Feliciano Sergio "Félix" Sabates Jr.[1][2][3] (born September 9, 1945) is a Cuban-born former entrepreneur, and philanthropist living in the United States of America.

[6] 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.

Sabates' mother and youngest brother Art fled in 1963, while his father arrived in 1966 after being restricted by the Castro administration.

In between, Sabates lived in motels and worked several odd jobs, including washing pots and pans at a hospital.

[6][9] Eventually, the family would reconvene in Lexington, North Carolina (where his mother originally settled), in a resettlement site for Cuban refugees established by an American-based Catholic charity.

[6][9] Later, Sabates began working at the City Chevrolet car dealership in Downtown Charlotte (later purchased by fellow NASCAR owner Rick Hendrick), offering to work for free on the condition that if he outsells the other salesman within a month, that he would be compensated and offered a permanent sales position.

In 1969 at the age of 25, Sabates accepted a position as a salesman for Top Sales Company, Inc. (TSC) which distributed retail products.

In 2000, Sabates sold TSC to his employees at what was considered a well below market rate to "reward the people that helped him build the business.

In 2000, Sabates and his business partner, John Dane, acquired the superyacht manufacturing company Trinity Yachts.

[citation needed] Sabates owns and operates a Mercedes Benz dealership that is a four-time recipient of the Best Award given to only the top 10 percent of dealers nationwide.

Petty found his groove in the Winston Cup circuit, finishing in the top-five in the final point standings for the season.

The team fielded both cars in the Winston Cup circuit the following year and Petty again finished top-five in total points.

[10] Drivers for SABCO included Sterling Marlin, Bobby Hillin Jr., Tommy Kendall, Kenny Irwin Jr., Kenny Wallace, Bobby Hamilton, Robby Gordon, Greg Sacks, Wally Dallenbach Jr., Joe Nemechek, Jeff Green, and Ted Musgrave.

[5] Later on, he became responsible for hiring the first Latino driver in NASCAR's Sprint Cup Series in 2006, former Indy 500 champion Juan Pablo Montoya.

In his nearly 30 seasons in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, Sabates' teams have 17 wins, 131 top-five and 354 top-10 finishes as well as 40 poles in nearly 1800 starts.

His team made the Chase for the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series four times (2009, 2015 and 2016 (2)), finished in the top five in points in three different seasons and won the 2010 Daytona 500 and Brickyard 400.

In July 2016, the NBA announced that it was removing the 2017 All-Star game from Charlotte due to North Carolina's controversial Public Facilities Privacy & Security Act, also known as House Bill 2 or HB2.

In fact, he has been appointed to commissions by three different North Carolina governors, Jim Martin (R), Mike Easley (D) and most recently by Governor Pat McCrory (R) to vice chairman of the Oversight committee of the Airport Authority of North Carolina which oversees the Charlotte airport, the sixth busiest in the world.

Sabates became a member of the philanthropic Dream Makers Society of the Boys and Girls Club of Broward County, Florida, in recognition of his 12-year commitment to and support of special fund raising events.