Zak Brown appeared on ‘Wheel of Fortune’ in 1984, used the winnings to buy a go-kart, and is now CEO of McLaren Racing
- McLaren CEO Zak Brown has had an interesting career
- It all began when he won the Wheel of Fortune game show
- He bought a go-kart with the winnings and began a racing career
Published on Nov 23, 2024 at 4:00 PM (UTC+4)
by Siddharth Dudeja
Last updated on Nov 19, 2024 at 12:28 PM (UTC+4)
Edited by
Tom Wood
CEO of McLaren Racing, Zak Brown, has had one of the most eventful career histories, and it all began when he won the Wheel of Fortune game show back in 1984.
Unlike most ‘normal’ career trajectories, winning the show set him on a career path that most people wouldn’t believe.
It sounds like a movie plot, but – as the man himself confirmed – it isn’t.
Today, Zak Brown is one of the most prominent names in Formula One.
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McLaren Racing CEO started off with winning Wheel of Fortune
Before being in charge of McLaren Racing, Brown didn’t have a ‘proper’ racing career.
Sure, he loved all things cars and even won go-karting championships, but he ended up here because of excellent opportunities.
Zak Brown once entered the Wheel of Fortune game show when he was just 13 and won a hefty sum.
For the unaware, Wheel of Fortune started airing on NBC in 1975, and it rewarded contestants if they won in mini-games.
An Instagram reel from The Red Flags Podcast reveals that he used those winnings to buy himself a go-kart — and this ‘vehicle’ started it all.
“That was 1984, feels like yesterday. I won myself enough money to buy a go-kart,” he wrote on Instagram.
Following his win, Brown became a professional go-karting racer in the following years.
Unlike modern go-karts like this all-electric model with a speed record, those were racing-intended examples.
He won 22 International Kart Federation races and three karting championships and eventually moved to the higher ranks.
Those higher ranks were participation in Formula Ford, Formula Opel-Lotus, and even British Formula Three.
However, his F1 career took a lot more time to begin.
Zak Brown and his ‘racing career’
Brown diverted towards opening his own sales marketing company called Just Marketing International.
This company collaborated with the likes of Formula One, NASCAR, IndyCar, and MotoGP.
Further, he also started his own racing team in 2009 called United Autosports — which made its way to European Le Mans and the Le Mans Cup.
By that time, he was already a popular figure in the racing world, and that’s when McLaren Racing hired him.
It was the year 2016, and Zak Brown made waves for the company — which is why he was made CEO by 2018.
Today, McLaren is among the most popular F1 racing names, with stars like Lando Norris by its side.
By the way, McLaren Racing is a distinct company division, but that doesn’t mean it separates itself from historical supercars like the McLaren F1 LM.
Lando Norris recently drove a McLaren P1 made out of Lego, so there’s that.
Anyway, in retrospect, Zak Brown’s career certainly seems like something out of a ‘destiny’ book.
