Sebring Raceway occupies the site of Hendricks Army Airfield (a training base for
B-17 pilots in operation from 1941 to 1946), in the middle of southern Florida, south and southeast respectively of
Orlando and
Tampa, and northwest of
Miami. After the war, Russian-American aeronautical engineer Alec Ulmann was seeking sites for converting military aircraft to civilian use when he discovered potential in Hendricks' runways and service roads to stage a
sports car endurance race similar to the
24 Hours of Le Mans, a race Ulmann was inspired to somewhat re-create in the United States. Sebring's first race was held on New Year's Eve of 1950, attracting thirty race cars from across
North America. The Sam Collier 6 Hour Memorial race was won by Frits Koster and Ralph Deshon in a
Crosley Hot Shot that had been driven to the track by Victor Sharpe. The first 12 Hours of Sebring was held on March 15, 1952, shortly growing into a major international race. In 1959, the track hosted the U.S.' first
Formula One race (the successor to historic European
Grand Prix motor racing), held as that year's instalment of the historic
United States Grand Prix competition (although the
Indianapolis 500 was an official part of the Formula One World Championship from 1950 to 1960, the 500 was never considered a true Grand Prix by the European and British based teams who largely ignored it at the time). However poor attendance and high costs relocated the next U.S. Grand Prix to
Riverside International Raceway in
southern California. For much of Sebring's history, the track followed a layout. After a disastrous
1966 12 Hours with five fatalities, the track was widened in parts and also lengthened a total of for 1967 with the removal of the Webster Turn between the hairpin and the top of the track and replacement with the faster Green Park Chicane, further down the track. This was closer to the hairpin and allowed a flat-out run through a very fast corner to the top of the track and the runway. This was done to move the track off the dangerous Warehouse Straight and the warehouses, hangars and airplanes flanking it; a crash during that 1966 12 Hours involved a privately entered Porsche that went into one of the warehouses (this area was off-limits to non-track personnel) and into a crowd, killing four spectators. The circuit was changed and shortened in 1983 to allow simultaneous use of the track and one of the runways, and major changes in 1987 allowed use of another runway. Further changes in 1991 accommodated expansion of the airport's facilities, allowing the entire track to be used without interfering with normal airport operations and bringing it close to its current configuration. The hairpin was removed in 1997 due to a lack of run-off, and replaced with what became known as the "safety pin". Gendebien Bend was also re-profiled to slow the cars' entry to the Ullman straight. The track is currently owned by IMSA Holdings, LLC through its subsidiary
Sebring International Raceway, LLC via its purchase of the
Panoz Motor Sports Group in September 2012. It is currently leased by the Sebring International Raceway, LLC, which acquired the facility from
Andy Evans in 1997. The track is often recognized for its famous, high-speed "Turn 17", a long, bumpy, fast right-hander that can make or break a car's speed down the front straight. The corner can fit up to three cars wide.
Skip Barber Racing School held numerous programs at the facility, including a scholarship opportunity for young racers. From 2019 to 2023 (with no races run in 2020 or 2021 due to the
COVID-19 pandemic), the
World Endurance Championship ran a round called the
1000 Miles of Sebring, run concurrently with the famed 12 Hours. The first race in
2019 was won by
Toyota Gazoo Racing. When the event returned after the pandemic in
2022 it was won by the French
Alpine Elf Team. Toyota then won their second race at Sebring in
2023. The
FIA dropped the race from the WEC calendar in
2024 and
2025, its place being taken by the
Lone Star Le Mans race at the
Circuit of the Americas in
Austin, Texas. In 2021, the first-ever 24-hour race at Sebring took place, hosted by the World Racing League, an amateur endurance championship series, with W2W Racing winning the overall race. ==Track configuration==