2025 Space Coast Sports Hall of Fame Inductee Randy Pobst Honed Driving Skills as Teenager in Brevard County

By Space Coast Daily // April 18, 2025

Worldwide automotive authority as a track test driver, writer and video host for Motor Trend magazine

RANDY POBST WAS A 30-YEAR RESIDENT of Brevard County, graduating from Melbourne High School in 1975. To date, he has won nearly 100 professional road races and 10 professional championships and is a journalist for Motor Trend magazine.

Randy Pobst has won nearly 100 professional road races and 10 professional championships

EDITOR’S NOTE: The Space Coast Sports Hall of Fame selection committee announced that the 2025 induction ceremony will occur on Saturday, May 24, at Eastern Florida State College in Melbourne. This will be the first in-person induction since the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. To make a reservation for the Space Coast Sports Hall of Fame induction ceremony, e-mail Contact@SpaceCoastDaily.com or call 321-323-4460. CLICK HERE to see the 2025 Class of the Space Coast Sports Hall of Fame.

PROFESSIONAL CATEGORY INDUCTEE

BREVARD COUNTY, FLORIDA – Brevard County native Randy Franklin Pobst, 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 resident of Brevard County, graduating from Melbourne High School in 1975.

Active in the SCCA World Challenge GT series and the Grand American series’ GT class, Pobst was the 2003, 2007, 2008, and 2010 SCCA World Challenge GT champion, the 1996 North American Touring Car Championship title winner, and 2005, 2006, and 2007 SCCA World Challenge TC vice-champion. He is also a two-time class winner of the 24 Hours of Daytona, in 2001 and 2006.

He is currently a factory-supported driver for Mazda, Volvo, Audi, and Porsche, but honed his speed with cars in Melbourne, where he grew up surrounded by a sea of toy cars.

“I’ve always been a car guy,” said Pobst, who still remembers “feeling like a million bucks” after getting his license as soon as he turned 15.

An advertisement for the Indian River Sports Car Club steered him toward autocross races and fun runs at locations like the parking lot at Byrd Plaza in Cocoa.

“I was born for the whole idea of driving as fast as you can,” he said.

Randy Pobst’s racing career began in a parking lot in Satellite Beach in 1977, as seen above, competing in an autocross that he won. An advertisement for the Indian River Sports Car Club steered him toward autocross races and fun runs at locations like the parking lot at Byrd Plaza in Cocoa.

Randy Pobst, above as a teenager, was a 30 year resident of Brevard County, graduating from Melbourne High School in 1975. “I’ve always been a car guy,” said Pobst, who still remembers “feeling like a million bucks” after getting his license as soon as he turned 15.

Pobst’s racing career began in a parking lot in Satellite Beach in 1977, where he competed in an autocross and won. He proved to be a natural, winning autocross state and national championships, as well as the pro series.

At college age, he had his closest experience to a regular job as the organizer for the Dodge National Collegiate Championship events, held on college campuses around the country.

Saving every penny for two years, he used the money to move up to road racing with a new 1985 VW Golf in both VW Cup and Firestone Firehawk Compact Division series, finishing second by just a bumper on the legendary 12-Hour course at Sebring. It was his very first wheel-to-wheel race.

THE PORSCHE 911 in which Randy Pobst won the 2006 Rolex 24 at Daytona. The Holy Grail for race car drivers, a factory driver contract, arrived for Pobst with Porsche. After a year with that brand, he was contracted by Audi, followed by Mazda and Volvo, to drive for them.

With a Toyota sponsorship and his former wife, fellow race car driver Linda, as co-driver, Pobst went all out pro. The marriage didn’t last, but there are no hard feelings.

“I’m very thankful for her support because I couldn’t have been a pro racer without her,” he said.

In 1988, Pobst was hired as a driver for T.C. Kline’s team, racing Honda CR-Xs and Civics, and won many races. With a BMW, Randy took 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 for race car drivers, a factory driver contract, arrived for Pobst with Porsche. After a year with that brand, he was contracted by Audi, followed by Mazda and Volvo, to drive for them.

While not racing, he writes, as Randy serves as a tester, journalist, and video host for Motor Trend magazine. More than 65,000 people follow him on Instagram, and his YouTube channel currently has 25,000 followers, growing.

Pobst’s testing career has provided him with the highly enviable opportunity to sit behind the wheel of the newest and most powerful Lamborghinis, Ferraris, Corvettes, Camaros, Audis, BMWs and Porsches at tracks around the world, including testing in Italy the Audi R18 prototype that won Le Mans and racing a Porsche at 204 miles per hour at the Shuttle Landing Strip at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.

Now in his late 60s, Randy has no intention of slowing down.

“I still race all I can,” he said. “Racing is very much part of my life.”

THE 2025 SPACE COAST SPORTS HALL OF FAME Banquet and Induction Ceremony will occur at Eastern Florida State College in Melbourne on Saturday, May 24. FOR INFORMATION about the Space Coast Sports Hall of Fame, or to make a reservation, e-mail Contact@SpaceCoastDaily.com or call 321-615-8111.

CLICK HERE TO SEE MEMBERS OF THE SPACE COAST SPORTS HALL OF FAME

Randy Pobst’s testing career has provided him with the highly enviable opportunity to sit behind the wheel of the newest and most powerful Lamborghinis, Ferraris, Corvettes, Camaros, Audis, BMWs and Porsches at tracks around the world, including testing in Italy the Audi R18 prototype that won Le Mans and racing a Porsche at 204 miles per hour at the Shuttle Landing Strip at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.

Active in the SCCA World Challenge GT series and the Grand American series’ GT class, RandyPobst was the 2003, 2007, 2008 and 2010 SCCA World Challenge GT champion, the 1996 North American Touring Car Championship title winner, and 2005, 2006 and 2007 SCCA World Challenge TC vice-champion. He is also a two-time class winner of the 24 Hours of Daytona, in 2001 and 2006.

The main athletic building on the Melbourne Campus hosts the Space Coast Sports Hall of Fame, as portraits of the Hall of Famers are displayed on the wall in the building’s main hallway that runs parallel to the gym and outside the athletic department offices.

The Space Coast Sports Hall of Fame selection committee announced that the 2025 induction ceremony will occur on Saturday, May 24, at Eastern Florida State College in Melbourne. To make a reservation for the Space Coast Sports Hall of Fame induction ceremony, e-mail Contact@SpaceCoastDaily.com or call 321-323-4460.

The Space Coast Sports Hall of Fame induction dinner and ceremony is presented by Tom and Suzie Wasdin

BREVARD COUNTY, FLORIDA—The Space Coast Sports Hall of Fame selection committee announced that the 2025 induction ceremony will occur on Saturday, May 24, at Eastern Florida State College in Melbourne. This will be the first in-person induction since the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Space Coast Sports Hall of Fame induction dinner and ceremony, presented by Tom and Suzie Wasdin, will be held on the evening of May 24. The Meet-and-Greet will begin at 6 p.m., and the dinner and program will start at 7 p.m.

Tom and Suzie Wasdin are longtime Brevard County entrepreneurs, community supporters, and philanthropists. Tom, an NCAA Final Four basketball coach and Brevard Sports Ambassador, was inducted into the Space Coast Sports Hall of Fame in 2015.

The meet-and-greet will include an opportunity to talk with the area’s sports royalty. Dinner and the induction proceeding, which will include compelling video tributes to each inductee, will follow.

The Brevard County High School Breakfast of Champions recognition awards will be held Saturday, May 24, from 9 a.m. to 10:30 a.m., also at Eastern Florida State College.

During the Breakfast of Champions, more than 40 awards will be presented to the best of the 2024-2025 male and female high school student-athletes in each sport. For sponsorship information, call 321-323-4460 or e-mail Contact@SpaceCoastDaily.com.

Both the Breakfast of Champions and the Space Coast Sports Hall of Fame events will be streamed live on Space Coast Daily TV.

Health First, Erdman Automotive, Eastern Florida State College, All Points, Clear Choice Health Care, Brevard Public Schools, Space Coast Office of Tourism, EDC of the Space Coast, 4Ever Young Merritt Island, and Savings Safari sponsor the 2025 Space Coast Sports Hall of Fame induction event and the Brevard County High School Breakfast of Champions recognition awards.

To make a reservation for the Space Coast Sports Hall of Fame induction ceremony, e-mail Contact@SpaceCoastDaily.com or call 321-323-4460.

INDUCTEES SELECTED IN FOUR CATEGORIES

Nominees are chosen in four categories: professional sports, college sports, high school sports, and amateur sports. Special honorary recognition is also bestowed upon individuals and groups that have made significant contributions to sports on the Space Coast.

SPACE COAST SPORTS HALL OF FAME CLASS OF 2025

■ PROFESSIONAL CATEGORY INDUCTEES: Jamel Dean, Football; Hacksaw Jim Duggan, Wrestling; Chauncey Gardner-Johnson, Football; Randy Pobst, Auto racing; Juwaan Taylor, Football

■ COLLEGE CATEGORY INDUCTEES: Paulette King, Basketball, Dylan Lewis, Soccer; Steve Freeman, Soccer; Bryan Cook, Baseball

■ PREP CATEGORY INDUCTEES: Lexy Denaburg, Volleyball; Andi Sellers, Soccer; Kaira Simmons, Track & Field; Jayvan Boggs, Football

■ AMATEUR/RECREATION CATEGORY INDUCTEE: Alli Penovich, Free Diving; Peter Blount, Track & Field; Caylor Williams, Wrestling

■ COACHING CATEGORY INDUCTEES: Doug Butler, Cross Country and Track; Gerald Hodgin, Football; Jim Oler, Basketball; Don Smith, Basketball

• SPORTS OFFICIAL INDUCTEES: Ted Ruta

• SPORTS JOURNALISM INDUCTEES: Steve Vaughn

• SPORTS DEVELOPMENT INDUCTEE: Loren McClanahan

■ LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT INDUCTEES: Larry Garrison, Clint Hurdle

■ SPORTS AMBASSADOR AWARD INDUCTEE: Rusty Buchanan

■ CHALLENGER AWARD INDUCTEE: Joshua Dillon

■ TEAM OF THE YEAR: Cocoa Tigers Football

■ LEGACY CHAMPIONS: Merritt Island Baseball, 1999-2000

■ COMMUNITY SPORTS ADVANCEMENT: Justin Lauer and Dr. Bill Quinter

■ SPECIAL TRIBUTE: Tim Wakefield

Space Coast Daily created the Space Coast Sports Hall of Fame in 2011 and has inducted over 200 of Brevard County’s most outstanding athletes, coaches, and sports personalities. Eastern Florida State’s Titan Fieldhouse on the Melbourne Campus hosts the Space Coast Sports Hall of Fame. Portraits of the Hall of Famers are displayed on the wall in the building’s main hallway, which runs parallel to the gym and outside the athletic department offices.

To make a reservation for the Space Coast Sports Hall of Fame induction ceremony, e-mail Contact@SpaceCoastDaily.com or call 321-323-4460.

CLICK HERE TO SEE THE MEMBERS OF THE SPACE COAST SPORTS HALL OF FAME

CLICK HERE FOR BREVARD COUNTY NEWS