Samuel Schmidt (born August 15, 1964) is a former

Indy Racing League The IndyCar Series, currently known as the NTT IndyCar Series under sponsorship, is the highest class of regional North American open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars in the United States, which has been conducted under the auspices of ...

driver and current NTT

IndyCar Series The IndyCar Series, currently known as the NTT IndyCar Series under sponsorship, is the highest class of regional North American open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars in the United States, which has been conducted under the auspices of ...

and

Indy Lights Indy NXT, previously Indy Lights, is an American developmental automobile racing series sanctioned by IndyCar, currently known as Firestone Indy NXT Series for sponsorship reasons. Indy Lights is the highest step on the Road to Indy, a program ...

series team owner. Schmidt's brief IndyCar career included a win in 1999, but an accident before the 2000 season left him a

quadriplegic Tetraplegia, also known as quadriplegia, is defined as the dysfunction or loss of motor and/or sensory function in the cervical area of the spinal cord. A loss of motor function can present as either weakness or paralysis leading to partial or t ...

. Schmidt is currently co-owner of the

Arrow McLaren SP The IndyCar Series operation of McLaren Racing competes under the banner of Arrow McLaren SP. This entry is based in Indianapolis and was founded by former driver Sam Schmidt as Sam Schmidt Motorsports. Fellow ex-driver Davey Hamilton joined as ...

IndyCar team.

Racing career

After graduating from

Pepperdine University Pepperdine University () is a private research university affiliated with the Churches of Christ with its main campus in Los Angeles County, California. Pepperdine's main campus consists of 830 acres (340 ha) overlooking the Pacific Ocean and t ...

, Schmidt became a successful businessman, eventually purchasing his father's parts company in 1989 at the age of 25. He raced at a competitive amateur level, supported by his business income, but dreamed of someday driving in the

Indianapolis 500 The Indianapolis 500, formally known as the Indianapolis 500-Mile Race, and commonly called the Indy 500, is an annual automobile race held at Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS) in Speedway, Indiana, United States, an enclave suburb of Indi ...

. Schmidt first drove professionally in 1995 in the

USAR Hooters Pro Cup Series The CARS Solid Rock Carriers Tour (formerly known as the USARacing Pro Cup Series, USAR Hooters Pro Cup Series, CARS Pro Cup Series, Rev-Oil Pro Cup Series, CARS X1-R Pro Cup Series) is a stock car auto racing series in the United States. It is s ...

at the age of 31, where he won Rookie of the Year honors. Schmidt & Tagliani 20110521

1997 File:1997 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The movie set of ''Titanic'', the highest-grossing movie in history at the time; ''Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', is published; Comet Hale-Bopp passes by Earth and becomes one of t ...

Schmidt made his first Indy Racing League start and became a rising star in the league. He raced three consecutive years at the

, and earned his first race victory, from pole position, at

Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...

1999 File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school shootin ...

. He finished fifth in series points that year. During that offseason, while testing in preparation for the

2000 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from ...

season, Schmidt crashed at

Walt Disney World Speedway Walt Disney World Speedway was a racing facility located on the grounds of the Walt Disney World Resort in Bay Lake, Florida, near Orlando. It was built in 1995 by IMS Events, Inc., a subsidiary of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Corporation, an ...

on January 6, 2000. The accident rendered him a

, and put him on a respirator for five months. 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 Tetraplegia, also known as quadriplegia, is defined as the dysfunction or loss of motor and/or sensory function in the cervical area of the spinal cord. A loss of motor function can present as either weakness or paralysis leading to partial or ...

Formula One Formula One (also known as Formula 1 or F1) is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The World Drivers' Championship, ...

team owner

Sir Frank Williams Sir Francis Owen Garbett Williams (16 April 1942 – 28 November 2021) was a British businessman, racing car driver, and the founder of the Williams Grand Prix Engineering, Williams Formula One team. He was the team principal from its foundati ...

, he founded

Sam Schmidt Motorsports The IndyCar Series operation of McLaren (competing as Arrow McLaren due to sponsorship) is based in Indianapolis and was founded by former IndyCar driver Sam Schmidt in 2001 as Sam Schmidt Motorsports. After a series of partnerships and name ...

, which has become the most successful team in the history of the Indy Lights series, winning the

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 6 ...

series championship with

Thiago Medeiros Thiago Medeiros (born July 24, 1982 in São Paulo) is a Brazilian racing driver. After racing in Formula Three Sudamericana from 1999 to 2002, finishing 3rd in 2001 and 4th in 2002, he came to the United States in 2003 to race in the Infiniti P ...

, the

2006 File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, votes to declare ...

title with

Jay Howard Jay Howard (born 16 February 1981) is a British professional race car driver who competes in the IndyCar Series and Indianapolis 500 and resides in Indianapolis, Indiana. Howard was the 2005 US Formula Ford Zetec champion (now known as the Coop ...

, and the

2007 File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's first iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakistani Prime Minister of Pakistan, Pr ...

title with

Alex Lloyd Alex Lloyd (born 19 November 1974) is an Australian singer-songwriter. Four of his albums, ''Black the Sun'', '' Watching Angels Mend'', '' Distant Light'' and ''Alex Lloyd'', released between 1999 and 2005, made the top ten on the ARIA charts ...

. 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. After acquiring the

FAZZT Race Team FAZZT Race Team was an auto racing team started by Montreal entrepreneur Andre Azzi, race car driver Alex Tagliani, and former Kelley Racing co-owner Jim Freudenberg (thus Freudenberg, Azzi, Tagliani). Team history The team's history can be trac ...

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.

Career results

Indy Racing League

(

key Key or The Key may refer to: Common meanings * Key (cryptography), a piece of information that controls the operation of a cryptography algorithm * Key (lock), device used to control access to places or facilities restricted by a lock * Key (map ...

) (Races in bold indicate pole position) : ''¹ The 1999

VisionAire 500K The VisionAire 500K was an Indy Racing League race held at Charlotte Motor Speedway from 1997 to 1999. During the 1999 event, three spectators were killed when debris from a crash on the track went into the grandstands. The race was stopped and c ...

Charlotte Charlotte ( ) is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont (United States), Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, Meckl ...

was cancelled after 79 laps due to spectator fatalities.''

Other

*Schmidt won $16,350 on ''

Press Your Luck ''Press Your Luck'' is an American television game show created by Bill Carruthers and Jan McCormack. It premiered on CBS daytime on September 19, 1983, and ended on September 26, 1986. The format is a retooling of an earlier Carruthers productio ...

'' over the course of three episodes between January 2–4, 1985. *He established the Sam Schmidt Paralysis Foundation to further the cause of paralysis research, treatment and

quality-of-life Quality of life (QOL) is defined by the World Health Organization as "an individual's perception of their position in life in the context of the culture and value systems in which they live and in relation to their goals, expectations, standards ...

issues. *He was helped by

Arrow Electronics Arrow Electronics is an American ''Fortune'' 500 company headquartered in Centennial, Colorado. The company specializes in distribution and value added services relating to electronic components and computer products. The company was ranked N ...

to drive again by creating a 2014 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray that is controlled with head movement, voice commands, and by mouth sip/puff actions. *Schmidt currently serves on the board of directors for

BraunAbility BraunAbility is an American manufacturer of wheelchair accessible vans and wheelchair lifts based in Winamac, Indiana. It is currently owned by Investor AB. The company was founded by Ralph Braun, who had spinal muscular atrophy. Braun designed a w ...

, a leading manufacturer of wheelchair accessible vehicles and other mobility solutions.

References

External links

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