Scott Harrington (born December 24, 1963) is a second generation American former

auto racing Auto racing (also known as car racing, motor racing, or automobile racing) is a motorsport involving the racing of automobiles for competition. In North America, the term is commonly used to describe all forms of automobile sport including non ...

driver, formerly active in the

Indy Racing League IndyCar, LLC (stylized as INDYCAR), is an auto racing Governing body, sanctioning body for American open-wheel car racing headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana. The organization sanctions two Auto racing, racing series: the premier IndyCar Serie ...

and

sportscar racing Sports car racing is a form of motorsport road racing that uses sports cars with two seats and enclosed wheels. They may be either purpose-built Sports prototype, sports prototypes, which are the highest level in sports car racing; or grand to ...

. He is now a private racing driver coach. His father, Gene Harrington, was a veteran of both

SCCA The Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) is a non-profit American automobile club and sanctioning body supporting Autocross, Rallycross, High Performance Driver Education, HPDE, Time trial, Time Trial, Road racing, Road Racing, Regularity rally, R ...

and

IMSA The International Motor Sports Association (IMSA) is a North American sports car racing sanctioning body based in Daytona Beach, Florida, under the jurisdiction of the Automobile Competition Committee for the United States, ACCUS arm of the Féd ...

competition.

Biography

Harrington was born in

Louisville, Kentucky Louisville is the List of cities in Kentucky, most populous city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, sixth-most populous city in the Southeastern United States, Southeast, and the list of United States cities by population, 27th-most-populous city ...

and attended the

University of Louisville The University of Louisville (UofL) is a public university, public research university in Louisville, Kentucky, United States. It is part of the Kentucky state university system. Chartered in 1798 as the Jefferson Seminary, it became in the 19t ...

. Starting out on two wheels, Harrington won a number of championships and achieved much success in the world of AMA

Motocross Motocross is a form of off-road motorcycle racing held on enclosed off-road circuits. The sport evolved from motorcycle trials competitions held in the United Kingdom. History Motocross first evolved in Britain from motorcycle trials competi ...

and

Supercross The AMA Supercross Championship (commercially known as Monster Energy AMA Supercross) is an American motorcycle racing series. Founded by the American Motorcyclist Association (AMA) in 1974, the AMA Supercross Championship races are held from ...

. In 1986 Sports Car Magazine picked Harrington as one of the three most promising drivers in the U.S. He was a multiple race winner in Toyota

Formula Atlantic Formula Atlantic is a specification of open-wheel racing car developed in the 1970s. It was used in professional racing through the IMSA Atlantic Championship until 2009 and is currently primarily used in amateur racing through Sports Car Club ...

, finishing third in the 1988 championship despite running the uncompetitive

Ralt Ralt was a manufacturer of single-seater racing cars, founded by ex-Jack Brabham associate Ron Tauranac after he sold out his interest in Brabham to Bernie Ecclestone. Ron and his brother had built some specials in Australia in the 1950s under ...

chassis. He was the only person ever to win a race in the 1988 Ralt. From 1992 through 1994, Harrington had much success in the

Shelby Can-Am series. During his tenure in the series, he won more races than any other driver. He won the 1992 championship and scored race wins in every season. An accomplished open wheel racer who made a single

CART A cart or dray (Australia and New Zealand) is a vehicle designed for transport, using two wheels and normally pulled by draught animals such as horses, donkeys, mules and oxen, or even smaller animals such as goats or large dogs. A handcart ...

start in 1989, Harrington made a last second Bump Day run to qualify for the first IRL-sanctioned

Indianapolis 500 The Indianapolis 500, formally known as the Indianapolis 500-Mile Race, and commonly shortened to Indy 500, is an annual automobile race held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana, United States, an enclave suburb of Indian ...

1996 1996 was designated as: * International Year for the Eradication of Poverty Events January * January 8 – A Zairean cargo plane crashes into a crowded market in the center of the capital city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo ...

. In 1999 he ran a full IRL season with his own team and had numerous top ten finishes, including a top five finish at

Phoenix International Raceway Phoenix Raceway (formerly known as ISM Raceway from 2018–2020, Phoenix International Raceway from 1964–1973 and 1976–2017, and FasTrack International Speedway from 1973–1976) is a dogleg oval track in Avondale, Arizona. The track has ...

, at the time the highest finishing position for the Infiniti engine. Despite failing to qualify for the Indy 500 and suffering serious injuries at Texas 1 (broken left tibia, right fibula, right foot and three ribs) he won the Rookie of the Year honors by a slim margin over

Robby McGehee Robby McGehee (born July 20, 1973) is an American former race car driver. He competed in the Indy Racing League and won the Indianapolis 500 Rookie of the Year award in 1999 after finishing fifth. He then raced for veteran owner Fred Treadway the ...

. Harrington attempted to qualify for seven different Indy 500 races but only succeeded once, in his second attempt in 1996. In 1998 he was well on his way to a top qualifying position when he suffered a blown engine that ended his month as the team had no backup. He had a best IRL finish of fourth at Phoenix in 1999 and had a total of 14 series starts, which is the fewest total starts by any IRL Rookie of the Year. Never being one to be short on speed, his bad luck at the Speedway was well known as he won the Jigger Award for his bad luck. Harrington is also the only person to ever compete in Formula Atlantic, the original Indy Lights Series, the Infiniti Pro Series, the CART Indy Car Series and the IRL Indy Car Series. His career was affected by arrests and convictions for driving while intoxicated. Harrington is also one of the few American drivers to compete in the "Big Three" of American motorsports - the Indy 500, the

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 racing, sports car Endurance racing (motorsport), endurance race held annually at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Flo ...

and the

12 Hours of Sebring The 12 Hours of Sebring is an annual motorsport Endurance racing (motorsport), endurance race for Sports car racing, sports cars held at Sebring International Raceway, on the site of the former Hendricks Army Airfield World War II air base in S ...

. Harrington also competed in the SVRA celebrity Pro-Am in 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2018. He finished 9th of the 33 starters in 2015 and in 2018 was on the podium with a second-place finish in AP. Harrington is one of the original instructors at the Mid-Ohio school, a position he still holds today (August 2022). After retiring from active driving, Harrington has achieved success in his driver coaching business, including coaching

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 cl ...

factory Acura team Championship winning owner-driver Duncan Dayton and Mike Miserandino, who has won four national championships in a row. In 2017, two of his customers won again at the SCCA Runoffs, Mike Miserandino won his fifth National title with Scott's coaching and Max Gee won his first with Scott on board, coaching him to his first national championship. His latest driver, Jacob Abel, won two of the three F3 Americas races at the

Road Atlanta Road Atlanta (known for sponsorship reasons as Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta) is a road course located just north of Braselton, Georgia, United States. The facility is utilized for a wide variety of events, including professional and amateur spo ...

round. He also competes in a number of vintage endurance races every year. In 2014 his vintage coaching customer Bill Abel won a national championship at the SVRA National Championship at the

Circuit of the Americas Circuit of the Americas (COTA) is a Grade 1 Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile, FIA-specification motor racing track and facilities located in Austin, Texas, United States. The facility is home to the Formula One United States Grand Pr ...

. In addition to his testing and training work, Harrington does promotional and testing work for various manufacturers. Harrington currently lives in Indianapolis with his wife Marsie and his young son.

Racing record

SCCA National Championship Runoffs

American open-wheel racing results

CART Series

( key) (Races in bold indicate pole position)

IndyCar Series

Indianapolis 500

References

External links

Racing Reference.Info

motorsport.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Harrington, Scott 1963 births Atlantic Championship drivers Indianapolis 500 drivers Indy Lights drivers IndyCar Series drivers IndyCar Series team owners 24 Hours of Daytona drivers Living people Racing drivers from Louisville, Kentucky SCCA National Championship Runoffs participants AFS Racing drivers American Spirit Team Johansson drivers