Space Coast 2021 Sports Hall of Fame inductee Randy Pobst honed his driving skills as a teenager at Brevard
Global automotive authority as a track test driver, editor and video host for Motor Trend magazine
Randy Pobst a won nearly 100 professional road races and 10 professional championships
BREVARD COUNTY, FLORIDA – Randy Franklin Pobst, a native of Brevard County, also known as “RFP” or “The Rocket”, has won nearly 100 professional road races and 10 professional championships, and is a journalist for Motor trend magazine.
He was a 30-year-old resident of Brevard County, graduating from Melbourne High School in 1975.
Active in the SCCA World Challenge GT series and the GT class of the Grand American series, Pobst was the SCCA World Challenge GT champion in 2003, 2007, 2008 and 2010, the winner of the North American Touring Car Championship title in 1996 and in 2005, 2006 and 2007 SCCA Vice-champion of the World Challenge TC. He is also a double category winner at the 24 Hours of Daytona, in 2001 and 2006.
He is currently a driver supported by Mazda, Volvo, Audi and Porsche, but honed his speed with cars in Melbourne, where he grew up amidst a sea of small cars.
“I’ve always been a car guy,” said Pobst, who still remembers “feeling like a million bucks” after getting his license at the age of 15.
An advertisement for the Indian River Sports Car Club pointed him to autocross races and fun races at places such as the Byrd Plaza parking lot in Cocoa.
“I was born for the idea of driving as fast as possible,” he said.
Pobst’s racing career began in a parking lot at Satellite Beach in 1977, competing in an autocross he won. He proved to be a natural, winning the state and national autocross championships, as well as the professional series.
By college age, he experienced the closest to a regular job he had ever had, as the organizer of the Dodge National Collegiate Championship events held on college campuses across the country.
Saving every penny for two years, he used the money to switch to road racing with a new 1985 VW Golf in the VW Cup and Firestone Firehawk Compact Division series, finishing second with just a bumper on the legendary golf course. 12 hours in Sebring. It was his very first wheel-to-wheel race.
With a sponsorship from Toyota and his former wife and fellow racing driver Linda as a co-driver, Pobst turned pro at every level. The marriage did not last, but there is no grudge.
“I’m very grateful for her support because I couldn’t have been a professional runner without her,” he said.
In 1988, Pobst was hired as a driver for the TC Kline team, driving Honda CRXs and Civics and winning numerous races. With a BMW, Randy won the North American Touring Car Championship.
Ten years later, Pobst switched to the Alex Job Racing team and their Porsches.
“I won the first race I did for them,” he said.
The holy grail of racing drivers, a factory driver contract, has arrived for Pobst with Porsche. After a year with this brand, he was hired by Audi and later by Mazda and Volvo as a driver.
Although he doesn’t run, he writes, since Randy is a tester, reporter and video host for “Motor Trend” magazine. More than 65,000 follow him on Instagram and his YouTube channel currently has 25,000 subscribers and continues to grow.
Pobst’s testing career has provided him with the very enviable opportunity to sit behind the wheel of the latest and most powerful Lamborghinis, Ferrari, Corvette, Camaro, Audi, BMW and Porsches on tracks around the world including testing in Italy the Audi R18 prototype that won Le Mans and drove a Porsche at 204 mph on the shuttle airstrip at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.
Now 63, Randy has no intention of slowing down.
“I always run as much as I can,” he said. “Running is part of my life. “
BREVARD COUNTY, FLORIDA – The Space Coast Sports Hall of Fame selection committee announced the members of the 2021 class at a press conference on Thursday.
For more than a century, Brevard County athletes have been considered some of America’s best, and their accomplishments have been honored and immortalized by the Space Coast Sports Hall of Fame.
Plans are now in the works for the 11th Space Coast Sports Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony, which will feature captivating video tributes from each of the inductees.
The date and location of the Space Coast Sports Hall of Fame’s 2020 and 2021 classes will be announced later this month.
The 2020 induction ceremony has been canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
SELECTED IN FOUR CATEGORIES
Applicants are chosen from four categories, including professional sports, college sports, high school sports and amateur sports. Special honorary recognition is also given to individuals and groups who have made significant contributions to sports on the Space Coast.
SPACE COAST SPORTS HALL OF FAME CLASSE 2021:
■ INTRODUCED FROM THE PROFESSIONAL CATEGORY: Ambre Torrealba, Skimboard; Randy Pobst, Racing
■ INTRODUCES FROM THE COLLEGE CATEGORY: Lynisha Nelson, basketball; Bryan Cook, baseball; Steve Freeman, Football
■ INDUCTIVE FOR THE PREPARATION CATEGORY: Julie Wollrath, cross-country skiing; Kaira Simmons, athletics; Cameron Harris, Jr., Soccer
■ INFORMED AMATEUR / LEISURE CATEGORY: Alli Penovich, free diving
■ INTRODUCES FROM THE COACHING CATEGORY: Lee Mace, Football; Jim Oler, Basketball
■ SPORTING OFFICIAL: Klaus Staple
■ INDUCTIVE IN SPORTS JOURNALISM: Captain Éric Ciocher
■ INDUCTIOUS SPORTS DEVELOPMENT: Charles Clement
■ INTEGRATED LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT: Larry Garrison
■ HOLDER OF THE SPORTS AMBASSADOR AWARD: Rusty Buchanan
■ WINNER OF THE CHALLENGER PRIZE: Episcopo of Jordan
■ TEAM OF THE YEAR: Astronaut High School Bowling
■ CHAMPIONS OF HERITAGE: Baseball Merritt Island, 1999-2000
■ SPECIAL TRIBUTE: Fred gay
COMING SOON AT THE COAST DAILY SPACE: INDUCTIVE PROFILES AND VIDEO TRIBUTES
CLICK HERE TO SEE THE MEMBERS OF THE SPACE COAST SPORTS HALL OF FAME
DAILY CTE DE L’ESPACE TV: Tim Wakefield talks about his first class induction at the Space Coast Sports Hall of Fame in 2012.
The Coast of the Daily Space established the Space Coast Sports Hall of Fame in 2011 and has so far inducted over 190 of Brevard County’s most notable athletes, coaches and sports personalities.
The main sports building on the Melbourne campus is home to the Space Coast Sports Hall of Fame, while Hall of Fame portraits are displayed on the wall in the main hallway of the building parallel to the gymnasium and outside the department offices sports.
Committee members are The Coast of the Daily Space President and Editor Tom Palermo, Vice President Giles Malone, Editor Dr. Jim Palermo, Editor Zach Clark, Steve Wilson of the Friday Night Locker Room and Orville Susong, Sports Editor Juan Rodriguez, social media director Matt O’Hern, associate editor Rhett Lighthall, digital producer Ron Lighthall, production manager Brian Dillon, sports broadcaster Daryl Durand and Amateur Sports Union President Rusty Buchanan.
The Space Coast Sports Hall of Fame Induction Event and High School Breakfast of Champions Recognition Awards are sponsored by Health First, Erdman Automotive, All Points, Clear Choice Health Care, Savings Safari, Friday Night Locker Room and Rock Paper Simple.
FOR MORE INFORMATION on the Space Coast Sports Hall of Fame, email [email protected] or call 321-615-8111.
CLICK HERE TO SEE THE MEMBERS OF THE SPACE COAST SPORTS HALL OF FAME
CLICK HERE FOR BREVARD COUNTY NEWS
