Dominic Dobson
Encyclopedia
Dominic Dobson is a German
-born former CART
and Craftsman Truck Series
driver who made 7 starts in the Indianapolis 500
with a best finish of 12th in 1992, over 60 starts in the CART (Championship Auto Racing Series), with a best finish of 3rd at the Michigan 500 in 1994. Dobson also drove numerous IMSA and other Sport car races, including the 24 Hours of Le Mans
in 1989 in Porsche 962 alongside Jean Alesi
and Will Hoy
and at Daytona
and Sebring
, where his best finish was a 2nd place in 1990, co-driving with Sarel van der Merwe
and Klaus Ludwig
.
Dobson was raised in, and currently resides in, Seattle.
In the early 80's, he was an instructor at the Bob Bondurant Driving School, then based at Sears Point Raceway in Sonoma. In the mid-80's, He started Zephyr Racing with Ron Nelson, another Bondurant instructor. Zephyr originally had its shops in San Rafael, CA but moved to a new facility built at Sears Point Raceway in the spring of 1985. Zephyr rented out, maintained, and provided race support for a stable of formula and sportsracing cars. Cars were rented on a race-by-race or season long basis. Zephyr's customers competed in SCCA regional and National events as well as the American City racing League.
In the late 90's he was involved in a short lived North American Touring Car Championship
's Dodge Stratus
factory team that ran in conjunction with CART race weekends. He also made 10 starts in the Craftsman Truck Series for Dodge in 1998 with a best finish of 17th at Texas Motor Speedway
. He co-owned Ridge Gate Motion Sports with Mike Clark in the Truck Series in 1999.
From 2000 to 2003, he presided over a multi-million dollar collection of historic automobiles, primarily European post-war racecars and rare road cars called the Cavallino Collection.
He currently is Chief Development Officer for the LeMay - America's Car Museum
, set to break ground this year (2010) in Tacoma, WA.
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
-born former CART
Champ Car
Champ Car was the name for a class and specification of open wheel cars used in American Championship Car Racing for many decades, primarily for use in the Indianapolis 500 auto race...
and Craftsman Truck Series
Craftsman Truck Series
The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series is a pickup truck racing series owned and operated by the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing...
driver who made 7 starts in the Indianapolis 500
Indianapolis 500
The Indianapolis 500-Mile Race, also known as the Indianapolis 500, the 500 Miles at Indianapolis, the Indy 500 or The 500, is an American automobile race, held annually, typically on the last weekend in May at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana...
with a best finish of 12th in 1992, over 60 starts in the CART (Championship Auto Racing Series), with a best finish of 3rd at the Michigan 500 in 1994. Dobson also drove numerous IMSA and other Sport car races, including the 24 Hours of Le Mans
24 Hours of Le Mans
The 24 Hours of Le Mans is the world's oldest sports car race in endurance racing, held annually since near the town of Le Mans, France. Commonly known as the Grand Prix of Endurance and Efficiency, race teams have to balance speed against the cars' ability to run for 24 hours without sustaining...
in 1989 in Porsche 962 alongside Jean Alesi
Jean Alesi
Jean Alesi is a French racing driver of Italian origin. His Formula One career included spells at Tyrrell, Benetton, Sauber, Prost, Jordan and most notably Ferrari where he proved very popular among the tifosi...
and Will Hoy
Will Hoy
William Ewing Hoy , was a British racing driver and the 1991 British Touring Car Champion, the highlight of a 20-year career in motor racing. Born in Melbourn, Cambridgeshire, Hoy did not begin racing until his late 20s and first raced at international level in 1985, taking on the full World...
and at Daytona
24 Hours of Daytona
The 24 Hours of Daytona, currently known as the Rolex 24 Daytona for sponsorship reasons, is a 24-hour sports car endurance race held annually at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. It is run on a combined road course, utilizing portions of the NASCAR tri-oval and an infield...
and Sebring
12 Hours of Sebring
The 12 Hours of Sebring is an annual motorsport endurance race for sports cars held at Sebring International Raceway, a former Army Air Force base in Sebring, Florida...
, where his best finish was a 2nd place in 1990, co-driving with Sarel van der Merwe
Sarel van der Merwe
Sarel Daniel van der Merwe is a South African former rally driver, who was a multiple South African Rally Drivers Champion. He is sometimes referred to as "Supervan"....
and Klaus Ludwig
Klaus Ludwig
Klaus Ludwig is a German race driver.- Biography :Unlike Hans-Joachim Stuck, Rolf Stommelen, Harald Ertl, Hans Heyer and Jochen Mass, he has never raced in single seaters...
.
Dobson was raised in, and currently resides in, Seattle.
In the early 80's, he was an instructor at the Bob Bondurant Driving School, then based at Sears Point Raceway in Sonoma. In the mid-80's, He started Zephyr Racing with Ron Nelson, another Bondurant instructor. Zephyr originally had its shops in San Rafael, CA but moved to a new facility built at Sears Point Raceway in the spring of 1985. Zephyr rented out, maintained, and provided race support for a stable of formula and sportsracing cars. Cars were rented on a race-by-race or season long basis. Zephyr's customers competed in SCCA regional and National events as well as the American City racing League.
In the late 90's he was involved in a short lived North American Touring Car Championship
North American Touring Car Championship
The North American Touring Car Championship was a touring car racing series using the Supertouring formula that raced in North America in 1996 and 1997. The series was funded in part by IndyCar team owner Gerald Forsythe. He appointed his Vice-President of Business Operations, Canadian Roger...
's Dodge Stratus
Dodge Stratus
The Dodge Stratus was a mid-size 4-door sedan introduced in 1995. It was based on the Chrysler JA platform Cab forward . The Stratus, Breeze, and Cirrus were all on Car and Driver magazine's Ten Best list for 1996 and 1997. It received critical acclaim at launch, but ratings fell over time...
factory team that ran in conjunction with CART race weekends. He also made 10 starts in the Craftsman Truck Series for Dodge in 1998 with a best finish of 17th at Texas Motor Speedway
Texas Motor Speedway
Texas Motor Speedway is a speedway located in the northernmost portion of the U.S. city of Fort Worth, Texas – the portion located in Denton County, Texas....
. He co-owned Ridge Gate Motion Sports with Mike Clark in the Truck Series in 1999.
From 2000 to 2003, he presided over a multi-million dollar collection of historic automobiles, primarily European post-war racecars and rare road cars called the Cavallino Collection.
He currently is Chief Development Officer for the LeMay - America's Car Museum
America's Car Museum
The LeMay - America's Car Museum is a museum currently in the city of Tacoma, Washington. A new museum facility is currently under construction adjacent to the Tacoma Dome...
, set to break ground this year (2010) in Tacoma, WA.
Indy 500 results
| Year | Chassis | Engine | Start | Finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1987 1987 Indianapolis 500 The 71st Indianapolis 500 was held Sunday May 24, 1987 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. During the month of May, an unusually high 25 crashes occurred during practice and qualifying. After dominating practice, qualifying, and most of the race, leader Mario Andretti slowed with mechanical... |
March March Engineering March Engineering was a Formula One constructor and manufacturer of customer racing cars from the United Kingdom. Although only moderately successful in Grand Prix competition, March racing cars enjoyed much better achievement in other categories of competition including Formula Two, Formula Three,... |
Cosworth Cosworth Cosworth is a high performance engineering company founded in London in 1958, specialising in engines and electronics for automobile racing , mainstream automotive and defence industries... |
Failed to Qualify | |
| 1988 1988 Indianapolis 500 The 72nd Indianapolis 500 was held Sunday May 29, 1988 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Team Penske dominated the month, sweeping the top three starting positions with Rick Mears winning the pole position, Danny Sullivan on the inside of the front row, and Al Unser, Sr. on the outside... |
Lola | Cosworth Cosworth Cosworth is a high performance engineering company founded in London in 1958, specialising in engines and electronics for automobile racing , mainstream automotive and defence industries... |
21st | 18th |
| 1989 1989 Indianapolis 500 The 73rd Indianapolis 500 was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Sunday, May 28, 1989. Emerson Fittipaldi became the first foreign winner of the race since 1966. Though Fittipaldi dominated most of the race, he dropped to second in the waning laps. On the 199th lap, Al Unser, Jr. was... |
Lola | Cosworth Cosworth Cosworth is a high performance engineering company founded in London in 1958, specialising in engines and electronics for automobile racing , mainstream automotive and defence industries... |
29th | 18th |
| 1990 1990 Indianapolis 500 The 74th Indianapolis 500 was held at Indianapolis on Sunday, May 27, 1990. Arie Luyendyk took the lead with 32 laps to go, and earned his first-ever victory in championship-level competition... |
Lola | Cosworth Cosworth Cosworth is a high performance engineering company founded in London in 1958, specialising in engines and electronics for automobile racing , mainstream automotive and defence industries... |
11th | 22nd |
| 1991 1991 Indianapolis 500 The 75th Indianapolis 500 was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Sunday, May 26, 1991. Rick Mears won from the pole position, becoming the third four-time winner of the Indy 500, joining A. J. Foyt and Al Unser.... |
Lola | Judd Judd (engine) Judd is a name brand of engines produced by Engine Developments Ltd., a company founded in 1971 by John Judd and Jack Brabham in Rugby, Warwickshire, England... |
30th | 13th |
| 1992 1992 Indianapolis 500 The 76th Indianapolis 500 was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Sunday, May 24, 1992. The race is famous for the fierce battle in the closing laps, as race winner Al Unser, Jr... |
Lola | Chevrolet Chevrolet Chevrolet , also known as Chevy , is a brand of vehicle produced by General Motors Company . Founded by Louis Chevrolet and ousted GM founder William C. Durant on November 3, 1911, General Motors acquired Chevrolet in 1918... |
29th | 12th |
| 1993 1993 Indianapolis 500 The 77th Indianapolis 500 was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Sunday, May 30, 1993. Emerson Fittipaldi took the lead with 16 laps to go, and won his second career Indy 500 victory... |
Galmer Galmer Galmer was an American racecar manufacturer that built cars used from 1992 through 1993 in CART competition and the Indianapolis 500. The cars were commissioned by the Galles Racing team... |
Chevrolet Chevrolet Chevrolet , also known as Chevy , is a brand of vehicle produced by General Motors Company . Founded by Louis Chevrolet and ousted GM founder William C. Durant on November 3, 1911, General Motors acquired Chevrolet in 1918... |
27th | 23rd |
| 1994 1994 Indianapolis 500 The 78th Indianapolis 500 was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Sunday, May 29, 1994. Al Unser, Jr. won from the pole position, his second Indy 500 victory. Much to the surprise of competitors, media, and fans, Marlboro Team Penske arrived at the Speedway with a brand new, secretly-built... |
Lola | Ford-Cosworth | 12th | 29th |