Scott Sharp

Infobox racing driver
name = Scott Sharp

---

pixels =
caption = Scott Sharp in May 2007 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway
nationality = USA
date of birth = birth date and age|1968|2|14
place of birth = Norwalk, Connecticut
date of death =
retired =
related to =
current series =American Le Mans Series
first year = 2008
current team = Patrón Highcroft Racing
last series = 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
fastest laps =
best finish = 1st
year = 1996
prev series =SCCA
CART
prev series years = 1987-1993
1993-1995
titles = Indy Racing League Co-Champion
SCCA Trans-Am
SCCA Trans-Am
SCCA GT-1
SCCA GT-1
SCCA GT-2
title years = 1996
1993
1991
1988
1987
1986
awards =
award years =

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.

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.

Indy Racing League Career

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).

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.

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 [cite web | url = http://www.latimes.com/classified/automotive/news/la-sp-racing1dec01,0,4507374.story / | title = Rahal Letterman, Sharp go to Court | publisher = Los Angeles Times | date = 1 December 2007 | accessdate = 2007-12-01] . Sharp and Patrón joined the American Le Mans Series with Highcroft Racing. He drives the #9 Patrón Highcroft Racing Acura ARX-01b with David Brabham during the 2008 season in the LMP2 class.

Sharp started seventh in his debut race at the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring and finished fourth in class (fifth overall) with teammates Brabham and Stefan 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 the 2008 Northeast Grand Prix at Lime Rock Park after starting from the pole position. A third class victory followed at the Generac 500 at Road America. When leader Gil de Ferran ran out of fuel on the last lap in Mosport 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 [cite web | url = http://auto-racing.speedtv.com/article/alms-scott-sharp-wins-speedtvcoms-drive-of-the-race-for-detroit / | title = ALMS: Scott Sharp Wins SPEEDtv.com’s ‘Drive of the Race’ for Detroit | publisher = SPEEDtv.com | date = 3 September 2008 | accessdate = 2008-09-03] . Sharp and Brabham will be joined by Dario Franchitti, one of Sharp’s former IndyCar competitors, for the 10-hour Petit Le Mans endurance race.
Sharp and Brabham currently sit second in the P2 point standings, four points behind the Penske Racing duo of Timo Bernhard and Romain Dumas.

Motorsports Career Results

American Open-Wheel

() (Races in bold indicate pole position)

IndyCar

Touring/Sports Car Racing

(Races in bold indicate pole position)* Overall victory as well as class victory.

References

* [http://www.americanlemans.com/drivers_and_teams/Driver.aspx?ID=120 American Le Mans Series Driver Profile]
* [http://www.highcroftracing.com Highcroft Racing Official Website]
* [http://www.patronspirits.com/racing/racing.html Patrón Racing Official Website]
* [http://www.indycar.com/drivers/driver.php?driver_id=39 Profile on Indycar.com]
* [http://www.racing-reference.info/driver?id=sharpsc01 NASCAR and IROC stats]