Scott Sharp (born February 14, 1968) is an American professional racing driver in the United SportsCar Championship. He is the son of six-time SCCA champion

Bob Sharp Robert Sharp (born October 1894, date of death unknown) was a football manager of Bradford City who also served as Deputy Lord Mayor of Bradford. He was a football visionary who called for the introduction of Third and Fourth Divisions 12 year ...

. Sharp is best known for his years as a competitor in the

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 o ...

Early career

Born in

Norwalk, Connecticut , image_map = Fairfield County Connecticut incorporated and unincorporated areas Norwalk highlighted.svg , mapsize = 230px , map_caption = Location in Fairfield County, Connecticut, Fairfield County and ...

, Sharp starting racing karts when he was eight years old, winning 50 out of 75 races. Sharp came from a road-racing background, earning several championships including championships in the 1986 SCCA GT-2, 1987 and 1988 SCCA GT-1, and 1991 and 1993 SCCA

Trans-Am The Trans-Am Series is a sports car racing series held in North America. Founded in 1966, it is sanctioned by the Sports Car Club of America (SCCA). Primarily based in the United States, the series competes on a variety of track types includi ...

classes. Sharp competed in one

NASCAR The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. The privately owned company was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1948, and ...

Winston Cup Series The NASCAR Cup Series is the top racing series of the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR). The series began in 1949 as the Strictly Stock Division, and from 1950 to 1970 it was known as the Grand National Division. In 1971 ...

event, coming in 1992 at Watkins Glen. In 1993, Sharp made his

CART A cart or dray (Australia and New Zealand) is a vehicle designed for transport, using two wheels and normally pulled by one or a pair of draught animals. A handcart is pulled or pushed by one or more people. It is different from the flatbed ...

debut with Bettenhausen Motorsports and became a full-time competitor in the series in 1994 with PacWest Racing. His first

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 ...

start also came in 1994. In 1996, Sharp was part of Doyle Racing’s

24 Hours of Daytona The 24 Hours of Daytona, also known as the Rolex 24 At Daytona for sponsorship reasons, is a 24-hour sports car endurance race held annually at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. It is run on the Sports Car Course layo ...

winning team.

Indy Racing League career

Overview

Sharp is one of only two drivers (the other being

Buddy Lazier Robert Buddy Lazier (born October 31, 1967) is an American auto racing driver, best known for winning the 1996 Indianapolis 500 and the 2000 Indy Racing League season championship. Lazier began his career in the 1980s by competing in such s ...

) to have driven in at least one race in each of the first 12 seasons of IndyCar competition (1996 to 2008). His impressive IRL career has resulted in numerous records for that time period including: most career IndyCar Series starts (147); most consecutive IndyCar Series race starts (138); most races running at finish (110) and previously held the records for most top-ten finishes (82) and most consecutive seasons with at least one race win (7) (since broken by

Hélio Castroneves Hélio Castroneves (; born Hélio Alves de Castro Neves; 10 May 1975) is a Brazilian auto racing driver. He has won the Indianapolis 500 a record-equalling four times: in 2001, 2002, 2009, and 2021. He won the 2021 24 Hours of Daytona with Wa ...

History

Sharp was a competitor in the first IRL race in

1996 File:1996 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: A bomb explodes at Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta, set off by a radical anti-abortionist; The center fuel tank explodes on TWA Flight 800, causing the plane to crash and killing everyone o ...

, driving for A. J. Foyt Enterprises. He was the co-champion of the IRL's inaugural season in 1996 along with Buzz Calkins. In

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 ...

two crashes resulting in severe concussions sidelined Sharp until

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently s ...

when he began working with the newly formed Kelley Racing team and sponsor

Delphi Delphi (; ), in legend previously called Pytho (Πυθώ), in ancient times was a sacred precinct that served as the seat of Pythia, the major oracle who was consulted about important decisions throughout the ancient classical world. The orac ...

. At Kelley, Sharp collected eight wins and four pole positions (one being at the 2001 Indianapolis 500). He was 3rd in the championship in 2001, but an influx of strong teams from

meant that Kelley was not one of the strongest teams after that season. In

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 ...

he was down in 13th in the championship with a best finish of 8th — his first winless season since 1998, also ending a run of top 8 championship finishes dating back to 1998. Kelley Racing folded following the conclusion of the 2004 season. In

2005 File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; " Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discover ...

, Sharp, along with

, who had become his personal sponsor, moved to

Fernández Racing Fernández Racing was a Mexican motor racing team that competed in the American Le Mans Series, Champ Car, the IRL IndyCar Series, and the Rolex Sports Car Series. The team was co-founded by Adrian Fernández and Tom Anderson in 2001. Open w ...

. The switch brought about a small resurgence in Sharp's career and he was once again one of the top drivers in the IRL. 2005 saw him finish 5th in the championship, collecting a win at

Kentucky Speedway Kentucky Speedway is a tri-oval speedway in Sparta, Kentucky, which has hosted ARCA, NASCAR and Indy Racing League racing annually since it opened in 2000. The track is currently owned and operated by Speedway Motorsports, Inc. Before 2008 ...

along the way. However, Sharp struggled through the 2006 season as the team struggled to adapt to the

Dallara Dallara is an Italian race car manufacturer, founded by its current President, Gian Paolo Dallara. After working for Ferrari, Maserati, Lamborghini and De Tomaso, in 1972 in his native village of Varano de' Melegari ( Parma), Italy he create ...

chassis, and finished 11th in the points standings. For

2007 File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple Inc., Apple's first iPhone (1st generation), iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakis ...

, Sharp joined

Rahal Letterman Racing Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing is an auto racing team that has participated in the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship and the IndyCar Series. Headquartered in Brownsburg, Indiana and Hilliard, Ohio, it is co-owned by 1986 Indianapolis 500 ...

, teaming with sophomore driver Jeff Simmons. Mid-season, Simmons was replaced with

Ryan Hunter-Reay Ryan Christopher Hunter-Reay (born December 17, 1980) is a professional American racing driver best known as a winner of both the Indianapolis 500 (2014) and the IndyCar Series championship in 2012. In each accomplishment, Hunter-Reay became th ...

. Sharp brought with him a new primary sponsor, the Patrón Spirits Company, who began as an associate sponsor in 2006. His new association with Patrón ended nine seasons of backing from Delphi. His best finish of the season was 3rd, which he earned at the season opener at

Iowa Speedway Iowa Speedway is a 7/8-mile (1.4 km) paved oval motor racing track in Newton, Iowa, United States, approximately east of Des Moines. It has over 25,000 permanent seats as well as a unique multi-tiered RV viewing area along the backstretc ...

and at

Michigan International Speedway Michigan International Speedway (MIS) is a moderate-banked D-shaped speedway located off U.S. Highway 12 on more than approximately south of the village of Brooklyn, in the scenic Irish Hills area of southeastern Michigan. The track ...

. A highlight of the season was his surprise pole position at

Texas Motor Speedway Texas Motor Speedway is a speedway located in the northernmost portion of the U.S. city of Fort Worth, Texas – the portion located in Denton County, Texas. The reconfigured track measures with banked 20° in turns 1 and 2 and banked 24 ...

in June, his first pole since 2001. He was also able to capture a career-best 6th place in the

. Sharp ended the season 8th in the championship. Sharp returned to the series and competed in the

2009 Indianapolis 500 The 93rd Indianapolis 500 was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana on Sunday May 24, 2009. It was the 14th Indy 500 sanctioned by the Indy Racing League, and the premier event of the 2009 IndyCar Series season. Hélio C ...

with Panther Racing. He qualified 20th and finished the race 14th on the lead lap.

American Le Mans Series career

Sharp was under contract with Rahal Letterman Racing for 2008, but the two entities parted ways after each filed a breach of contract lawsuit against the other. Sharp and Patrón joined the

American Le Mans Series The American Le Mans Series (ALMS) was a sports car racing series based in the United States and Canada. It consisted of a series of endurance and sprint races, and was created in the spirit of the 24 Hours of Le Mans. The American Le Mans' h ...

with

Highcroft Racing Highcroft Racing was an American auto racing team based out of Danbury, Connecticut and founded by driver Duncan Dayton in 1989. Initially founded for Dayton's involvement in historic motorsport, specifically the restoration and preparation of cla ...

. He drove the #9 Patrón Highcroft Racing

Acura Acura is the luxury vehicle, luxury and performance division of Japanese automaker Honda, based primarily in North America. The brand was launched in the United States and Canada on March 27, 1986, marketing luxury and performance automobiles. It ...

ARX-01b with

David Brabham David Brabham (born 5 September 1965) is an Australian professional racing driver and one of the most successful and experienced specialists in sports car racing. He has won three international Sports Car series and is one of four Australians t ...

during the 2008 season in the LMP2 class. Sharp started seventh in his debut in the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring and finished fourth in his class (fifth overall) with his teammates Brabham and

Stefan Johansson Stefan Nils Edwin Johansson (born 8 September 1956) is a Swedish racing driver who drove in Formula One for both Ferrari and McLaren, among other teams. Since leaving Formula One he has won the 1997 24 Hours of Le Mans and raced in a number o ...

. The team finished second at the Acura Sports Car Challenge of St. Petersburg, which was Highcroft’s best finish to date. Sharp earned his first ALMS win in the P2 class at the Tequila Patron American Le Mans Series at Long Beach. The win was also the first for Highcroft Racing. Sharp earned his first overall win in the American Le Mans Series at the 2008 Northeast Grand Prix at

Lime Rock Park Lime Rock Park is a natural-terrain motorsport road racing venue located in Lakeville, Connecticut, United States, a hamlet in the town of Salisbury, in the state's northwest corner. Built in 1956, it is the nation's third oldest continuously op ...

after starting from the pole position. A third class victory followed at the Generac 500 at

Road America Road America is a motorsport road course located near Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin, United States on Wisconsin Highway 67. It has hosted races since the 1950s and currently hosts races in the NASCAR Cup and Xfinity Series, WeatherTech SportsCar Ch ...

. When leader

Gil de Ferran Gil de Ferran (born November 11, 1967 in Paris, France) is a French-born Brazilian professional racing driver and team owner. De Ferran was the 2000 and 2001 Champ Car champion driving for Team Penske and the winner of the 2003 Indianapolis 5 ...

ran out of fuel on the last lap in

Mosport Canadian Tire Motorsport Park (formerly Mosport Park and Mosport International Raceway) is a multi-track motorsport venue located north of Bowmanville, in Ontario, Canada, east of Toronto. The facility features a , 10-turn road course; a adva ...

awarded the team a fourth victory and second consecutive win. Arguably, Sharp’s breakout ALMS performance came at the Detroit Sportscar Challenge presented by Bosch. He led for most of his stint, giving up the lead only when blocked in heavy traffic. His stellar driving won him SPEEDtv.com’s ‘Drive of the Race,’ though the team had to settle for second place in the event. Sharp and Brabham were joined by

Dario Franchitti George Dario Marino Franchitti, MBE (born 19 May 1973) is a British former racing driver and current motorsport commentator from Scotland. He is a four time IndyCar Series champion (2007, 2009, 2010, 2011), a three-time winner of the Indian ...

, one of Sharp’s former IndyCar competitors, for the 10-hour

Petit Le Mans The Petit Le Mans (French for ''little Le Mans'') is a sports car endurance race held annually at Road Atlanta in Braselton, Georgia, USA. It uses the rules established for the 24 Hours of Le Mans by the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO), which ...

endurance race. Unfortunately, broken suspension took the car out of the race early on. The combination of Sharp and Brabham proved formidable, yet bad luck kept Sharp and Brabham from winning the championship. The duo finished second in the P2 point standings, forty one points behind the

Penske Racing Team Penske (formerly Penske Racing) is an American professional auto racing organization, competing in the NTT IndyCar Series, NASCAR Cup Series, and the FIA World Endurance Championship. Debuting at the 1966 24 Hours of Daytona, the organizati ...

duo of

Timo Bernhard Timo Bernhard (born 24 February 1981) is a former driver from Germany. He was a sports car driver from Porsche, but was seconded to Audi for selected events in 2009 and 2010. He is a winner of the Triple Crown in endurance racing. On 29 June ...

and Romain Dumas, after being as close as four points away with two rounds to go.

Extreme Speed Motorsports

It was announced on the

website that Sharp would race in the 2010 series under his own team called Extreme Speed Motorsports. He ran with two

Ferrari F430 The Ferrari F430 (Type F131) is a sports car produced by the Italian automobile manufacturer Ferrari from 2004 until 2009 as a successor to the Ferrari 360. The car is an update to the 360 with exterior and performance changes. It was unveiled at ...

's in the GT class and was sponsored by the Patrón Spirits Company. Sharp raced in 2010 alongside the first announced driver, Patrón CEO Ed Brown. In 2011, the team switched to

Ferrari 458 Italia GT2 The Ferrari 458 Italia (Type F142) is a mid-engine sports car produced by Ferrari. The F458 is the successor of the F430, and was first officially unveiled at the 2009 Frankfurt Motor Show. It was succeeded by the 488 GTB (Gran Turismo Berl ...

cars. The team made steady progress which culminated in a 3rd-place finish at the Laguna Seca race. The team continued to run in the ALMS in 2013. The #02 car picked up another podium finish at the 2012 American Le Mans Series at Long Beach, and the #01 won the 2012 Grand Prix of Mosport, the first win for the team since its move to the GT class. In 2016, Sharp won the

Rolex 24 The 24 Hours of Daytona, also known as the Rolex 24 At Daytona for sponsorship reasons, is a 24-hour sports car endurance race held annually at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. It is run on the Sports Car Course layout ...

for the second time, this time with ESM.

Motorsports career results

SCCA National Championship Runoffs

American open-wheel

( key) (Races in bold indicate pole position)

CART

IndyCar Series

Indy 500 results

Touring/sports car racing

24 Hours of Le Mans results

American Le Mans Series results

(Races in bold indicate pole position) * Overall victory as well as class victory. ''Italics'' indicates season is currently running.

WeatherTech SportsCar Championship results

( key)(Races in bold indicate pole position, Results are overall/class)

NASCAR

( key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. ''Italics'' – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)

Winston Cup Series

Notes

References

External links

Extreme Speed Motorsports Official WebsiteHighcroft Racing Official Website
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Sharp, Scott 1968 births Living people Sportspeople from Norwalk, Connecticut Racing drivers from Connecticut 24 Hours of Le Mans drivers 24 Hours of Daytona drivers Indianapolis 500 drivers Indianapolis 500 polesitters American Le Mans Series drivers Rolex Sports Car Series drivers Trans-Am Series drivers IndyCar Series champions IndyCar Series drivers Champ Car drivers NASCAR drivers International Race of Champions drivers WeatherTech SportsCar Championship drivers FIA World Endurance Championship drivers SCCA National Championship Runoffs winners 12 Hours of Sebring drivers Mo Nunn Racing drivers A. J. Foyt Enterprises drivers Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing drivers Panther Racing drivers Extreme Speed Motorsports drivers Highcroft Racing drivers PacWest Racing drivers Bettenhausen Racing drivers