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No Finish Line: A Racer's Journey of Passion, Perseverance, and Purpose
An inspirational memoir by the former IndyCar driver turned entrepreneur, race team owner and philanthropist, No Finish Line is Sam Schmidt’s account of leading the charge to find cures and treatments for spinal cord injuries after a racing accident left him paralyzed.
On January 6, 2000, Sam Schmidt, who had just won his first Indy Racing League competition in his adopted hometown of Las Vegas, Nevada, backed into a wall at the Walt Disney World Speedway in Orlando, Florida. He did so at around two hundred miles per hour, and as a result, Sam broke his neck. Airlifted to Orlando Regional Medical Center before being transferred to Barnes-Jewish Hospital in St. Louis, Missouri, where he spent six months in rehabilitation before going home to his new life with his loving wife Sheila and two young children, Savannah and Spencer.
For over 25 years, Sam has learned to live paralyzed. But being a quadriplegic has not slowed him down. Almost immediately after his accident, he started a foundation that has raised millions of dollars for spinal cord injury and rehabilitation. He founded a racing team that’s won dozens of races and competed for championships. He’s driven cars again thanks to cutting-edge technology. His children have grown. He spoke at his son’s college graduation and danced on two legs with his daughter at her wedding.
Sam’s philosophy is you either get busy doing the work or you get busy waiting to die. For him, the latter is not an option. Indeed, Sam says he has done much more after (and because of) his accident than he would have otherwise. A former control freak, he has learned to delegate. A once-singularly-minded, self-described egocentric racer, he now lives to help others. The son of a driver who was also paralyzed from the sport, Sam has lived an astonishing, driven life. This is his journey.
On January 6, 2000, Sam Schmidt, who had just won his first Indy Racing League competition in his adopted hometown of Las Vegas, Nevada, backed into a wall at the Walt Disney World Speedway in Orlando, Florida. He did so at around two hundred miles per hour, and as a result, Sam broke his neck. Airlifted to Orlando Regional Medical Center before being transferred to Barnes-Jewish Hospital in St. Louis, Missouri, where he spent six months in rehabilitation before going home to his new life with his loving wife Sheila and two young children, Savannah and Spencer.
For over 25 years, Sam has learned to live paralyzed. But being a quadriplegic has not slowed him down. Almost immediately after his accident, he started a foundation that has raised millions of dollars for spinal cord injury and rehabilitation. He founded a racing team that’s won dozens of races and competed for championships. He’s driven cars again thanks to cutting-edge technology. His children have grown. He spoke at his son’s college graduation and danced on two legs with his daughter at her wedding.
Sam’s philosophy is you either get busy doing the work or you get busy waiting to die. For him, the latter is not an option. Indeed, Sam says he has done much more after (and because of) his accident than he would have otherwise. A former control freak, he has learned to delegate. A once-singularly-minded, self-described egocentric racer, he now lives to help others. The son of a driver who was also paralyzed from the sport, Sam has lived an astonishing, driven life. This is his journey.
- GenresNonfictionBiography
220 pages, Kindle Edition
Published May 19, 2026
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
July 29, 2026
By way of disclaimer, I am a long-time, die-hard IndyCar racing fan. I have followed Sam Schmidt from his days as an IndyCar driver, through his accident, to his ownership of an IndyCar team, and most importantly, his work for paraplegics, quadriplegics, and others with brain injuries.
This is Sam's story, and it is well told. And INCREDIBLY INSPIRING. Sam's father was critically injured in a racing accident when Sam was young. Through incredible work, he recovered to finally talk and walk on his own. He also started a salvaged car business that thrived and grew beyond all expectations.
Sam, with a degree in business from Pepperdine, started by working in the medical field. He ultimately married his wife, also a Pepperdine graduate, who started by working in the medical field, but when she tired of that, went to work in administration for the Schmidt Salvage Yard. All of this later became incredibly important because Sam, at the relatively late age of mid-20s, decided he wanted to be a professional race driver.
He worked his way up the ladder until in 1996, he began driving the rocketships-on-pavement known as IndyCars. By 1999, he was able to lead the Indianapolis 500 and actually win an IndyCar race. Then in January, 2000, in a testing session, he crashed at the Walt Disney World Speedway and crushed several cervical vertebrae, severing his spinal cord. He nearly died in the car due to his inability to breathe on his own. Immediately, his entire life changed. He was a quadriplegic.
But that is only the beginning of Sam's remarkable story. He built a business, a racing team, and a foundation that is helping hundreds, if not thousands of disabled people. He's sailed with Olympians, parachuted out of planes, raced to the top of Pikes Peak, driven at more than 200 miles per hour, and, most importantly to Sam, danced with his daughter at her wedding. He did all these things despite not having the use of any part of his body below his neck.
Even if you're not a racing fan, this is a MUST READ.
This is Sam's story, and it is well told. And INCREDIBLY INSPIRING. Sam's father was critically injured in a racing accident when Sam was young. Through incredible work, he recovered to finally talk and walk on his own. He also started a salvaged car business that thrived and grew beyond all expectations.
Sam, with a degree in business from Pepperdine, started by working in the medical field. He ultimately married his wife, also a Pepperdine graduate, who started by working in the medical field, but when she tired of that, went to work in administration for the Schmidt Salvage Yard. All of this later became incredibly important because Sam, at the relatively late age of mid-20s, decided he wanted to be a professional race driver.
He worked his way up the ladder until in 1996, he began driving the rocketships-on-pavement known as IndyCars. By 1999, he was able to lead the Indianapolis 500 and actually win an IndyCar race. Then in January, 2000, in a testing session, he crashed at the Walt Disney World Speedway and crushed several cervical vertebrae, severing his spinal cord. He nearly died in the car due to his inability to breathe on his own. Immediately, his entire life changed. He was a quadriplegic.
But that is only the beginning of Sam's remarkable story. He built a business, a racing team, and a foundation that is helping hundreds, if not thousands of disabled people. He's sailed with Olympians, parachuted out of planes, raced to the top of Pikes Peak, driven at more than 200 miles per hour, and, most importantly to Sam, danced with his daughter at her wedding. He did all these things despite not having the use of any part of his body below his neck.
Even if you're not a racing fan, this is a MUST READ.
May 20, 2026
I started this book expecting to read about racing, racing incidents, and the aftermath drivers endure. While it certainly covered those topics, I also found myself reading an inspiring story about hope and finding purpose in life when everything seems shattered.
Listening to it as an audiobook, I really enjoyed the narration, its pace, and its mood. It felt as though the author was telling the story directly to you as a close friend. The passion that comes through between the lines makes you reflect on what truly matters in life and whether our everyday problems are really problems at all.
At the same time, the book also made me wonder whether Sam Schmidt was able to cope with so many obstacles because of the financial resources and opportunities he had as a professional athlete. Would the outcome have been the same without those advantages? Whatever the answer may be, it was inspiring to learn about the Driven project and to see how Sam now uses his money, experience, and knowledge to help people who do not have those same privileges. Research into the human body, spinal injuries, and rehabilitation practices has the potential to improve and maybe even save many lives.
Listening to it as an audiobook, I really enjoyed the narration, its pace, and its mood. It felt as though the author was telling the story directly to you as a close friend. The passion that comes through between the lines makes you reflect on what truly matters in life and whether our everyday problems are really problems at all.
At the same time, the book also made me wonder whether Sam Schmidt was able to cope with so many obstacles because of the financial resources and opportunities he had as a professional athlete. Would the outcome have been the same without those advantages? Whatever the answer may be, it was inspiring to learn about the Driven project and to see how Sam now uses his money, experience, and knowledge to help people who do not have those same privileges. Research into the human body, spinal injuries, and rehabilitation practices has the potential to improve and maybe even save many lives.
May 20, 2026
this book was absolutely inspiring, i could not stop listening to it once i started it and binged half of it in a day, i found myself tearing up in moments and smiling like an idiot the next. sam schmidt's story is a truely inspiring story for everyone, a story about never giving up no matter what life throws your way, about how even though you might feel like giving up because that is the easiest way out there are a hundred different reasons of why you should keep on going. a story which highlights the importance of having good people in your life which are there to support you.
i highly recommend this book to everyone, whether you are a motorsport fan or not, this book is incredible and you can't tell me that it did not inspire you after reading/listening to it <3
i would like to thank rbmedia for an audioarc of this book which was given to me through netgalley in exchange for my honest review <3
i highly recommend this book to everyone, whether you are a motorsport fan or not, this book is incredible and you can't tell me that it did not inspire you after reading/listening to it <3
i would like to thank rbmedia for an audioarc of this book which was given to me through netgalley in exchange for my honest review <3
July 24, 2026
Sam is the textbook definition of a hero and it’s not because of what he did in an IndyCar but rather the difference he has made after his life changing accident. Whether running his race teams or his foundation he gives 150% to everything he does. This book exemplifies his drive and dedication to everything in life. I feel honored each time I have a chance to say hello.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews