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 Indy Lights series, winning the 2004 series championship with Thiago Medeiros, the 2006 title with Jay Howard, and the 2007 title with Alex Lloyd. Both the team and Sam had high hopes for 2000 season but the accident happened at the Walt Disney World Speedway on January 6, 2000, which stopped Sam's career. Schmidt, 35, is conscious and alert. After three races for Blueprint Racing, Schmidt moved to the #99 Dallara-Oldsmobile for LP Racing, participating in three more races. He was driving the #16 car for Blueprint Racing, finishing in the 10th place. Driver Dan Wheldon was killed in October 2011 during a race in Las Vegas. Sam Schmidt was a promising talent in the Indy Racing League in the late 1990s when a tragic accident during the off-season left him paralyzed … LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla., Thursday, Jan. 6, 2000 - Indy Racing League driver Sam Schmidt is suffering some paralysis and is in intensive care at Orlando Regional Medical Center after an accident Thursday morning during the league 's Open Test at Walt Disney World Speedway. The SAM Car was developed for Schmidt, a former IndyCar driver who was paralyzed from the shoulders down after a racing accident in 2000. In 1998, Schmidt spent a full season with LP Racing, driving the #99 Dallara to his first IRL podium in the season's finale at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Sam Schmidt is a former racing driver and current team owner whose team participates in the IndyCar Series. Sam Schmid, 23, was a junior at ... Schmidt has recovered so well, ... Sam Schmid, declared DEAD after car accident, makes 'miracle' recovery. Sam Schmidt spent three seasons in the Indy Racing League from 1996 to 1999 before he suffered life-threatening injuries in an accident during a test at the Walt Disney World Speedway in January 2000. During that offseason, while testing in preparation for the 2000 season, Schmidt crashed at Walt Disney World Speedway on January 6, 2000. ... Driver Mikhail Aleshin suffered critical injuries requiring a two-week hospitalization as the result of an accident during … Schmidt, from Las Vegas, was injured when the rear of his 1999-spec Treadway Racing G Force/Aurora/Firestone car hit the outside retaining wall in Turn 2 of the 1-mile tri-oval. Until 2013, the team won six more Indy Lights titles with Jay Howard (2006), Alex Lloyd (2007), Jean-Karl Vernay (2010), Josef Newgarden (2011), Tristan Vautier (2012) and Sage Karam (2013). He started to race on an amateur level, entering the first professional competition in 1995, when he debuted in the USAR Hooters Pro Cup Series. The once-popular IndyCar driver was left a quadriplegic in a racing accident in 2000. Nonetheless, he won Rookie of the Year honors. Since then, the team scored six IndyCar wins, four with Simon Pagenaud and two with James Hinchcliffe. On the other side, Sam Schmidt Motorsports became the most successful team in the history of the Indy Lights series. LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla., Thursday, Jan. 6, 2000 - Indy Racing League driver Sam Schmidt is suffering some paralysis and is in intensive care at Orlando Regional Medical Center after an accident Thursday morning during the league 's Open Test at Walt Disney World Speedway. He finished second behind Arie Luyendyk. He first drove professionally in 1995 in the USAR Hooters Pro Cup Series at the age of 31 which, by racing standards, is an unusually old age to begin a professional career. 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. INDIANAPOLIS -- Sam Schmidt is on the track again in Indianapolis. 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. In the Firestone Indy Lights series, as of August 2009 the team had posted 30 victories out of 100 starts. A three-year Indy Racing veteran, Schmidt finished a career-best fifth in the final season point standings in 1999 for Treadway Racing. Schmidt was testing with other Indy Racing drivers in preparation for the season-opening Delphi Indy 200 at Walt Disney World Speedway on Jan. 29. After five months on a respirator, Sam survived but became a quadriplegic. The accident rendered him a quadriplegic. The team changed its name to Schmidt Hamilton Motorsports in 2011 and then to Schmidt Peterson Motorsports in 2013. In March 1997, Sam Schmidt made his Indy Racing League debut in the fourth round of the 1996/1997 IRL season at Phoenix International Raceway. Celebrating victory at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. The successful season ended with his maiden IRL victory at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. This page was last modified on 29 August 2015, at 07:56. His next race was the Indianapolis 500, in which he retired before the green flag due to broken engine. They won the first title in 2004 with Thiago Medeiros. Next year, he joined Treadway Racing to drive the #99 G-Force. After five months on a respirator, Sam survived but became a quadriplegic. Violent accident stopped Sam's 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. Sam now lives in the Las Vegas area and travels over 100 days per year despite his medical condition. He won Rookie of the Year honors and then switched to the USF2000 National Championship. More details about Schmidt's injuries and condition will be provided when available. Made for you by SnapLap. After graduating from Pepperdine University, he became a successful businessman, eventually purchasing his father's parts company in 1989 at the age of 25. Sam Schmidt (born August 15, 1964, in Lincoln, Nebraska) is a former Indy Racing League driver and current Verizon IndyCar Series and Firestone Indy Lights series team owner. (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position), From Infogalactic: the planetary knowledge core, "Russia's Mikhail Aleshin won't return to IndyCar in 2015, will compete instead in WEC LMP2", "James Hinchcliffe was 'touch and go' after accident", https://infogalactic.com/w/index.php?title=Sam_Schmidt&oldid=2778743, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, About Infogalactic: the planetary knowledge core. Further tests are being conducted to determine the extent and duration of Schmidt's paralysis. [3] In May 2015, driver James Hinchcliffe received life-threatening injuries during a crash at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.[4]. He was 27th in the points standings. In 2001, he announced a formation of the Sam Schmidt Motorsports. As a team owner, he captured seven Indy Lights titles and six IndyCar race victories. In the final championship classification, he was in the fifth place. From 2003 to 2010, the team participated just at Indianapolis 500, returning full time in 2011. 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