Mark Smith (born April 10, 1967) is an American former racing driver who competed in the CART IndyCar Series. Smith won the 1989 United States Formula Super Vee Championship and was the 1991 Indy Lights National Championship runner-up.
Career Smith entered karting competition at the age of 14 and won six championships in multiple IKF divisions.Portland's Indy Car Future (June 22, 1990). Portland International Raceway Official Program (USA): 85, retrieved December 10, 2011 In 1985, he moved up to Formula Ford scoring four race wins in two seasons and then advanced to Formula Super Vee.
After winning the 1989 United States Formula Super Vee Championship* with five wins and four poles,* Smith raced in Indy Lights from 1990 to 1992, finishing third in series points his rookie year,* and second in 1991* capturing three wins and five poles along the way.
In December 1992, it was announced that Smith would make his racing debut in CART / Indy Car, signing with Arciero for the 1993 season. Arciero, being a sparsely budgeted team, fielded a year old, 1992 Penske PC-21/Chevrolet B, for 13 of the 16 scheduled races.*
Smith scored two top-ten finishes in the first three races of the season. At the fourth round, the Indianapolis 500, Smith qualified twice for the race but was bumped from the field.*Indy Hell Week. On Track Magazine, June 18, 1993. Retrieved on November 14, 2011. His second bumping at the hands of Didier Theys happened just six minutes before the end of qualifications that year, an outcome that added to the Speedway myth about The Curse of the Smiths.Mittman, Dick. 'Curse Of The Smiths' Remains Part Of Indianapolis 500 Lore , Indy500.com, November 4, 2004
Smith continued to show good pace his rookie year with several top-ten qualifying performances. At the Grand Prix of Portland, the sevenh round of the season, Smith qualified the Arciero PC-21/Chevy B sixth on the grid between the Lolas of Danny Sullivan and Mario Andretti. Early in the race while challenging for fifth, Smith retired with a broken gearbox. The Penske transverse gearbox at the back of the PC-21 plagued Arciero during the 1993 season. After the Grand Prix of Portland in June, Smith retired from the next five races in a row with gearbox problems. Of the 13 races Arciero entered in 1993 the team finished four races, scoring points in three of those four races.
Smith qualified for the 1994 Indianapolis 500 and was bumped from the field by Bobby Rahal. With 14 minutes remaining in the final session, he made a bold attempt to qualify an ill-handling T93 Lola back-up car. His warm up lap of 221.8 mph was fast enough to make the race. On the following lap, he crashed heavily into turn two.*Tuttle, Tim (June 17, 1994). Time Trials: Chasing Shadows. Retrieved on November 14, 2011.
Smith's best IndyCar finish was a fifth place at the 1994 Michigan 500.
Film and photography Smith has produced a number of short films including Two Balloons, Denmark and A House, A Home. He is the co-author of two photography books The Powder Road and Österlandet. Smith is a graduate of the University of Oregon.
Racing record Career summary Season Series Team Races Wins Poles Podiums Points Position 1985 SCCA Formula Ford P1 Racing 7 1 4 N/A N/A 1986 SCCA Formula Ford Evergreen 9 3 2 5 N/A N/A 1987 Formula Super Vee Wilbur Bunce Engineering 7 N/A N/A 1988 Formula Super Vee Dave White Motorsports 13 1 1 2 108 6th1989Formula PacificGraeme Lawrence Autosport10027394thNew Zealand Grand Prix1001N/A3rdFormula Super VeeRalt America115481691st 1990Indy LightsRalt America 2 1 21283rdLanford12002 1991New Zealand Grand PrixGraeme Lawrence Autosport1010N/ARet Indy Lights Evergreen 12 2 3 5 1032nd 1992 Indy Lights Evergreen 14 1 3 2 134 7th1993 CART IndyCar Arciero 13 0 0 0 822nd 1994 CART IndyCar Walker 16 0 0 0 17 19th 2022SVRA Formula Ford (PCF)Dave McMillan Racing622696 3rd Emerald Cup (HF) Fossi 1 1 0 1 13 7th 2023 Emerald Cup (HF)Fossi5425621st Crossflow Cup (HF) 1 1 0 1 11 12th 2024 Emerald Cup (HF)Fossi98981071st Crossflow Cup (HF) 8 2 2 8 741st 2025 Emerald Cup (HF) Fossi 13 8 8 8 1081st
Formula Super Vee (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap) Year Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 Rank Points 1988 Dave White MotorsportsPHXLBHDALIRPMILDETNIACLEMEAMOHROANAZSTP6th108* 1989 Ralt AmericaPHXDALIRPMILCLEDEMATLMOHROANAZSTP1st169*
Formula Pacific Year Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Rank Points 1989 Graeme Lawrence AutosportBAYBAYPUKPUKMANMANWIGWIGTIMTIM4th39*
New Zealand Grand Prix Year Team Car Qualifying Main race 1989 Graeme Lawrence Autosport Swift DB4 - Ford 5th 3rd 1991 Graeme Lawrence Autosport Swift DB4 - Toyota 1st Ret
CART Indy Lights Year Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 Rank Points1990 Ralt AmericaPHXLBH3rd128LanfordMILDETPORCLEMEATORDENVANMOHROANAZLAG 1991 EvergreenLBHPHXMILDETPORCLEMEATORDENMOHNAZLAG2nd155 1992 EvergreenPHXLBHDETPORMILNHATORCLEVANMOHNAZLAG7th74
CART Year Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 Rank Points Ref 1993 ArcieroSRFPHXLBHINDYMILDETPORCLETORMICNHAROAVANMOHNAZLAG22nd8 1994 WalkerSRFPHXLBHINDYMILDETPORCLETORMICMOHNHAVANROANAZLAG19th17
References
External links
Mark Smith's Indy Lights' statistics at ChampCarStats.com Mark Smith's statistics at ChampCarStats.com