Felix Sabates Biography
 Felix Sabates
Owner, Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates
Felix Sabates first entered the world of stock car racing as an owner in 1987, when he purchased a research and development team from then-owner and popular Charlotte businessman, Rick Hendrick. SABCO Racing was founded and a new NASCAR Cup competitor entered the scene. For Sabates, it was just the beginning of a long, successful career on the NASCAR circuit.
For the first three seasons, SABCO Racing ran a limited schedule until 1990 when driver Kyle Petty embarked on SABCO Racing’s first full season of Cup competition. Petty earned the team’s first pole position and checkered flag in the Goodwrench 500 at North Carolina Speedway during that inaugural full season.
In his 11 seasons running full-time Cup teams, Sabates and Team Sabco picked up seven wins, 33 top-fives, 104 top-10s and 15 poles in nearly 600 starts. His teams finished in the top five in points in two different seasons – both by Kyle Petty.
During the 2000 season Sabates and then CART owner Chip Ganassi announced a partnership that would form Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates (CGRFS) beginning in 2001 along with a new partnership with Dodge Motorsports.
The two-car operation that Sabates and Ganassi initially started with has now grown to be three NASCAR Sprint Cup Series entries, two NASCAR Nationwide entries and one in the Daytona prototype in the world of Grand American Sports Car Racing. In addition, his Grand Am team picked up its second consecutive overall win in the prestigious Rolex 24 At Daytona as Juan Pablo Montoya, Scott Pruett and Salvador Duran hit the checkered flag first in the No. 01 Lexus-Riley.
Sabates has had as much success off the track as he had has on. He left his native Cuba when he was just 16-years-old and worked odd jobs until he was able to get what he considers his first real job – selling cars at City Chevrolet in the early 1960s. He soon accepted a position as a manufacturer’s representative for Top Sales Company (TSC) and in 1973 at the age of 32 was able to parlay his sales success into the purchase of the company. At its peak, TSC became the largest, most successful manufacturer’s representative company in the United States with over six billion dollars in Sales.  In a 2000 move that shocked the business world, Felix Sabates sold Top Sales Company to his employees at what was considered a well below market rate to “reward the people that helped him build the business.” The goodwill gesture gave all employees a once in a lifetime opportunity - to become owners of the company. In 2000, the father of three and grandfather of six bought the number one custom yacht builders in America, Trinity Yachts. He owns two Infinity, a Hyundai and a Mercedes Benz auto dealership and is also the president and CEO of FSS Holdings, Inc., a North Carolina based company with holding in several U.S. and international companies.
Sabates, who has been a Charlotte resident since 1963, has always had a soft spot in his heart for sports. In 1988 he became an original owner of the Charlotte Hornets basketball team and played a key role in negotiating with the NBA to grant Charlotte a franchise. He is also the only person that had ownership in the Hornets to now also have ownership in the Charlotte Bobcats. He has also been an owner of the East Coast Hockey League’s Charlotte Checkers. In addition, in the early 1980s he started the first indoor professional soccer team and was one of the first investors of the World Football League.
Sabates is also well known for his many philanthropic contributions and has received several honors and awards for his generosity. Belmont Abbey College in North Carolina has named its dining hall after him, Elon College bestowed upon him an Honorary Doctorate and he received a "Special Blessing" in writing from Pope John Paul II. He serves on the Board of Directors for Carolinas Health Care Systems, the University of North Carolina Charlotte, the Applica Corporation (Black & Decker), Simpson Products, the Charlotte Chamber of Commerce and the North Carolina Institute of Medicine. |
