Eddie Sharp: A Racer's Owner

Eddie Sharp's name may be one of the most respected in the stock car racing world, but if you back up a bit and look at where Eddie got his start in racing, his resume goes much further than having a championship-caliber ARCA RE/MAX Series effort.

Rewind several years to a young boy growing up in Florida. Eddie Sharp was fascinated by speed at a young age. While many youngsters who grow into stock car success start off in quarter midgets or go-karts, Sharp instead went a different route, inboard hydroplane boat racing. Eddie took to racing on the water well and dominated the Florida regional hydroplane circuit.

Eddie enjoyed plenty of success on the water, but knew that stock car racing was the place to be. He worked his way through the short track racing ladder by racing at weekly tracks on Fridays and Saturday nights. Eddie saw just as much success on asphalt short tracks as he did in hydroplanes, but there were still racing itches he wanted to scratch.

There doesn't get a more diverse mixture of racing roots than the ones that Eddie planted early in his career. Eddie proved it by going from hydroplanes to weekly short track racing and then to road racing. Eddie drove to the Central Florida GT1 Championship in the early 90's, proving that Eddie could get the job done in any kind of racing vehicle.

Eddie then knew that even with all the success he had seen, if he wanted to get a shot at big time racing, he'd need to move to the mecca of motorsports, Charlote, NC. All his accolades from his racing career made NASCAR owners take notice of his abilities and Sharp was offered an opportunity to drive in the NASCAR Busch Series in 1993. The organization he drove for folded in 1994, but Sharp was not going to give up on his racing dream.

After spending a few years driving in the ASA series, a new opportunity came Eddie's way. The man who had always owned his own racing equipment decided to give others an opportunity to show what they've got as well. Eddie decided to focus more on the car ownership role and take a break from his driving duties.

Eddie Sharp Age 43 Hometown Clearwater, FL Spouse Jessica Children Kelsey & Katie Hobbies Family, Golf Racing 31 Years

Any former driver will tell you that getting out of the seat is tough to do. However, when you see plenty of success as a car owner, the decision to give up driving is easy. Eddie showed that not only could he drive a racecar, but also manage a team, as he led the Bill Baird team to the 1999 ARCA National Championship.

Eddie then worked with Cunningham Motorsports, where he oversaw the Dodge Motorsports Driver Development program as its General Manager in 2005. Winning continued as Eddie devoted his focus to developing talent. In 2006, Eddie expanded his ownership role providing drivers Ken Weaver, Ryan Mathews, TJ Bell and Michael McDowell with equipment to score six top 5's and 13 top 10's.

2007 was Eddie's biggest year yet. 2 car driver Michael McDowell, and 22-car co-drivers Josh White and Ken Butler III turning in an impressive 5 wins and 10 poles between them, with Rookie of the Year McDowell finishing 2nd in the points.

Making his home in the Charlotte, NC suburb of Mooresville, Eddie continues to provide positive direction and support for drivers Michael McDowell, Josh Wise and Ken Butler III in the 2007 ARCA RE/MAX Series.