Sam
Posey

Sam Posey was born in New York City on 26 May 1944 and grew up in Sharon, Connecticut, close to Lime Rock Park. He began as an amateur sports car racer and moved up to Can-Am, running a car he had designed with his engineer friend Ray Caldwell. In 1968 he contested the Trans-Am series in a Camaro for Roger Penske, and in 1969 he won the Trans-Am round at Lime Rock in a Ford Mustang. In 1970 he drove Caldwell's Dodge Challenger in the same championship.

Posey made two Formula One starts, both in the United States Grand Prix, in 1971 and 1972, driving a Surtees each time. He retired from the first race and finished 12th in the second, without scoring a point. Only the 1971 entry was run by the works team.

He also took part in 13 USAC Championship Car races, in 1969 and from 1972 to 1974, including the 1972 Indianapolis 500. His best result in that series was third place at the Kent road course in 1969. He took part in the 24 Hours of Le Mans ten times and finished third in 1971 in a Ferrari 512M. In 1975 he won the 12 Hours of Sebring, sharing the car with three other drivers.

Posey also worked as a broadcaster. He joined ABC Sports for the Indianapolis 500 in 1974, and from 1996 he covered sports car racing and Formula One for Speedvision, later known as SPEED. The front straight at Lime Rock Park was renamed the Sam Posey Straight in 2013, and he was inducted into the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America in 2016.

Source: Wikipedia, “Sam Posey”. Text licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.