A worldwide television audience will join a trackside crowd of nearly 100,000 rabid fans today to watch the 56th annual Twelve Hours of Sebring. It features the most famous sports car drivers on the planet steering some of the most sophisticated cars in a locale that only got its first Starbucks coffee shop three months ago.
It is undeniably a mecca in the finicky world of auto racing, however.
Some of the greatest stars in racing are competing today or have in the past. Indy car drivers Marco Andretti and Ryan Briscoe are entered. Famous celebrities such as Steve McQueen and Paul Newman have suited up before. Indy 500 winners and Daytona 500 champions, too.
“This was the international race in this country, and its fame goes way beyond our borders. The reality with Sebring is that it’s bigger than itself.”
And the drivers who typically complain about the bumpy surface, unpredictable weather and grueling length of the race are the first to acknowledge the prestige and emotion that come with a victory here - a test unlike any other. In a place unlike any other.
“What I think about Sebring is the legendary drivers that have raced here, ” said Scott Sharp, who is transitioning from Indy cars to sports cars this year and racing at Sebring for the first time in a decade.”
“When you’re sitting in the garage with A. J. Foyt at Indianapolis and he’s telling stories about racing at Sebring, I think that says it all.”
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