Scott Sharp

For the politician, seeScott Sharp (politician).

Scott Sharp(born February 14, 1968) is an American professional racing driver in theUnited SportsCar Championship.He is the son of six-timeSCCAchampionBob Sharp.Sharp is best known for his years as a competitor in theIndy Racing League.

Scott Sharp
Sharp in May 2007 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway
Nationality	American
Born	(1968-02-14)February 14, 1968 Norwalk,Connecticut
WeatherTech SportsCar Championshipcareer
Debut season	2008
Current team	Extreme Speed Motorsports
Championship titles
2009 1996 1993 1991 1988 1987 1986	ALMSLMP1 Champion Indy Racing LeagueCo-Champion SCCATrans-Am SCCATrans-Am SCCAGT-1 SCCAGT-1 SCCAGT-2
IndyCar Seriescareer
147 races run over 13 years
Best finish	1st (1996)
First race	1996Indy 200(Orlando)
Last race	2009Indianapolis 500(Indy)
First win	1997True Value 200(Loudon)
Last win	2005AMBER Alert Portal Indy 300(Kentucky)
Wins Podiums Poles 9 18 6
Champ Carcareer
18 races run over 3 years
Best finish	21st (1994)
First race	1993Toyota Grand Prix of Monterey(Laguna Seca)
Last race	1995Indianapolis 500(Indy)
Wins Podiums Poles 0 0 0
NASCARCup Seriescareer
1 race run over 1 year
Best finish	69th (1992)
First race	1992Budweiser at the Glen(Watkins Glen)
Wins Top tens Poles 0 0 0
Statistics current as of June 4, 2012.

Early career

Born inNorwalk, Connecticut,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 1986SCCAGT-2, 1987 and 1988 SCCA GT-1, and 1991 and 1993 SCCATrans-Amclasses. Sharp competed in oneNASCARWinston Cup Seriesevent, coming in 1992 atWatkins Glen.In 1993, Sharp made hisCARTdebut with Bettenhausen Motorsports and became a full-time competitor in the series in 1994 withPacWest Racing.His firstIndianapolis 500start also came in 1994. In 1996, Sharp was part of Doyle Racing’s24 Hours of Daytonawinning team.

Indy Racing League career

Overview

Sharp is one of only two drivers (the other beingBuddy Lazier) 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 byHélio Castroneves).

History

Sharp was a competitor in the first IRL race in1996,driving forA. J. Foyt Enterprises.He was the co-champion of the IRL's inaugural season in 1996 along withBuzz Calkins. In1997two crashes resulting in severe concussions sidelined Sharp until1998when he began working with the newly formedKelley Racingteam and sponsorDelphi.At Kelley, Sharp collected eight wins and four pole positions (one being at the2001 Indianapolis 500). He was 3rd in the championship in 2001, but an influx of strong teams fromCARTmeant that Kelley was not one of the strongest teams after that season. In2004he 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. In2005,Sharp, along withDelphi,who had become his personal sponsor, moved toFernández 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 atKentucky Speedwayalong the way. However, Sharp struggled through the2006 seasonas the team struggled to adapt to theDallarachassis, and finished 11th in the points standings.

Sharp racing at Texas in 2007

For2007,Sharp joinedRahal Letterman Racing,teaming with sophomore driverJeff Simmons.Mid-season, Simmons was replaced withRyan Hunter-Reay.Sharp brought with him a new primary sponsor, thePatrón 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 atIowa Speedwayand atMichigan International Speedway.A highlight of the season was his surprise pole position atTexas Motor Speedwayin June, his first pole since 2001. He was also able to capture a career-best 6th place in theIndianapolis 500.Sharp ended the season 8th in the championship.

Sharp returned to the series and competed in the2009 Indianapolis 500withPanther Racing.He qualified 20th and finished the race 14th on the lead lap.

American Le Mans Series career

Sharp on track at the Acura Sports Car Challenge of Mid-Ohio in July 2008

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 theAmerican Le Mans SerieswithHighcroft Racing.He drove the #9 Patrón Highcroft RacingAcuraARX-01b withDavid Brabhamduring the 2008 season in the LMP2 class.

Sharp started seventh in his debut in theMobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebringand finished fourth in his class (fifth overall) with his teammates Brabham andStefan Johansson.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 the2008 Northeast Grand PrixatLime Rock Parkafter starting from the pole position. A third class victory followed at the Generac 500 atRoad America.When leaderGil de Ferranran out of fuel on the last lap inMosportawarded 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 himSPEEDtv.com’s ‘Drive of the Race,’ though the team had to settle for second place in the event.Sharp and Brabham were joined byDario Franchitti,one of Sharp’s former IndyCar competitors, for the 10-hourPetit Le Mansendurance 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 thePenske Racingduo ofTimo BernhardandRomain Dumas,after being as close as four points away with two rounds to go.

Extreme Speed Motorsports

Main article:Extreme Speed Motorsports

It was announced on theAmerican Le Mans Serieswebsite that Sharp would race in the 2010 series under his own team called Extreme Speed Motorsports. He ran with twoFerrari F430's in the GT class and was sponsored by thePatrón Spirits Company.Sharp raced in 2010 alongside the first announced driver, Patrón CEO Ed Brown.

In 2011, the team switched toFerrari 458 Italia GT2cars. 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 the2012 American Le Mans Series at Long Beach,and the #01 won the2012 Grand Prix of Mosport,the first win for the team since its move to the GT class.

In 2016, Sharp won theRolex 24for the second time, this time with ESM.

Motorsports career results

SCCA National Championship Runoffs

Year	Track	Car	Engine	Class	Finish	Start	Status
1986	Road Atlanta	Nissan 280Z	Nissan	GT2	1	4	Running
1986	Road Atlanta	Nissan 300ZX	Nissan	GT1	1	2	Running
		Nissan 280Z	Nissan	GT2	4	4	Running
1986	Road Atlanta	Nissan 300ZX	Nissan	GT1	1	2	Running

American open-wheel

(key) (Races inboldindicate pole position)

CART

Year	Team	Chassis	Engine	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	Rank	Points	Ref
1993	Bettenhausen Racing	PenskePC22	Chevrolet265CV8t	SRF	PHX	LBH	INDY	MIL	DET	POR	CLE	TOR	MIS	NHM	ROA	VAN	MDO	NZR	LS 22		48th	0
1994	PacWest Racing	LolaT94/00	FordXBV8t	SRF 11	PHX 9	LBH 28	INDY 16	MIL 12	DET 13	POR 18	CLE 24	TOR 16	MIS 12	MDO 11	NHM 24	VAN 12	ROA 10	NZR 15	LS 21		21st	14
1995	A. J. Foyt Enterprises	LolaT95/00	FordXBV8t	MIA	SRF	PHX	LBH	NZR	INDY 26	MIL	DET	POR	ROA	TOR	CLE	MIS	MDO	NHM	VAN	LS	44th	0

IndyCar Series

Year	Team	Chassis	No.	Engine	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	Rank	Points	Ref
1996	A. J. Foyt Enterprises	LolaT95/00	41	FordXBV8t	WDW 11		INDY 10															1st-Tie	246
		LolaT94/00	11			PHX 2
1996-1997		LolaT95/00	1	FordXBV8t	NWH 1	LVS 16																22nd	119
		DallaraIR7		OldsmobileAuroraV8			WDW 4				PPIR 22	CLT	NH2	LV2
		G-ForceGF01						PHX 16	INDY Wth	TXS
1998	Kelley Racing	DallaraIR8	8	OldsmobileAuroraV8	WDW 6	PHX 1	INDY 16	TXS 5	NWH 3	DOV 1	CLT 18	PPIR 11	ATL 18	TX2 23	LVS 12							4th	272
1999		DallaraIR9		OldsmobileAuroraV8	WDW 4	PHX 8	CLT C	INDY 28	TXS 10	PPIR 8	ATL 1	DOV 22	PPI2 22	LVS 4	TX2 19							8th	220
2000		DallaraIR-00		OldsmobileAuroraV8	WDW 15	PHX 5	LVS 27	INDY 10	TXS 1	PPIR 3	ATL 16	KTY 24	TX2 13									7th	196
2001		DallaraIR-01		OldsmobileAuroraV8	PHX 4	HMS 8	ATL 2	INDY 33	TXS 1	PPIR 8	RIR 5	KAN 17	NSH 5	KTY 2	STL 8	CHI 25	TX2 2					3rd	355
2002		DallaraIR-02		ChevroletIndyV8	HMS 20	PHX 16	FON 8	NZR 1	INDY 27	TXS 14	PPIR 5	RIR 21	KAN 6	NSH 8	MIS 9	KTY 4	STL 18	CHI 7	TX2 4			6th	332
2003		DallaraIR-03		ToyotaIndyV8	HMS 5	PHX 7	MOT 1	INDY 20	TXS 16	PPIR 11	RIR 17	KAN 16	NSH 13	MIS 4	STL 10	KTY 13	NZR 12	CHI 11	FON 8	TX2 6		8th	351
2004		DallaraIR-04		ToyotaIndyV8	HMS 9	PHX 13	MOT 9	INDY 13	TXS 18	RIR 9	KAN 20	NSH 14	MIL 15	MIS 9	KTY 17	PPIR 15	NZR 19	CHI 9	FON 11	TX2 8		13th	282
2005	Delphi Fernández Racing	PanozGF09C		HondaHI5RV8	HMS 13	PHX 5	STP 18	MOT 2	INDY 7	TXS 4	RIR 17	KAN 6	NSH 4	MIL 10	MIS 7	KTY 1	PPIR 9	SNM 12	CHI 8	WGL 9	FON 4	5th	444
2006		DallaraIR-05		HondaHI6RV8	HMS 7		MOT 16	INDY 9		TXS 5	RIR 5	KAN 18	NSH 17	MIL 12	MIS 6	KTY 16		CHI 9				12th	287
		PanozGF09C				STP 10			WGL 9								SNM 14
2007	Rahal Letterman Racing	DallaraIR-05		HondaHI7RV8	HMS 12	STP 11	MOT 6	KAN 13	INDY 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
2009	Panther Racing		16	HondaHI7RV8	STP	LBH	KAN	INDY 14	MIL	TXS	IOW	RIR	WGL	TOR	EDM	KTY	MDO	SNM	CHI	MOT	HMS	34th	16

Years	Teams	Races	Poles	Wins	Podiums (Non-win)	Top 10s (Non-podium)	Indianapolis 500 Wins	Championships
13	5	147	6	9	9	64	0	1 (1996)

Indy 500 results

Year	Chassis	Engine	Start	Finish	Team
1994	LolaT94/00	FordXBV8t	17	16	PacWest Racing
1995	LolaT95/00	FordXBV8t	30	26	A. J. Foyt Enterprises
1996	LolaT95/00	FordXBV8t	21	10	A. J. Foyt Enterprises
1997	G-ForceGF01	OldsmobileAuroraV8	Practice crash		A. J. Foyt Enterprises
1998	DallaraIR8	OldsmobileAuroraV8	7	16	Kelley Racing
1999	DallaraIR9	OldsmobileAuroraV8	6	28	Kelley Racing
2000	DallaraIR-00	OldsmobileAuroraV8	5	10	Kelley Racing
2001	DallaraIR-01	OldsmobileAuroraV8	1	33	Kelley Racing
2002	DallaraIR-02	ChevroletIndyV8	8	27	Kelley Racing
2003	DallaraIR-03	ToyotaIndyV8	9	20	Kelley Racing
2004	DallaraIR-04	ToyotaIndyV8	20	13	Kelley Racing
2005	PanozGF09C	HondaHI6RV8	3	7	Fernández Racing
2006	DallaraIR-05	HondaHI6RV8	8	9	Fernández Racing
2007	DallaraIR-05	HondaHI7RV8	12	6	Rahal Letterman Racing
2009	DallaraIR-05	HondaHI7RV8	20	14	Panther Racing

Touring/sports car racing

24 Hours of Le Mans results

Year	Team	Co-Drivers	Car	Class	Laps	Pos.	Class Pos.
1996	Riley & Scott Cars Inc.	Wayne Taylor Jim Pace	Riley & Scott Mk III-Oldsmobile	WSC	157	DNF	DNF
2015	Extreme Speed Motorsports	Ryan Dalziel David Heinemeier Hansson	Ligier JS P2-Honda	LMP2	329	28th	10th
2016	Extreme Speed Motorsports	Ed Brown Johannes van Overbeek	Ligier JS P2-Nissan	LMP2	341	16th	10th
Sources:

American Le Mans Series results

(Races inboldindicate pole position)

Series	Year	Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	Final Pos.	Points
ALMS P2	2008	Patrón Highcroft	SEB 4	STP 2	LGB 1	MMP 9	LRP 1*	MDO 2	ROA 1	MOS 1	DET 2	ATL Ret	LAG 9	3rd	162
ALMS P1	2009	Patrón Highcroft	SEB 5	STP 1*	LGB 2	MMP 2	LRP 2	MDO 2	ROA 1*	MOS 1*	ATL 6	LAG 2		1st	179
ALMS GT2	2010	Extreme Speed Motorsports	SEB Ret	LGB 7	LAG 5	MMP 7	LRP 6	MDO 5	ROA 8	MOS 6	ATL 2			10th	70
ALMS GT	2011	Extreme Speed Motorsports	SEB 16	LGB 11	LRP 4	MOS 9	MDO 5	ROA 8	BAL 9	LAG 3	ATL 6			7th	66
ALMS GT	2012	Extreme Speed Motorsports	SEB 9	LGB 3	LAG 5	LRP 4	MOS 1	MDO 6	ROA 3	BAL 3	VIR 3	ATL 1		2nd	123
ALMS P2	2013	Extreme Speed Motorsports	SEB 5	LGB 1	LAG 3	LRP 2	MOS 2	ROA 2	BAL 2	COTA 4	VIR 2	ATL 2		3rd	163

* Overall victory as well as class victory. Italicsindicates season is currently running.

WeatherTech SportsCar Championship results

(key)(Races inboldindicate pole position, Results areoverall/class)

Year	Team	Class	Car	Engine	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	Rank	Points
2014	Extreme Speed Motorsports	P	HPD ARX-03b	HondaHR28TT 2.8 LV6Turbo	DAY 15	SIR 2	LBH 6	LS 11	DET 5	S6H 10	MSP 8	IMS 5	ELK 3	COA	PET	9th	228
2015	Tequila Patrón ESM	P	HPD ARX-04b1 HPD ARX-03b2	HondaHR28TT 2.8 LV6Turbo	DAY 10	SIR 9	LBH	LS	DET	S6H	MSP	ELK	COA	PET		21nd	45
2016	Tequila Patrón ESM	P	Ligier JS P2	HondaHR35TT 3.5 LV6Turbo	DAY 1	SIR 1	LBH	LS	DET	S6H 9	MSP	ELK	COA	PET 2		12th	128
2017	Tequila Patrón ESM	P	Nissan Onroak DPi	NissanVR38DETT 3.8 L TurboV6	DAY 4	SIR 11	LBH 2	AUS 6	DET 8	S6H 7	MSP 3	ELK 3	LGA 6	PET 1		5th	273
2018	Tequila Patrón ESM	P	Nissan Onroak DPi	Nissan VR38DETT3.8 LTurboV6	DAY 19	SEB 16	LBH 2	MDO 10	DET 4	WGL 16	MOS	ELK 9	LGA 11	PET 11		16th	186

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

NASCARWinston Cup Seriesresults
Year	Team	No.	Make	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	NWCC	Pts	Ref
1992	Jimmy Means Racing	52	Pontiac	DAY	CAR	RCH	ATL	DAR	BRI	NWS	MAR	TAL	CLT	DOV	SON	POC	MCH	DAY	POC	TAL	GLN 19	MCH	BRI	DAR	RCH	DOV	MAR	NWS	CLT	CAR	PHO	ATL	69th	106

External links

• Extreme Speed Motorsports Official Website
• Highcroft Racing Official Website
• Patrón Racing Official Website
• Scott Sharpdriver statistics at Racing-Reference
• Scott Sharpcareer summary at DriverDB.com