Sebring Hall of Fame Announces 2018 Inductees
The Sebring Hall of Fame has announced the 2018 inductees.
A.J. Foyt, Rinaldo “Dindo” Capello, Paul Newman, Joest
Racing and the Sebring Firemen,Inc. civic organization will
join Sebring’s prestigious Hall of Fame in 2018.
The induction dinner will take place Friday, March 16, the
night before the 66th Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring. The
Chateau Elan Hotel and Conference Center will host the
event.
A.J. Foyt is an American motorsports legend. In 1985 he
drove the Swap Shop Porsche 962
to victory at Sebring in the final
victory of his illustrious career. Foyt
has two other podium finishes at
Sebring: second place in 1967 driving
a Ford, and third in 1984 driving
a Porsche.
A four-time Indy 500 winner as a
driver, plus an additional Indy win as
a car owner, Foyt earned a record 159 victories in United
States Auto Club (USAC) competition. In 1967 Foyt won
the 24 Hours of Le Mans with Dan Gurney driving for Ford.
He also won the Daytona 500 in 1972 and twice co-drove
the winning car at the Rolex 24 in Daytona.
Foyt will be serving as Grand Marshal for the Sebring
12-hour race.
Rinaldo “Dindo” Capello has five overall Sebring victories,
second all-time behind Tom
Kristensen, one of his teammates on
the incredible Joest Audi team that
dominated the American Le Mans
Series. His wins came in 2001, 2002,
2006, 2009 and 2012. He earned
three additional podium finishes at
Sebring and a class victory in 2008.
The Italian also
won the 24
Hours of Le
Mans three times.
Paul Newman (1925-2008), actor,
director, philanthropist and racecar
driver, was one of sports car racing’s
greatest boosters. As a driver, he
competed at circuits around the world, including Le Mans,
Sebring and Daytona. He finished second overall at Le Mans
in 1979 and won the GT class at Daytona in 1995 (at the
age of 70). Newman recorded many wins in Sports Car
Club of America (SCCA) competition, winning four National
Championships. He also found success as a team co-owner
in the Indy Car series. More importantly, Newman earned
the respect of colleagues in both the motorsports and entertainment
industry with his professionalism, philanthropy and
activism.
Joest Racing, founded by Reinhold Joest in 1978, has
been a sports car racing dynasty. At
Le Mans, Joest orchestrated an astonishing
15 overall wins in 25 years. His
Sebring accomplishments are no less
impressive. In 2000 at Sebring, Joest
gave Audi its first major international
endurance win. They would go on to
win Sebring nine more times, setting virtually every record
possible at America’s oldest endurance race. In 2018 Joest
returns to Sebring managing the Mazda program in the
IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship.
Sebring Firemen, Inc., a non-profit organization established
in 1927, played a key role in the
origin of Sebring’s famed 12-hour classic.
Serving as the operational arm
for race founder Alec Ulmann, the
Sebring Firemen, Inc. provided critical
local manpower to help make
the event a success during its formative
years. Without the help of this
organization, it is unlikely Sebring could have achieved the
status of an internationally acclaimed event.
Tickets to the Hall of Fame dinner will go on sale to the
public in January.
The Sebring Hall of Fame was founded in 2002 to recognize
the competitors, officials, promoters, manufacturers
and teams who helped make Sebring North America’s most
historic road racing facility. The Hall of Fame operates the
Gallery of Legends building in the Alan Jay paddock, which
annually features a display of historic racecars. Hall of Fame
inductions are held every other year.
TICKET INFO 800-626-7223 sebringraceway.com 6