Paul Gentilozzi (born February 6, 1950 in Lansing, Michigan) is a race car driver and businessman. His non-racing business interests are real estate development, principally developing store sites for big box retailers.
Prior to his involvement in motor racing, he received his MBA from Michigan State University. In 1985 he founded the successful Rocketsports Racing team that has competed in the Trans-Am series and Champ Car World Series. As a driver he has won a number of championships and 31 races, the most in series history, eclipsing the record held by Mark Donohue. He has run a number of different manufacturers including Oldsmobile, Chevrolet, Ford and more recently Jaguar. Previous to this he was involved in NHRA Drag Racing, successfully driving many Plymouth and Dodge vehicles.
He teamed up with three other drivers to win the 1994 24 Hours of Daytona,[1] his biggest win as a driver. In 2005 he fielded Champ Cars for rookie of the year Timo Glock and 2004 Star Mazda series champion Michael McDowell, while running three Trans-Am cars for himself, Hollywood advertising executive/racer Tomy Drissi and that year's series champion Klaus Graf of Germany.
Gentilozzi and fellow Champ Car owners Gerald Forsythe and Kevin Kalkhoven purchased the assets of Champ Car following a financially-difficult 2003 season.[2] Judge Frank Otte ruled in favor of the trio, known as Open Wheel Racing Series LLC, over rival bidder Tony George, the chairman/CEO of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and the Indy Racing League.[3] In 2008, with the Champ Car Series running on very thin funding, the series was acquired by the Indy Racing League.[4][5]
References
- ^ "Nissan big winners at Rolex 24 hours". Boca Raton News. 1994-02-07. Retrieved 2010-09-14.
- ^ "Buyout of CART set; racing a go for 2004". St. Petersburg Times. 2003-12-16. Retrieved 2010-09-14.
- ^ Cain, Holly (2004-01-30). "Auto Racing: Portland wins in judge's Open Wheel-IRL decision". Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Retrieved 2010-09-14.
- ^ Martin, Bruce (2008-02-20). "IndyCar nears Champ Car resolution". CNN Sports Illustrated. Retrieved 2010-09-14.
- ^ "Report: IRL/Champ Car Merger Deal Done". The Sports Network. 2008-02-19. Retrieved 2010-09-14.
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