Felix Sabates
| Félix Sabates, Jr. | |
|---|---|
| Born |
September 9, 1945 Camagüey, Cuba |
| Occupation | Team owner, Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates |
Feliciano Sergio "Félix" Sabates, Jr. (born September 9, 1945) is a Cuban-born entrepreneur and philanthropist living in the United States.
He is currently a partner in Chip Ganassi Racing teams, which fields teams in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (as Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates), GRAND-AM Rolex Sports Car Series and the Verizon IndyCar Series. Sabates previously owned his own NASCAR team, SABCO Racing, until the end of the 2000 season when Chip Ganassi and Sabates became partners.
Felix Sabates was born in Camagüey, Cuba, living there until the age of 15. Sabates is the oldest of seven children — three boys (Feliciano "Felix" Jr., Jose, Arturo "Art") and four girls (Silvia, Yoyi, Manty, Rosita) — of Dr. Feliciano Sabates and Maria Tavio. Sabates' grandfather grew sugar until a fire destroyed the business in the 1930s. Sabates' family then founded a jewelry store in 1936. The family would later found several successful business including import and export, jewelry, optical stores, insurance sales, sugar, cattle, service stations and pharmacies, many of which bore the family name. Sabates attended military school as a teenager, first in Havana, and later in Camagüey. According to Sabates, he was a bunkmate with one of the sons of Fidel Castro.
Following the Cuban Revolution, the newly established communist government headed by Fidel Castro proceeded to nationalize many businesses and strip citizens of individual wealth. This included the assets of Sabates' family. After joining anti-Castro forces, in June 1960, at the age of 15, Felix was put on a flight to Miami by his parents. He was the first member of the family to enter the United States of America. Five of his six brothers and sisters would later arrive in the U.S. under Operation Peter Pan, sent to Albuquerque, New Mexico and placed in foster care. Sabates' mother and youngest brother Art fled in 1963, while his father arrived in 1966 after being restricted by the Castro administration.
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