Scott Sharp

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Scott Sharp
Nationality	United States
Date of Birth	February 14, 1968 (1968-02-14) (age 40)
Place of Birth	Norwalk, Connecticut
2008 American Le Mans Series
Debut season	2008
Current team	Patrón Highcroft Racing
IRL IndyCar Series
Years active	1996-2007
Teams	A. J. Foyt Enterprises Kelley Racing Fernández Racing Rahal Letterman Racing
Starts	146
Wins	9
Poles	6
Best finish	1st in 1996
Previous series
1987-1993 1993-1995	SCCA CART
Championship titles
1996 1993 1991 1988 1987 1986	Indy Racing League Co-Champion SCCA Trans-Am SCCA Trans-Am SCCA GT-1 SCCA GT-1 SCCA GT-2

Scott Sharp (born February 14, 1968 in Norwalk, Connecticut) is an American race car driver in the American Le Mans Series. He is the son of six-time SCCA champion Bob Sharp. Scott Sharp is best known for his years as a competitor in the Indy Racing League.

Contents 1 Early career 2 IRL career 2.1 Overview 2.2 History 3 American Le Mans Series Career 4 Motorsports Career Results 4.1 American Open-Wheel 4.1.1 IndyCar 4.1.2 Indy 500 results 4.2 Touring/Sports Car Racing 5 References

[edit] Early career

Sharp starting racing karts when he was only 8 years old, winning 50 out of 75 races. Sharp came from a road-racing background, earning several championships including: 1986 SCCA GT-2, 1987 and 1988 SCCA GT-1, and 1991 and 1993 SCCA Trans-Am. Sharp competed in one NASCAR Winston Cup Series (now Sprint Cup) event, coming in 1992 at Watkins Glen. In 1993, Sharp made his CART debut with Bettenhausen Motorsports and became a full-time competitor in the series in 1994 with PacWest Racing. His first Indianapolis 500 start also came in 1994. In 1996, Sharp was part of Doyle Racing’s 24 Hours of Daytona winning team.

[edit] IRL career

[edit] Overview

Scott Sharp is one of only two drivers (the other being Buddy Lazier) to have driven in at least one race in the first 12 seasons of IndyCar competition. His impressive IRL career has resulted in numerous records including: most career IndyCar Series starts (146); most consecutive IndyCar Series race starts (138); most consecutive seasons with at least one race win (7); most races running at finish (110); and most top-ten finishes (82).

[edit] History

He was one of the competitors in the first IRL race in 1996 with Foyt, the owner of his 1995 Indianapolis 500 car. He was the co-champion of the IRL's inaugural season in 1996 along with Buzz Calkins. In 1997 two crashes resulting in severe concussions sidelined Sharp until 1998 when he began working with the newly formed Kelley Racing team and sponsor Delphi. 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 CART meant that Kelley was not one of the strongest teams after that season. In 2004 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 folded following the conclusion of the 2004 season. In 2005, Sharp, along with Delphi (who had become his personal sponsor), moved to Adrian Fernández's Fernández Racing. 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 along the way. However, Sharp struggled through the 2006 season as the team struggled to adapt to the Dallara chassis, and finished 11th in the points standings.

For 2007, Sharp joined Rahal Letterman Racing, teaming with sophomore driver Jeff Simmons, though mid-season Simmons was replaced with Ryan Hunter-Reay. 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 Delphi backing. His best finish of the season was 3rd, which he earned at the inaugural race at Iowa Speedway and also at Michigan International Speedway. A highlight of the season was his surprise pole position Texas Motor Speedway in June, his first since 2001. He was also able to capture his career-best finish in the Indianapolis 500, a 6th place. Sharp ended the season 8th in the championship standings.

[edit] 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 ^[1]. Sharp and Patrón joined the American Le Mans Series with Highcroft Racing. He will drive the #9 Patrón Highcroft Racing Acura ARX-01b with David Brabham for the 2008 season. The duo will compete in the LMP2 class and will be joined by Stefan Johansson for the endurance races.

Sharp started seventh in his debut race at the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring and finished fourth in class (fifth overall). 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.

[edit] Motorsports Career Results

[edit] American Open-Wheel

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position)

[edit] IndyCar

Year	Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	Rank	Points
1996	Foyt	WDW 11	PHX 2	IND Ret															1st-Tie	246
1996-1997	Foyt	NWH 1	LSV Ret	WDW 4	PHX Ret	IND	TXS	PPIR Ret	CHR	NH2	LV2								22nd	119
1998	Kelley	WDW 6	PHX 1	IND Ret	TXS 5	NWH 3	DOV 1	CHR Ret	PPIR 11	ATL Ret	TX2 Ret	LSV 12							4th	272
1999	Kelley	WDW 4	PHX 8	IND Ret	TXS 10	PPIR 8	ATL 1	DOV Ret	PPI2 Ret	LSV 4	TX2 Ret								8th	220
2000	Kelley	WDW 15	PHX 5	LSV Ret	IND 10	TXS 1	PPIR 3	ATL Ret	KTY Ret	TX2 13									7th	196
2001	Kelley	PHX 4	HMS 8	ATL 2	IND Ret	TXS 1	PPIR 8	RIR 5	KAN Ret	NSH 5	KTY 2	STL 8	CHI Ret	TX2 2					3rd	355
2002	Kelley	HMS Ret	PHX Ret	CAL 8	NZR 1	IND Ret	TXS 14	PPIR 5	RIR Ret	KAN 6	NSH 8	MIS 9	KTY 4	STL 18	CHI 7	TX2 4			6th	332
2003	Kelley	HMS 5	PHX 7	JPN 1	IND Ret	TXS Ret	PPIR 11	RIR 17	KAN Ret	NSH 13	MIS 4	STL 10	KTY 13	NZR 12	CHI 11	CAL 8	TX2 6		8th	351
2004	Delphi Kelley	HMS 9	PHX 13	JPN 9	IND 13	TXS Ret	RIR 9	KAN Ret	NSH 14	MIL 15	MIS 9	KTY 17	PPIR 15	NZR Ret	CHI 9	CAL 11	TX2 8		13th	282
2005	Delphi Fernandez	HMS Ret	PHX 5	STP Ret	JPN 2	IND 7	TXS 4	RIR Ret	KAN 6	NSH 4	MIL 10	MIS 7	KTY 1	PPIR 9	SNM 12	CHI 8	WGL 9	CAL 4	5th	444
2006	Delphi Fernandez	HMS 7	STP 10	JPN Ret	IND 9	WGL 9	TXS 5	RIR 5	KAN Ret	NSH Ret	MIL 12	MIS 6	KTY 16	SNM 14	CHI 9				12th	287
2007	Rahal Letterman	HMS 12	STP 11	JPN 6	KAN Ret	IND 6	MIL 6	TXS 7	IOW 3	RIR 8	WGL 14	NSH 7	MDO 11	MIS 3	KTY 6	SNM 14	DET 11	CHI 5	8th	412

Years	Teams	Races	Poles	Wins	Podiums (Non-win)	Top 10s (Non-podium)	Indianapolis 500 Wins	Championships
12	4	146	6	9	9	64	0	1 (1996)

[edit] Indy 500 results

Year	Chassis	Engine	Start	Finish
1994	Lola	Ford-Cosworth	17	16
1995	Lola	Ford-Cosworth	30	26
1996	Lola	Ford-Cosworth	21	10
1997	G-Force	Oldsmobile	DNQ
1998	Dallara	Oldsmobile	7	16
1999	Dallara	Oldsmobile	6	28
2000	Dallara	Oldsmobile	5	10
2001	Dallara	Oldsmobile	1	33
2002	Dallara	Chevrolet	8	27
2003	Dallara	Toyota	9	20
2004	Dallara	Toyota	20	13
2005	Panoz	Honda	3	7
2006	Dallara	Honda	8	9
2007	Dallara	Honda	12	6

[edit] Touring/Sports Car Racing

(Races in bold indicate pole position)

Series	Year	Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	Team	Final Pos	Points
ALMS P2	2008	Highcroft	SEB 4	STP 2	LGB 1	MMP 9	LMR	MDO	ROA	MOS	DET	ATL	LAG	Highcroft

[edit] References

• American Le Mans Series Driver Profile
• Highcroft Racing Official Website
• Patrón Racing Official Website
• Profile on Indycar.com
• NASCAR and IROC stats

Preceded by none

Indy Racing League Champion 1996 (with Buzz Calkins)

Succeeded by Tony Stewart

v • d • e IndyCar Series Champions (1996) Scott Sharp & Buzz Calkins • (1997) Tony Stewart • (1998) Kenny Brack • (1999) Greg Ray (2000) Buddy Lazier • (2001-02) Sam Hornish, Jr. • (2003) Scott Dixon • (2004) Tony Kanaan • (2005) Dan Wheldon • (2006) Sam Hornish, Jr. • (2007) Dario Franchitti