Jul 13, 2026

Sam Schmidt on Life After the Crash That Changed Everything | Racers Unchained with Paul Tracy

Sam Schmidt was a rising IndyCar star, 5th in points, a race winner, teammates with Arie Luyendyk, when a testing crash in January 2000 left him paralyzed from the neck down and unable to breathe on his own. Doctors said he'd never walk or talk again.

25 years later, he's built one of the most successful teams in Indy Lights history, co-owned an IndyCar team with Dan Wheldon and later Arrow McLaren, developed a car he steers with his head and mouth that's hit 213 mph, and in April 2021, walked his daughter down the aisle in a custom exoskeleton nine months in the making.

On this episode of Racers Unchained, Paul Tracy sits down with Sam to talk about the crash, the recovery, the technology that gave him back a piece of control, why he believes anyone can do anything if they're willing to put in the work, and what it's really like to rebuild a life and a career from the ground up.

#SamSchmidt #PaulTracy #IndyCar #Indy500 #racing #motorsports #RACERpodcast

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