Sean Rayhall, who Panoz hired to race full-time in 2016, the final season for Don’s DeltaWing:“Don Panoz was one of the most eccentric racers, but also one of the truest. I remember on my first drive for him in the DeltaWing at Daytona. He pulled us all into the motor coach and said, ‘Here’s a bowl of $100 bills. If any of you wreck my car, use one of those $100 bills to get your ass home because I don’t want to see you!’ He had a heart of gold. He gave me a shot, believed in me, and believed in American talent. I’m so proud to have driven for Don Panoz. I cant thank him enough for how good he was to me.”
Richard Dean, who drove the LMP Roadster in a few ALMS races, won in the Roadster in the 2001 ELMS race at Vallelunga (Lanesra racing with Gary Formato) and won in GT2 at the 2006 Le Mans 24 Hours with Lawrence Tomlinson and Tom Kimber Smith for Team LNT:“What a character, and what a legacy, a real innovator and a visionary. A man who truly invested in the sport, in his series, his circuits and his cars. The American Le Mans Series showed the way — it is still my favorite race series. “There are so many that owe their careers in this sport to the opportunities that Don’s investments and projects provided.“At Le Mans, it seemed coming into the race that everything was against us, engine issues at the test, we were allocated Garage 13, but his enthusiasm never wavered — he tried for 10 years to get the win and was just ecstatic when we did it. And he was given the Spirit of Le Mans award by the ACO that same weekend!“I grabbed a Panoz flag from someone on my way to the podium — I see that picture every day in my gym. Without Don that wouldn’t have been possible — a simply huge part of my career. “Thoughts are with Danny and the rest of the family.”
Paul Pfanner, CEO Racer Media & Marketing: “Don Panoz was one of the most inspiring and determined people I’ve ever known. Don’s passion was infectious and his imagination boundless so it is no surprise he accomplished so much in his life. It was truly an honor to work with Don and American Le Mans President Scott Atherton on the positioning, branding and advertising for the series from 2006-2009. I will be forever grateful to Don for his wonderful friendship and it is safe to say RACER and RACER.com would not exist today without the faith and commitment of Don and his great team at the ALMS. Our RACER team offers our sincerest condolences to the Panoz family and his many friends who have lost a very special man who was truly one of a kind.”
Greg Gill (President/CEO of WC Vision and Pirelli World Challenge): “We are deeply saddened to learn of the loss of Don Panoz. He and his organization did more for sports car racing than any other. His Panoz Avezzano GT4 sports car won 13 GTS/GTSA races in the past two years in the Pirelli World Challenge and the Panoz Company captured the 2018 GTS Manufacturers Championship in GTS, a tremendous achievement. Don always had fresh insight alongside a warm sense of humor about our industry and the sport. He will be sorely missed.
IMSA statement: The IMSA community is profoundly saddened by the news that its Vice Chairman, Don Panoz, passed away from cancer at the age of 83.A lifelong entrepreneur, the charismatic Panoz is best known to race fans as the founder of the American Le Mans Series (ALMS) and creator of the famously loud and uniquely styled front-engined Panoz LMP1 racecars.Panoz fell in love with the unique atmosphere at the 24 Hours of Le Mans after experiencing it himself for the first time. Panoz aimed to replicate the spirit of Le Mans, its unique rules and regulations while adding his own fan-friendly atmosphere, first through the creation of a “one-off” event at Road Atlanta, the 10-hour or 1,000-mile Petit Le Mans, which debuted on Oct. 11, 1998. The overall winners of that inaugural race were co-drivers Eric van de Poele, Emmanuel Collard and WeatherTech Championship Prototype champion team owner Wayne Taylor.
Buoyed by the success of Petit Le Mans, Panoz founded the ALMS, a series of races throughout North America on world-class racetracks, including three that he owned: Sebring International Raceway, Road Atlanta, and Mosport – what today is known as Canadian Tire Motorsport Park. Panoz became a driving force for sports car racing in North America at a time when the sport was badly in need of direction, vision and leadership.Under Panoz’s watchful eye, the ALMS was the first motorsports sanctioning bodies to open the pre-race starting grid to race fans, enabling them to walk among the cars and drivers on the racetrack minutes before the start of each race. It’s a practice that is still a part of every IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship and IMSA Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge race – and has been replicated by many racing organizations around the world.
In 2012, Panoz recognized that to truly achieve the type of success he envisioned for sports car racing in North America, a merger between the ALMS and the GRAND-AM Road Racing Association was needed. He joined forces with GRAND-AM Founder Jim France – and together with their respective CEOs, Scott Atherton with ALMS and Ed Bennett with GRAND-AM – and the historic merger was announced at Daytona International Speedway on Sept. 5, 2012.“Don Panoz will be remembered as a one of the most important figures in the history of sports car racing,” NASCAR Chairman and CEO and IMSA Chairman Jim France said. “Don was a true gentleman who deeply cared about our sport. That was obvious to all who are involved with sports car racing. He became a great friend and partner, and we shared the pride of combining GRAND-AM and the American Le Mans Series and re-establishing the IMSA brand, bringing sports car racing together again. Don was a true innovator whose work touched many lives.”