sad news. Sports Car racing in America wouldn't be what it is today without him. Petit is in a couple of weeks, will be a great tribute to his legacy.
If it wasn't for Don Panoz, there would be no sports car racing in the U.S. Every time I spoke with him, I thanked him for what he was doing for the sport. BHW
Everytime I hear the name Panoz my first thought is the crazy front engined GT-1 car from the 90s. Never got to see one in person. Someday..
I don't think it's an overstatement to say the two most important people in the history of sports car racing in the US are John Bishop and Don Panoz.
Those of us in the Atlanta area will always be thankful to him for "rescuing" Road Atlanta when it looked like it was going to deteriorate into the weeds. Then he worked with the A.C.O. to create the Petit Le Mans and the ALMS to go with it. And he proved that a front-engined prototype could still win races! We don't see too many of his road cars on the street, but occasionally a roadster or an Esperante will pop up at a car show. R.I.P., Don, and thank you.
Gotta say the man came along when we needed him most. And talk about being "all in"! Let's see, he owned & improved Road Atlanta, Sebring, & maybe Mosport. Oh wait, he also owned the series, cut the deal w/ Le Mans to run their series over here, built numerous Indy 500 winning cars, and built his own cars for the street and for the prototype series. Heck, what wasn't he involved in? RIP
developed the Chateau Elan winery/resort (and I believe the surrounding subdivision) close to Road Atlanta, although I think he sold the resort earlier this year.
He built the Cheateau Elan hotel at Sebring (and then later expanded it) in 2000 while concurrently building the new pits complex which was long overdue. Don Panoz has fingerprints on a vast amount of enterprises which made our sport better. His selection of Scott Atherton to run the ALMS was a master stroke. BHW
I will never forget the sound of that beast, the Esperante GTR-1. Jesus! R.I.P Mr Panoz and THANK YOU. Image Unavailable, Please Login
Nice article with Scott Atherton reminiscing on Don Panoz. http://www.dailysportscar.com/2018/09/14/scott-atherton-on-don-panoz.html BHW
Yes... on the same day that Sportscar365 ran an article on the re-naming of the company and big plans for the future. Was very odd seeing the 2 stories that seemed to be complete opposites.
https://jalopnik.com/panoz-lays-off-some-of-its-staff-in-what-its-calling-a-1830190486 https://tiremeetsroad.com/2018/11/01/panoz-undergoes-drastic-restructuring-lays-off-entire-staff/ sjd
