:Sam Belnavis
{{Short description|American auto racing executive (1939–2021)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2021}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Sam Belnavis
| birth_date = August 8, 1939
| birth_place = Brooklyn, New York
| death_date = {{Death date and age|2021|07|14|1939|08|08}}
| death_place =
| nationality = American
| other_names =
| occupation = Roush Fenway Racing Driver Diversity head
| known_for = 1st African American premier series NASCAR owner to complete a full season
}}
Samuel Francis Belnavis Sr. (August 8, 1939 – July 14, 2021){{Cite web|url=https://www.dignitymemorial.com/obituaries/charlotte-nc/samuel-belnavis-102728894 |title=Samuel Belnavis Obituary - Charlotte, NC|publisher=Dignity Memorial |access-date=February 1, 2025 }} was an American executive in automobile racing. Belnavis, an African-American, was one of a handful minorities to have owned a NASCAR racing team. He was the head of Roush Fenway Racing's driver diversity program, and handled other marketing initiatives for that company.{{Cite web |url=http://www.roushracing.com/sponsorship/default.asp?page=/jack_roush/05SalesExecBios/SamBelnavis.htm |title=Roush Racing Sales Executive Team |work=Roush Fenway Racing |access-date=January 1, 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061018160835/http://www.roushracing.com/sponsorship/default.asp?page=%2Fjack_roush%2F05SalesExecBios%2FSamBelnavis.htm |archive-date=October 18, 2006 }}
Education and military service
Samuel Francis Belnavis Sr. was born on August 8, 1939. As a child, Belnavis attended Our Lady of Victory, an all-black parochial school in Brooklyn, New York. He then attended Bishop Loughlin Memorial High School, with primarily white students, a very different experience. Belnavis subsequently attended Manhattan College in New York, graduating with a degree in accounting in 1961,{{cite web|url=http://www.jasperjottings.com/2003/jasperjottings20030713.htm|publisher=jasperjottings.com|title=Jasper Jottings 2003-07-13|access-date=October 20, 2016}} later earning a Masters in Business Administration from the University of Michigan. He was in Air Force ROTC in Manhattan College, and served in the U.S. Air Force as a pilot in the 105th Tactical Fighter Wing, located at Lackland Air Force Base in Texas.
Career
After leaving the Air Force, Belnavis took a management position at Sears in 1968.[http://www.scc-va.org/content.asp?contentid=84 "Samuel Belnavis"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040831170851/http://www.scc-va.org/content.asp?contentid=84 |date=August 31, 2004 }}, bio, Speedway Children's Charities, retrieved January 2, 2008. From there, he became a director of sports marketing for Miller Brewing. In 1981, while in that job, he signed Bobby Allison to a sponsorship contract.{{cite news | url= http://www.nascar.com/2005/kyn/02/14/bhm.2/ | title= Belnavis, Ribbs leaving their mark on landscape | publisher=NASCAR.com | date=February 16, 2005 |last=Lemasters Jr. |first=Ron| access-date=January 1, 2008}} After working at Miller, Belnavis was hired by DiGard Racing; part of his duties were to push a program to diversify DiGard Racing with an African-American driver.[http://www.digardracing.com/companyFrame.html "DiGard Racing Company History"], retrieved January 2, 2008.
After DiGard, Belnavis took a position as senior vice-president of sports and entertainment with Saatchi & Saatchi, one of the world's largest advertising firms. In 1991 he relocated to Charlotte, North Carolina, where he founded his own advertising and marketing agency, Belnavis & Associates.
Belnavis became NASCAR's first full-time minority owner since Wendell Scott in 2003,{{Cite web|url=http://www4.army.mil/ocpa/read.php?story_id_key=5694 |title=African-American History Month event features first black NASCAR owner |publisher=U.S. Army |access-date=January 2, 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050306215013/http://www4.army.mil/ocpa/read.php?story_id_key=5694 |archive-date=March 6, 2005 }} when he fielded BelCar Motorsports' #54 U.S. National Guard Ford Motor Company entry driven by Todd Bodine.[http://media.ford.com/article_display.cfm?article_id=14144 "Sam Belnavis and Travis Carter Join Forces For 2003"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110525173937/http://media.ford.com/article_display.cfm?article_id=14144 |date=May 25, 2011 }}, Ford Motor Company, press release, retrieved January 2, 2008. He quit BelCar Racing at the conclusion of the season, but continued to serve in lower-level NASCAR leagues through the Drive for Diversity program.{{cite news|title=Sam Belnavis, NASCAR 's first full-time minority car owner and diversity pioneer, dies at 81|url=https://www.cbssports.com/nascar/news/sam-belnavis-nascar-s-first-full-time-minority-car-owner-and-diversity-pioneer-dies-at-81/|first=Steven|last=Taranto|date=July 15, 2021|access-date=July 15, 2021|work=CBS Sports}} It went on to field entries including Morty Buckes, Brianne Conrath, and Jesus Hernandez.{{cite news|title=Marlin says new Ganassi deal his wish|url=https://www.espn.com/racing/news/story?id=2011672|date=March 12, 2005|work=ESPN|publisher=ESPN Internet Ventures|agency=Associated Press|access-date=July 15, 2021}}{{cite news|title=Nascar's Drive for Diversity Is Producing Mixed Signals|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/08/sports/othersports/nascars-drive-for-diversity-is-producing-mixed-signals.html|first=Viv|last=Bernstein|date=November 8, 2006|access-date=July 15, 2021|newspaper=The New York Times}} Belnavis later joined Roush Racing as its director of diversity programs.{{cite news | url=https://www.usatoday.com/sports/motor/nascar/2003-12-10-belcar-disbands_x.htm | title=Minority-owned NASCAR team closes | publisher=USA Today | date=December 18, 2003 | access-date=January 1, 2008}}
Personal life
Belnavis and his wife Christine had one son, three daughters, and seven grandchildren. He died on July 14, 2021, at the age of 81.{{cite news|title=Sam Belnavis, motorsports pioneer and leader in NASCAR diversity efforts, dies|url=https://www.nascar.com/news-media/2021/07/15/sam-belnavis-motorsports-pioneer-and-leader-in-nascar-diversity-efforts-dies/|date=July 15, 2021|access-date=July 15, 2021|publisher=NASCAR}}
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- [https://archive.today/20070815124805/http://www.genwi.com/play/97226 "A Conversation with Sam Belnavis"], podcast from NASCAR
{{Roush Fenway Racing}}
{{Travis Carter Enterprises}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Belnavis, Sam}}
Category:African-American motorsport people
Category:Manhattan College alumni
Category:Ross School of Business alumni
Category:Bishop Loughlin Memorial High School alumni
Category:United States Air Force officers
Category:20th-century African-American sportsmen
Category:20th-century American sportsmen