Felix Sabates

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Félix Sabates Jr.
Sabates at the 2013 Coke Zero 400
Born
Feliciano Sergio Sabates Jr.

(1945-09-09) September 9, 1945 (age 79)
Camagüey, Cuba
Occupation(s)Team owner, Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates

Feliciano Sergio "Félix" Sabates Jr.

philanthropist
living in the United States of America.

He is a partner in

SABCO Racing until the end of the 2000 season when Chip Ganassi and Sabates became partners.[5]

Early life

Felix Sabates was born in Camagüey, Cuba. Sabates is the oldest of seven children—three boys (Feliciano "Felix" Jr., Jose, Arturo "Art") and four girls (Silvia, Yoyi, Manty, Rosita)—of Dr. Feliciano Sabates and Maria Tavio.[3][4][6][7] Sabates' grandfather grew sugar until a fire destroyed the business in the 1930s. Sabates' family then founded a jewelry store in 1936. The family would later found several successful business many of which bore the family name.[6][8] Sabates attended military school as a teenager, first in Havana, and later in Camagüey. According to Sabates, he was a bunkmate with one of the sons of Fidel Castro.[6]

Following the

Albuquerque, New Mexico and placed in foster care. Sabates' mother and youngest brother Art fled in 1963, while his father arrived in 1966 after being restricted by the Castro administration.[6][8]

Sabates initially settled in

Catholic charity.[6][9]

In Lexington, Sabates began working 12-hour shifts in a furniture factory. One year later in 1964, after an encounter with the

Charlotte Airport.[6][9] Later, Sabates began working at the City Chevrolet car dealership in Downtown Charlotte (later purchased by fellow NASCAR owner Rick Hendrick), offering to work for free on the condition that if he outsells the other salesman within a month, that he would be compensated and offered a permanent sales position. Sabates was successful with record car sales.[6][9]
When a local newspaper article had recounted this story about the top salesman, it caught the eye of a local businessman who proceeded to offer him a different sales position with potential growth as a manufacturer's representative.

Business success

In 1969 at the age of 25, Sabates accepted a position as a salesman for Top Sales Company, Inc. (TSC) which distributed retail products. Sabates would purchase the company in 1974. Early products distributed by TSC included Atari game consoles and Teddy Ruxpin teddy bears.[6][10] At its peak, TSC became the largest, most successful manufacturer's representative company in the United States with over $12 billion in sales. In 2000, Sabates sold TSC to his employees at what was considered a well below market rate to "reward the people that helped him build the business."[2][8]

In 1988, Sabates purchased a Hatteras Yacht dealership in Stuart, Florida. Within two years, the dealership became one of the largest Hatteras dealerships globally. In 2000, Sabates and his business partner, John Dane, acquired the superyacht manufacturing company Trinity Yachts. Sabates is also the owner of International Yacht Collection (IYC), a company involved in yacht management, charters, brokerage, and new construction, with offices in Monaco, the Bahamas, Saint Martin, and the United States. Additionally, he serves as the president and CEO of FSS Holdings, Inc., a North Carolina–based holding company with investments in various U.S. and international businesses. [citation needed]

Sabates owns and operates a Mercedes Benz dealership that is a four-time recipient of the Best Award given to only the top 10 percent of dealers nationwide. He also operates the largest volume Infiniti dealership in North Carolina as well as Hyundai, Ford, Lincoln Mazda, Sprinter and Smart Car auto dealerships. A Sabates owned Bentley dealership closed in 2015.[11]

Other ventures

Auto racing

In 1987, Sabates became a

SABCO Racing. Sabates' first driver in 1989 was a third-generation racer Kyle Petty (Sabates was a huge fan of his father, Richard Petty).[9]
In 1992, Sabates' team branched out into the Busch Series Following the death of Alan Kulwicki, Sabates gained the assets of his racing team, and later sold it to Geoff Bodine which became Goeff Bodine racing. Petty found his groove in the Winston Cup circuit, finishing in the top-five in the final point standings for the season. The team fielded both cars in the Winston Cup circuit the following year and Petty again finished top-five in total points.

SABCO Racing changed to

Jeff Green, and Ted Musgrave.[10]

In 2001 Sabates partnered with

Sprint Cup Series in 2006, former Indy 500 champion Juan Pablo Montoya.[9] Prior to the 2009 NASCAR Sprint Cup season, due to financial woes, the team merged with Dale Earnhardt, Inc. to form Earnhardt Ganassi Racing. The team would revert to the Ganassi Racing name in 2014.[12]

As of 2021, the team's drivers include Kurt Busch in the No. 1 car and Ross Chastain in the No. 42. In his nearly 30 seasons in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, Sabates' teams have 17 wins, 131 top-five and 354 top-10 finishes as well as 40 poles in nearly 1800 starts. His team made the Chase for the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series four times (2009, 2015 and 2016 (2)), finished in the top five in points in three different seasons and won the 2010 Daytona 500 and Brickyard 400.[9] In addition, Sabates and Ganassi also fielded a Daytona Prototype in the Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series for 13 years, where the team won an unprecedented six Rolex 24 At Daytonas and seven championships. Their No. 01 team is the winningest team in series history with 40 victories. Past drivers include Luis Diaz, Stefan Johansson and Cort Wagner. In 2016 the sports car team began racing the new Ford GT in both IMSA and in the World Endurance Championship and would ultimately go on to win the 24 Hours of Le Mans that year – exactly 50 years after Ford beat Ferrari for the first time in 1966.[9]

Charlotte sports

In 1988, Sabates became one of the founding owners of the original

Charlotte Checkers expansion franchise in Charlotte for 1993.[10] In 1996, the Checkers won the Jack Riley Cup championship after competing in the ECHL for just three years. Soon after, the team was sold at a then-record price for a minor-league professional franchise, to Tim Braswell, who sold the team in 2000 to George Shinn and Ray Woolridge, the Hornets owners.[10]
Sabates and Carl Scheer would buy back the team in 2002. In November 2005, the Checkers hit an all-time attendance record of 10,894.

Sabates is also the only person that had ownership in the Hornets in the 1980s/1990s to now also have an ownership stake with Michael Jordan in the Charlotte Hornets franchise in the 2010s.

In July 2016, the

NBA announced that it was removing the 2017 All-Star game from Charlotte due to North Carolina's controversial Public Facilities Privacy & Security Act, also known as House Bill 2 or HB2.[13] The Charlotte Observer
obtained a letter from Sabates blaming Charlotte's City Council for losing the game, which was projected to have a $100 million impact on the state. His letter reportedly stated:

"Our Mayor opened a can of worms, who knows why? One Our city council is the one to blame for our losing the NBA All Star game, none of this would have happened if not for a very few minority forcing our supposed city leaders into creating a problem that never really existed, there will always be another election, they better pray a very few can get them re-elected. What is wrong with a person using a bathroom provided for the sex the [sic] were born with, if you want to change your gender so be it, we are a free county, but don't force 8 years old children to be exposed to having to share bathroom facilities with people that don't share the organs they were Bourne [sic] with, this is plain wrong, this could cause irreparable damages to a children's [sic] that don't understand why they have to see what God did not mean for them to witness, we have some very confused business as well as political humans that frankly have made this a political issue rather then [sic] moral issues, SHAME ON THEM."[14]

Civic leader

In addition to his successes in sports, Sabates also focuses much attention on civic activities. Sabates has served on the board of directors for Carolinas Health Care Systems for the past 27 years. He also serves on the board of directors for the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, the Applica Corporation, Simpson Products, the Charlotte Chamber of Commerce and he also was the co-chair of a North Carolina Institute of Medicine Task Force on Latino Health.[15] Additionally Sabates was appointed to two terms on the North Carolina Banking Commission. In fact, he has been appointed to commissions by three different North Carolina governors, Jim Martin (R), Mike Easley (D) and most recently by Governor Pat McCrory (R) to vice chairman of the Oversight committee of the Airport Authority of North Carolina which oversees the Charlotte airport, the sixth busiest in the world.

Philanthropist

Sabates is also well known for his many philanthropic contributions and has received several honors and awards for his work.

UNC Charlotte bestowed upon him Honorary Doctorate degrees,[2]
and he received a "Special Blessing" in writing from Pope John Paul II. Sabates became a member of the philanthropic Dream Makers Society of the Boys and Girls Club of Broward County, Florida, in recognition of his 12-year commitment to and support of special fund raising events. In his honor, the Felix Sabates Athletic Center was dedicated in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, in November 2000. The facility is the largest Boys and Girls Club in the state. He is also a large contributor to the North Carolina Health Care System Foundation, the Allegro Foundation to benefit children with special needs, as well as the Levine Children's Hospital that bears a special plaque in his honor is in the main lobby.

Political affiliation

Sabates is a member of the Republican Party. He supports local Republicans, and has supported most Republican presidential nominees since the 1970s.[17] Sabates was also appointed by Governor Jim Martin as a commissioner of the North Carolina State Banking Commission.[18] Sabates did not support Republican candidate Donald Trump's campaigns for president in 2016 and 2020.

Personal life

Sabates has three children and six grandchildren. His daughter Mimi is married to former

NHRA
driver Doug Herbert.

On August 2, 2014, Sabates' 18-year-old grandson Feliciano "Chany Boy" Sabates IV was fatally shot at a party in

Palm Beach Gardens, Florida.[1]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b Smith, Stephen Cole (August 7, 2014). "Services for Feliciano Sabates IV, grandson of NASCAR team owner Felix Sabates, set for today". motorsport.com. motorsport.com. Retrieved 12 June 2015.
  2. ^ a b c "Executive Profile Felix Sabates Jr". bloomberg.com. Bloomberg L.P. Retrieved 12 June 2015.
  3. ^
    Sun-Sentinel. October 6, 2007. Archived from the original
    on June 14, 2015. Retrieved 13 June 2015.
  4. ^ a b Newton, David (April 6, 2007). "Colorful Sabates always good for a story". espn.com. Martinsville, Virginia: ESPN. Retrieved 12 June 2015.
  5. ^ a b nascar.com (August 4, 2000). "Ganassi, SABCO go to Dodge in 2001". motorsport.com. Indianapolis: motorsport.com, NASCAR. Archived from the original on April 2, 2015. Retrieved November 24, 2014.
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j McGee, Ryan (May 18, 2004). "Felix Sabates' story American made". espn.com. ESPN. Retrieved 12 June 2015.
  7. ^
    Daytona Beach, Florida: Orlando Sentinel
    . Retrieved 12 June 2015.
  8. ^ a b c d Arriero, Elisabeth (January 31, 2011). "A long road to success from Cuba to Cornelius". charlotteobserver.com. The Charlotte Observer. Retrieved 12 June 2015.
  9. ^ a b c d e f g h i Hastings, Danny (September 27, 2013). "Celebrating Hispanic Heritage: The Legend". youtube.com. NASCAR. Archived from the original on 2021-12-13. Retrieved 12 June 2015.
  10. ^ a b c d e f g Press Release (1999). "A Brief History of Team Owner Felix S. Sabates Jr". bellsouth.com. Mooresville, North Carolina: BellSouth. Archived from the original on 15 June 2015. Retrieved 13 June 2015.
  11. ^ "Team owner Felix Sabates shuts down Charlotte Bentley dealership". FOX Sports. Retrieved 2024-02-16.
  12. Sporting News. Archived from the original
    on December 24, 2014. Retrieved November 23, 2014.
  13. ^ Cacciola, Scott; Blinder, Alan (21 July 2016). "N.B.A. To Move All-Star Game from North Carolina". The New York Times.
  14. ^ "A Hornets owner blasts NBA, city for ASG move". 22 July 2016.
  15. ^ Latino Health Task Force – Projects of the NC IOM Archived 2007-02-02 at the Wayback Machine
  16. McClatchy DC
    . Retrieved 12 June 2015.
  17. ^ Funk, Tim (May 2, 2016). "Prominent Republicans in Carolinas torn as Trump nomination becomes more likely". The Charlotte Observer. Retrieved 7 June 2016.
  18. Sun-Sentinel. Archived from the original
    on March 31, 2013. Retrieved 7 June 2016.

18. Prominent Republicans in Carolina Torn as Trump Nomination Becomes More Likely, Retrieved from https://www.sacbee.com/news/politics-government/election/presidential-election/article75128437.html

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