Additionally, with a 6-month old son, 2-year-old daughter and a wife of seven years, Schmidt’s family life was great as well. [2] Just over a month later, at the 2011 season finale, Dan Wheldon died after he was involved in a 15-car wreck at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. But despite his diagnosis, he refused to lose hope in life, buoyed by unending support from his wife and children. 77 would return for Indy, with Jay Howard driving with support from Tony Stewart. mps._queue.mpsloaded.push(function(){ Chris Griffis, the team manager for Sam Schmidt Motorsports' Indy Lights team, died on September 12, 2011. '); Schmidt travels more than 140 days a year to support his team. IndyCar Edit Davey Hamilton began 2001 in the car and drove five races, including the team's first Indianapolis 500 , ending with an injury at Texas Motor Speedway . mps._queue.mpsinit = mps._queue.mpsinit || []; "":"no-")+"fn-start",[f.now(),r,o],n),o)try{return e.apply(this,arguments)}catch(t){throw c.emit("fn-err",[arguments,this,t],n),t}finally{c.emit("fn-end",[f.now()],n)}}}};a("actionText,setName,setAttribute,save,ignore,onEnd,getContext,end,get".split(","),function(t,e){h[e]=o(l+e)}),newrelic.noticeError=function(t,e){"string"==typeof t&&(t=new Error(t)),i("err",[t,f.now(),!1,e])}},{}],18:[function(t,e,n){e.exports=function(t){if("string"==typeof t&&t.length)return t.length;if("object"==typeof t){if("undefined"!=typeof ArrayBuffer&&t instanceof ArrayBuffer&&t.byteLength)return t.byteLength;if("undefined"!=typeof Blob&&t instanceof Blob&&t.size)return t.size;if(! Get all the sports news you need, direct to your inbox. var postLoadFunctions = {}; After two less successful seasons, it captured its third championship in 2010 with Jean-Karl Vernay. var _qs = window.location.href; RC Enerson finished fourth with one win and five podiums. } var _regex = /([^=&/<>()[].,;:s@"]+(.[^=&/<>()[].,;:s@"]+)*)@(([[0-9]{1,3}.[0-9]{1,3}.[0-9]{1,3}.[0-9]{1,3}])|(([a-zA-Z-0-9]+. Schmidt would also bring on another investor, former Champ Car Atlantic owner Ric Peterson. mps.__intcode = "v2"; } In 2012 SSM fielded a car for Frenchman Simon Pagenaud for the full season backed by Hewlett-Packard. if (!_qs) { return false; mps._log('**** LOADED: cnbc-cms-header-insert'); He also serves on the board of directors of BraunAbility, an Indiana-based manufacturer of wheelchair accessible vans and wheelchair lifts, and has worked closely with Arrow Electronics to create a semi-autonomous Corvette that he is able to drive via head movements. While neither driver scored a victory, Hinchcliffe would lose a close battle in Texas to Graham Rahal, while Aleshin would win his first pole at Pocono Raceway and Hinchcliffe sat on pole for the 100th Indianapolis 500. After driving with Schmidt, Leno explains that "for folks like Sam, victory lane isn't about crossing the victory line first, it's also about having the patience, optimism, and determination to get back behind the wheel. })(); "updatecorrelator" : true mps._ext = mps._ext || {}; As his car exited turn two, it hit the wall with a tremendous impact. Schmidt drives his semi-autonomous Corvette during the 2019 500 festival parade. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests memorial contributions be given to Cross-Lines Community Outreach, 736 Shawnee Ave., Kansas City, KS 66105 or to the Countryside Christian Church. mps._adsheld = []; Schmidt jokes with Jay Leno in a ride-along, his car is the only place where you can say "blow to go, and suck to stop" without getting slapped. Harold Schmidt, 97, of Shawnee, KS, passed away October 1, 2020. Two decades ago, Schmidt experienced both. "host" : 'mps.cnbc.com', } else { A Division of NBCUniversal. el.parentNode.insertBefore(s, el); Hinchcliffe crashed hard in turns 1-2 and was airlifted to a hospital. 'cag[device]' : 'web' , “Luckily my dad had a similar diagnosis 20 years earlier (from an off-road racing accident), and he wound up able to walk and talk and get through rehabilitation. 'title' : 'The most inspirational driver Jay Leno has ever met and his $1MM Corvette' , [14], Schmidt's Indy Pro Series – later Indy Lights – program has been one of the most successful in the series' recent history, winning the 2004 championship with Thiago Medeiros, the 2006 title with Jay Howard, and the 2007 title with Alex Lloyd. Conquer Paralysis Now was founded in 2000 originally as the Sam Schmidt Paralysis Foundation. The No. 'cag[type_franchise]' : 'Jay Lenos Garage' , “The seat was old technology. “But you can look back and count the thousands of lives this has positively affected and with the other things we’re doing with BraunAbility and the team, it’s easy to find some motivation to do some of the things we’re doing.”. 'pubdate' : '1499800045' , document.getElementsByTagName("head")[0].appendChild(script); In late 2016, Schmidt announced that he would end his Indy Lights program, wanting to divert resources to the team's IndyCar program. 'cag[attribution_author]' : 'Jill Weinberger' , “I think Kevin Swindell was one of our first guys who was able to get up walking after his accident. The team was originally founded by Schmidt in 2001 as Sam Schmidt Motorsports. On the morning of Jan. 6, 2000, Schmidt was preparing for the new IRL season by taking part in an open test session at the now-defunct Walt Disney World Speedway near Orlando. Photo: Dana Garrett/IndyCar. View photos Schmidt drives his semi-autonomous … In 2007 the team fielded a car in the Indy 500 for Buddy Lazier. The team is based in Indianapolis and is owned by quadriplegic former driver Sam Schmidt and Ric Peterson. CNBC_Comscore = 'CNBC_TV'; 'cag[configuration_franchise]' : 'Jay Lenos Garage' , // if (!mps._ext || !mps._ext.loaded) { }); Townsend Bell, Jay Howard, and Wade Cunningham also drove for SSM in the 2011 IndyCar Series season. "true" : "false") + "; expires=" + d.toUTCString() + "; path=/"; The car has built in electronics, cameras, and sensors that help Schmidt drive and steer. Schmidt fielded four drivers in 2014. During the Road America weekend, Aleshin was delayed by visa issues coming from France (Where he participated in the 24 Hours of Le Mans. For 2016, Hinchcliffe and Aleshin (who drove a third No. In 2001, just 14 months after his crash, he founded Sam Schmidt Motorsports (now Arrow McLaren SP). Richie Hearn made nine starts for the team in 2002 as he switched between the team's two cars, the No. 'path' : '/id/104579821' , The gas in the 2016 customized Chevrolet Z06 Corvette is controlled by a breathing tube Schmidt wears while driving. While the team would have a 1-3 finish at 2015 Indy Grand Prix of Louisiana with Hinchcliffe winning, the season would come undone at Indianapolis. “This injury sucked, and I wouldn’t put it on anybody, and in my choice, I wouldn’t want to be in this chair. 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Since then he has built a small motor sports empire and has been racing to find a cure for paralysis. I wasn’t breathing, so they had to resuscitate me and get in me a helicopter. 'cag[type_cnbcteam]' : 'CNBC Prime Team' , Get this delivered to your inbox, and more info about our products and services. Schmidt tells Leno for the 17 years after the accident, there was very little that he had 100 percent control of, but getting out on the open road and having full control of his Corvette gives him a sense of normalcy. 'content_id' : '104579821' , In just a normal test with just our team, I’d be dead.”. “We’ve had phenomenal efforts with our research over the last 20 years,” Schmidt said. Scott Anderson and Ethan Ringel ended ninth and eleventh respectively with one podium each. 'subtype' : 'primetime_show' , While Vautier had a best finish of 10th, Pagenaud would score two wins for Schmidt at Detroit Round 2 and Baltimore, finishing third in points. In a world of glasses that are half-empty, Sam Schmidt is a glass half-full kind of guy. In 2000, a tragic high-speed racing accident left Schmidt paralyzed from the neck down but that did not stop him from getting back behind the wheel. 'cat' : 'CNBC TV|Jay Lenos Garage' , 'type' : 'cnbcnewsstory' , In 2013, Pagenaud would be teamed with another Frenchman, Tristan Vautier, for the season. Schmidt and Peterson remain as the sole co-owners; McLaren has no ownership stake. Pagenaud would score four podiums that year, while Bell returned for the Indianapolis 500" finishing 9th. {key:e[2],parent:a(e[1],window)}:{key:t,parent:window}}var c=t("ee").get("jsonp"),f=t(24)(c);if(e.exports=c,o()){var u=/[?&](?:callback|cb)=([^&#]+)/,d=/(.*)\.([^.]+)/,p=/^(\w+)(\.|$)(. 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He even drove 19 miles up Colorado's Pike's Peak, which included 156 grueling turns. }; 'cag[type_creator]' : 'Jill Weinberger' , Schmidt said that part of his reasoning behind opening the center was the lack of reimbursement and support patients and their families received from insurance companies following injuries. })(); We want to hear from you. Cards and letters of support began to pour in from all across the motorsports community. Tony Stewart shows off his absurd car collection to Jeff Gordon | Around the Track - Duration: 17:49. Montezuma - My husband, our father and grandfather, Sam Schmidt, was born August 10, 1933 to Urias and Susie (Koehn) Schmidt at Fairview, Oklahoma.