Panoz Motor Sports - Owner Profile

article from archive at panozauto.com

In 1997 Don Panoz decided he wanted his own racing team and so Panoz Motor Sports was formed in Georgia. However, this was just another chapter in his incredible life story that started 65 years ago in Spencer, West Virginia, and includes such diverse areas as pharmaceuticals, hotel and golf complexes and wine growing.

He comes from an Italian/Irish background and, with his father being a featherweight boxer, it is not difficult to imagine where his determination and single-minded approach to life comes from.

The automobile side of the Panoz organization also includes Panoz Auto Development, a company started at the end of the 80s by his son Danny. Danny is very much a 'chip off the old block', with his father saying the only thing crazier than growing grapes in Georgia is building automobiles. Despite this though he saw the sense in what Danny was suggesting, and now the Panoz Roadster is one of the most eye-catching sports cars on the road today.

The Panoz story goes back to the first company Don formed in 1960, which was Mylan Laboratories in Morgantown, West Virginia. With the unlikely backing of members of the World Champion Pittsburgh Pirates, Don set up a company that is still one of the nation's leading manufacturers of generic drugs. Don's vision of new drug delivery systems caused him to leave the company in 1969 and set off with his wife, Nancy, and five children to Ireland. In the country where his mother's relatives came from he set up a new company in Athlone, County Westmeath and so started what is now the Elan Corporation PLC. The talent he employed developed several groundbreaking medications, the most famous being transdermal technology used to deliver nicotine to the bloodstream, which evolved into the nicotine patch. Elan Corporation Market Cap is 12 billion.

His story gathered momentum and landmarks included the founding in Georgia of Chateau Elan, a four star resort with a winery, three major golf courses and even an Irish pub. Since then he has also acquired three racing circuits, Road Atlanta Motorsports Center, Sebring International Raceway and Mosport Park Raceway.

Don Panoz is recognized world wide for his business acumen and after receiving Honorary Degrees from both Trinity University in Ireland and Lynn University in Florida could justifiably prefix his name with the title Doctor.

It goes without saying that the Panoz story is not finished by any means.