with [[2011 Indianapolis 500]] pole winner [[Alex Tagliani]], who drove for Schmidt's team]]
In [[1996–1997 Indy Racing League season|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 [[IZOD IndyCar World Championships|Las Vegas]] in [[1999 Indy Racing League season|1999]].{{cn|date=September 2018}} He finished fifth in series points that year. During that offseason, while testing in preparation for the [[2000 Indy Racing League season|2000]] season, Schmidt crashed at [[Walt Disney World Speedway]] on January 6, 2000.<ref name="Sentinel01-07-2000pg19">{{cite news|title=Crash at Disney paralyzes IRL driver|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/22795022/sam_schmidt/|first=Juliet|last=Macur|newspaper=The Orlando Sentinel|page=19|via=[[Newspapers.com]]|date=January 19, 2000|accessdate=August 14, 2018}}{{Open access}}</ref> The accident rendered him a [[quadriplegic]], and put him on a respirator for five months.<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BqjcxJiPX9M], Sam's story, Schmidt Peterson Motorsports, may 21, 2014 (video)</ref>

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 [[Tetraplegia|tetraplegic]] [[Formula One]] team owner [[Frank Williams (Formula One)|Sir Frank Williams]], he founded [[Sam Schmidt Motorsports]], which has become the most successful team in the history of the Indy Lights series,{{cn|date=September 2018}} winning the [[2004 Infiniti Pro Series season|2004]] series championship with [[Thiago Medeiros]], the [[2006 Indy Pro Series season|2006]] title with [[Jay Howard]], and the [[2007 Indy Pro Series season|2007]] title with [[Alex Lloyd (racing driver)|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.{{cn|date=September 2018}}

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.{{cn|date=September 2018}}

==Career results==
===Indy Racing League===
([[Template:American Open Wheel driver results legend|key]]) (Races in '''bold''' indicate pole position)
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center; font-size:90%"
! Year
! Team
! Chassis
! No.
! Engine
! 1
! 2
! 3
! 4
! 5
! 6
! 7
! 8
! 9
! 10
! 11
! Rank
! Points
! Ref
|-
|rowspan=2| [[1996–1997 Indy Racing League season|1996–97]]
! Blueprint Racing
!rowspan=2| [[Dallara]] IR7
! 16
!rowspan=2| [[Oldsmobile]] [[Northstar engine series#L47|Aurora]] [[V8 engine|V8]]
|[[1996 True Value 200|NHM]]
|[[1996 Las Vegas 500K|LVS]]
|[[1997 Indy 200 at Walt Disney World|WDW]]
|style="background:#EFCFFF;"|[[1997 Phoenix 200|PHX]]<br>{{small|10}}
|style="background:#EFCFFF;"|[[1997 Indianapolis 500|INDY]]<br>{{small|34}}
|style="background:#EFCFFF;"|[[1997 True Value 500|TXS]]<br>{{small|23}}
|[[1997 Samsonite 200|PPI]]
|
|
|
|
|rowspan=2 style="background:#CFCFFF;"| '''27th'''
|rowspan=2 style="background:#CFCFFF;"| '''76'''
!rowspan=2| <ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.racing-reference.info/driver-season-stats/schmisa01/1997/O/|title=Sam Schmidt – 1997 Indy Racing League Results|work=Racing-Reference|publisher=NASCAR Digital Media, LLC|access-date=August 6, 2023}}</ref>
|-
! LP Racing
!rowspan=3| 99
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|style="background:#EFCFFF;"|[[1997 VisionAire 500|CLT]]<br>{{small|18}}
|style="background:#EFCFFF;"|[[1997 Pennzoil 200|NH2]]<br>{{small|22}}
|style="background:#EFCFFF;"|[[1997 Las Vegas 500K|LV2]]<br>{{small|27}}
|
|-
| [[1998 Indy Racing League season|1998]]
! [[LP Racing]]
! [[Dallara]] IR8
! [[Oldsmobile]] [[Northstar engine series#L47|Aurora]] [[V8 engine|V8]]
|style="background:#CFEAFF;"|[[1998 Indy 200 at Walt Disney World|WDW]]<br>{{small|9}}
|style="background:#CFEAFF;"|[[1998 Dura Lube 200|PHX]]<br>{{small|7}}
|style="background:#EFCFFF;"|[[1998 Indianapolis 500|INDY]]<br>{{small|26}}
|style="background:#CFCFFF;"|[[1998 True Value 500|TXS]]<br>{{small|18}}
|style="background:#CFCFFF;"|[[1998 New England 200|NHM]]<br>{{small|12}}
|style="background:#EFCFFF;"|[[1998 Pep Boys 400K|DOV]]<br>{{small|17}}
|style="background:#EFCFFF;"|[[1998 VisionAire 500K|CLT]]<br>{{small|14}}
|style="background:#CFCFFF;"|[[1998 Radisson 200|PPIR]]<br>{{small|13}}
|style="background:#EFCFFF;"|ATL<br>{{small|15}}
|style="background:#EFCFFF;"|TX2<br>{{small|27}}
|style="background:#DFDFDF;"|LVS<br>{{small|2}}
|style="background:#CFCFFF;"| '''14th'''
|style="background:#CFCFFF;"| '''186'''
!<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.racing-reference.info/driver-season-stats/schmisa01/1998/O/|title=Sam Schmidt – 1998 Pep Boys Indy Racing League Results|work=Racing-Reference|publisher=NASCAR Digital Media, LLC|access-date=August 6, 2023}}</ref>
|-
| [[1999 Indy Racing League season|1999]]
! [[Treadway Racing]]
! [[G-Force Technologies|G-Force]] GF01C
! [[Oldsmobile]] [[Northstar engine series#L47|Aurora]] [[V8 engine|V8]]
|style="background:#EFCFFF;"|WDW<br>{{small|27}}
|style="background:#CFEAFF;"|PHX<br>{{small|9}}
|[[VisionAire 500K|CLT]]<br><small>C<SUP>1</SUP></small>
|style="background:#EFCFFF;"|[[1999 Indianapolis 500|INDY]]<br>{{small|30}}
|style="background:#FFDF9F;"|''TXS''<br>{{small|3}}
|style="background:#DFDFDF;"|PPI<br>{{small|2}}
|style="background:#EFCFFF;"|ATL<br>{{small|22}}
|style="background:#DFFFDF;"|DOV<br>{{small|5}}
|style="background:#DFFFDF;"|PP2<br>{{small|5}}
|style="background:#FFFFBF;"|'''LVS'''<br>{{small|1}}
|style="background:#EFCFFF;"|TX2<br>{{small|22}}
|style="background:#DFFFDF;"| '''5th'''
|style="background:#DFFFDF;"| '''233'''
!<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.racing-reference.info/driver-season-stats/schmisa01/1999/O/|title=Sam Schmidt – 1999 Pep Boys Indy Racing League Results|work=Racing-Reference|publisher=NASCAR Digital Media, LLC|access-date=August 6, 2023}}</ref>
|}

: ''<sup>1</sup> The 1999 [[VisionAire 500K]] at [[Charlotte Motor Speedway|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.<ref>{{cite AV media| url-status = live| archive-url = https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211211/o5jT0_8Zlg0| archive-date = 2021-12-11| url = https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o5jT0_8Zlg0| title = Press Your Luck Episode 332 Cydney/Sam/Jill | website=[[YouTube]]}}{{cbignore}}</ref><ref>{{cite AV media| url-status = live| archive-url = https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211211/vw8I70c1Lvc| archive-date = 2021-12-11| url = https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vw8I70c1Lvc| title = Press Your Luck #333 | website=[[YouTube]]}}{{cbignore}}</ref><ref>{{cite AV media| url-status = live| archive-url = https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211211/BF0oh0P9UKs| archive-date = 2021-12-11| url = https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BF0oh0P9UKs| title = Press Your Luck Episode 334 Sam/Rick/Esmeralda | website=[[YouTube]]}}{{cbignore}}</ref>
*He established the [[Sam Schmidt Paralysis Foundation]] to further the cause of paralysis research, treatment and [[quality of life|quality-of-life]] issues.{{cn|date=September 2018}}
*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.<ref>{{cite web|title=Sam Schmidt will get the first semi-autonomous driver's license|url=http://autoweek.com/article/car-news/sam-schmidt-will-get-first-semi-autonomous-drivers-license|publisher=[[Autoweek]]|accessdate=19 May 2018|date=26 September 2016|author=Wesley Wren}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last1=Weaver|first1=Matt|title=Paralyzed Sam Schmidt set to race 77-year-old Mario Andretti at Indianapolis|url=http://autoweek.com/article/indycar/paralyzed-sam-schmidt-set-race-77-year-old-mario-andretti-indianapolis|publisher=Autoweek|accessdate=19 May 2018|date=13 May 2017}}</ref>
*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.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2021-12-18 |title=SpeedVegas critic now CEO of high-speed operation |url=https://www.reviewjournal.com/business/speedvegas-critic-now-ceo-of-high-speed-operation-2498986/ |access-date=2025-04-28 |website=Las Vegas Review-Journal |language=en-US}}</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
{{commons}}
*[http://www.spmindycar.com Schmidt Peterson Motorsports] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150906102055/http://www.spmindycar.com/ |date=2015-09-06 }}
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20051214185525/http://www.samschmidt.org/ Sam Schmidt Paralysis Foundation]

{{Treadway Racing}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Schmidt, Sam}}
[[Category:1964 births]]
[[Category:Formula Ford drivers]]
[[Category:Indianapolis 500 drivers]]
[[Category:IndyCar Series drivers]]
[[Category:IndyCar Series team owners]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Sportspeople from Lincoln, Nebraska]]
[[Category:People with tetraplegia]]
[[Category:Racing drivers from Nebraska]]
[[Category:Contestants on American game shows]]
[[Category:SCCA National Championship Runoffs winners]]
[[Category:U.S. F2000 National Championship drivers]]