13 Facts About Ralph Sanchez

Rafael Agustin Sanchez, better known as Ralph Sanchez, was a prominent Cuban-American autoracing figure, developer, and businessman.

Rafael Sanchez was born in Sancti Spiritus, Cuba in 1948.

Ralph Sanchez spent his early years there and attended Catholic school until his life was disrupted by the Cuban Revolution.

Ralph Sanchez was secretly recruited as a schoolboy at the age of ten to distribute the flyers and some supplies to counter-Castro opposition forces.

Ralph Sanchez forged ahead and finally received permission to organize the Grand Prix of Miami, which would bring high-profile Porsches, Jaguars and Corvettes racing along Downtown Miami public streets such as Biscayne Boulevard decades before they became the prominent business district real estate that they are today.

Ralph Sanchez committed to pay the full extent of the prize, which furthered his credibility in the industry despite the event.

Ralph Sanchez remained dedicated to the idea and in the second Miami Grand Prix, Ralph Sanchez gave two-time Formula One world champion Emerson Fittipaldi, who had retired more than three years earlier, a drive in his "Spirit of Miami" March-Chevrolet 83G in February 1984 and within months secured his return to racing in CART with Patrick Racing.

At the time, nearly every track had red and white walls, but again, Ralph Sanchez wanted something more symbolic of Miami so he decided to go with a pastel color.

Ralph Sanchez became particularly active and highly respected in the city of Coral Gables, Florida as a managing partner for Ponce Circle Developers, which he launched in partnership with the Mas family of MasTec.

The project broke ground in November 2007 and Ralph Sanchez invested $128 million into the first phase of Old Spanish Village.

Ralph Sanchez' death impacted the competition of the project as originally envisioned as he was the main force driving the project.

Ralph Sanchez died of cancer in April 2013 at the age of 64.

Ralph Sanchez was widely credited with bringing autoracing to South Florida as well using it to solidify Miami's growing international status in the 1980s and 1990s.