History
For 2011, SSM purchased the assets of FAZZT Race Team, retaining some the personnel and all sponsors, including Alex Tagliani. Townsend Bell, Jay Howard, and Wade Cunningham will also drive for SSM in the 2011 IndyCar Series season.
Davey Hamilton began 2001 in the car and drove 5 races, including the team's first Indianapolis 500, ending with an injury at Texas Motor Speedway. He was replaced by Jaques Lazier who drove four races and 3 other drivers who drove a few races each. Richie Hearn made 9 starts for the team in 2002 as he switched between the team's 2 cars, the #99 and #20. Anthony Lazzaro drove in the first three races of the year in the #99, but handed over Indy 500 driving duties to Mark Dismore, who made his only start for the team in that year's '500'. Also, in 2002, the Indy Pro Series was founded and Schmidt eventually refocused its efforts on that series, running only the Indy 500 as its sole IndyCar series race with a car driven from 2003 to 2005 by Hearn and in 2006 by Airton Daré. In 2007 the team fielded a car in the Indy 500 for Buddy Lazier. In 2008, while the team did not field a car of its own, it prepared and engineered Rubicon Race Team's entry for Max Papis that failed to qualify after suffering numerous gearbox problems during qualifying. The team made a joint entry with Chip Ganassi Racing for the 2009 Indianapolis 500, piloted by Alex Lloyd. The arrangement with Chip Ganassi continued in 2010 for the Indy 500 with Townsend Bell driving. In 2012 SSM fielded a car for Frenchman Simon Pagenaud. Davey Hamilton joined Schmidt to field the number 77 car. Pagenaud went on to win the IZOD IndyCar Rookie of the Year Award.
Read more about this topic: Sam Schmidt Motorsports
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