Joseph Safina
Joseph Safina | |
|---|---|
| Born | December 8, 1967 Brooklyn, New York, U.S. |
| Occupations | Racing driver, businessman, author |
| Years active | 1987–present |
| Notable work | 24 Hours of Daytona, Grand Am Rolex Sports Car Series, IMSA GT, 12 Hours of Sebring |
Joseph Safina (born December 8, 1967)[1] is an American race car driver and businessman. He began his racing career in 1990[2] and he has since competed in races such as the 24 Hours of Daytona, 12 Hours of Sebring and Dubai 24 Hour.[3] Notable achievements include being on the VICI Racing team as they were the first to race a Lamborghini GTR at the 12 Hours of Sebring,[4] as well as driving the Florida Marlins sponsored Porsche in the 2008 IMSA SportsCar Championship.[5]
Career
[edit]Safina began his investment banking career in 1988 by joining Gruntal & Co. where he was later named Senior Vice President.[citation needed] After leaving Gruntal & Co. in 1993 he founded Nichols, Safina, Lerner & Co. Inc. (NSL), where he served as CEO.[6] Under his leadership, NSL grew into a 200 employee multi-location business that was involved in around a billion dollars in financing.[7] His work with NSL was featured in R.J. Shook's book The Winner's Circle II.[8] In 1997, he sold his interests in the company and became the CEO of Safina Asset Management now Safina Capital, a private equity investment firm. He was also involved in bringing Financial Carrier Services (FCS) into the Inc 5000[9] where Joseph worked as a founding partner of FCS with Derek Skea.[10] Joseph was also notably involved in the founding of Loud Records helping the company to sell stock to Universal Music Group.[11][12] He later became Vice Chairman of Trimedia Entertainment Group Inc.,[13] and an investor in Secured Health and Life.[14] In 2013, he sold Secured Health and Life to Health Insurance Innovations.[14] He has written three books.[15]
Racing career
[edit]Safina began racing cars professionally in 1997, first racing a 5.8L V8 Ford Mustang Cobra R in the IMSA Speedvision Cup.[2] He has raced for six different manufacturers, those being Porsche, BMW, Saleen, Ferrari, Ford, and Lola.[16][17][2] Safina has had a racing career with achievements such as being the first to race a Lamborghini GTR at the 12 Hours of Sebring.[4] and racing the Miami Marlins sponsored GT3 in 2008,[18] going top-ten three years in a row at the 24 Hours of Daytona.[18] win in his Ferrari 360 Challenge in 2001 at Homestead–Miami Speedway.[17]
Safina owns a body shop called Safina Performance that works on custom cars, such as a 2011 Ford F-450 4x4 King Ranch that was modified into an all-black custom vehicle.[19] Safina also worked with prominent auto shop Mobsteel to create a resto-modded 1964 Lincoln Continental, with a 427ci CobraJet V8, forged 22-inch alloy wheels, 12inch disk brakes, and a custom interior and exterior.[20]
Publications
[edit]Safina is the author of three books:
- Driven: From Racing Tracks to Wall Street: One Man's Journey of Triumph, Loss, and Redemption (2019), a business memoir.
- Amici del Lago: Popular Italian Recipes & Home Cooked Meals For Family, Friends and Celebrations: A Cookbook (2021), a collection of essays inspired by automotive culture and personal growth.[21]
- Deal Mode: Mastering the Art of Selling Your Company (2023), focused on negotiation and selling a business.[22]
References
[edit]- ↑ "Joseph Safina: Racedriver biography - career and success". www.speedsport-magazine.com.
- 1 2 3 "Driver: Joe Safina | Driver Database". www.driverdb.com. Retrieved August 23, 2025.
- ↑ "Unprecedented Nine Aston Martins for 24 Hours of Dubai: Anamera". www.finecars.cc. Retrieved August 23, 2025.
- 1 2 "VICI Racing enters Lamborghini for Sebring". Archived from the original on August 16, 2019. Retrieved August 23, 2025.
- ↑ "Driven To Success - 2011 Ford F-450 4x4 King Ranch". Motor Trend.
- ↑ "SG Blocks Announces Appointments to Board of Directors | SGBX Stock News". Stocktitan. June 9, 2021.
- ↑ "Guns, Guts, and Glory". StreetInsider.
- ↑ Harris, William (June 9, 2021). "SG Blocks Appoints Joseph Safina and David Villarreal to Board of Directors". Citybiz.
- ↑ "INC. Company Profile". August 11, 2020.
- ↑ "Financial Carrier Services Appears on the Inc. 5000". markets.businessinsider.com. Retrieved August 23, 2025.
- ↑ "Tha Crow Wins Loud.com Competition". Billboard. Vol. 120, no. 24. Nielsen Business Media. June 14, 2008. p. 6. Retrieved August 23, 2025.
- ↑ "Universal Music Group invests in rap competition site". The Register.
- ↑ "Bloomberg TriMedia Entertainment Group Inc". Bloomberg. August 16, 2002.
- 1 2 "Secured Health & Life Insurances - Ownership and Business Overview". mergr.com. Retrieved August 23, 2025.
- ↑ "Joseph Safina". Audible. August 24, 2025. Retrieved August 24, 2025.
- ↑ "Joseph Safina (USA) - Racing Sports Cars". www.racingsportscars.com. Retrieved August 23, 2025.
- 1 2 "Homestead-Miami: Justin Bell, Joseph Safina preview". Archived from the original on August 16, 2019. Retrieved August 24, 2025.
- 1 2 "Safina Makes Marlin Sponsorship Work". Retrieved August 23, 2025.
- ↑ "Driven To Success | 2011 Ford F-450 4x4 King Ranch". MotorTrend. November 1, 2012. Retrieved August 24, 2025.
- ↑ Pankew, Dave. "Mob Mentality: Joseph Safina's 1964 Lincoln Continental". PASMAG - Performance Auto & Sound 20th Anniversary!. Retrieved August 24, 2025.
- ↑ "Review of Amici Del Lago - reviewer Hager Salem". OnlineBookClub.org. May 7, 2024.
- ↑ "Time Is Right for Airbnb, DoorDash IPOs, Asset Manager Says". TheStreet.