Alex Job honored with 2014 Rolex Bob Snodgrass Award of Excellence

Alex Job (L)

Alex Job Racing (AJR) owner Alex Job, of Tavares, Florida, has been named the recipient of the 2014 Rolex Bob Snodgrass Award of Excellence. The announcement was made during the traditional prelude to the Rolex 24 At Daytona – the Grand Marshal Dinner – which was held at the Daytona 500 Club on Friday, January 23, 2015. From a short-list of three successful team owners who competed in the inaugural TUDOR United SportsCar Championship, a panel of motorsports professionals selected Job.

"The Rolex Bob Snodgrass Award of Excellence is a prestigious acknowledgement, awarded to a team owner, or manager, who has demonstrated the qualities of integrity, passion for the sport of automobile racing and an infinite love of cars, all the traits which my father proudly wore on his sleeve," said Harris Snodgrass in introducing Job as the winner.

"It means a lot to me to be able to give this award in my father's name," added Snodgrass. "He would be very pleased knowing that the award is based off his ethics – what he believed in, what he lived by and most importantly everything that he was about, his whole soul."

Alex Job founded AJR in 1988, and retired from driving in 1992 in order to better focus on being the team's manager and engine builder. In 1995 AJR started turning in what would become a long string of victories highlighted by two GT class wins at the Rolex 24 Hours At Daytona (1999, 2013) as well as 48 pole positions and 106 podium finishes. AJR jumped into the inaugural season of the American Le Mans Series (ALMS) in 1999 full-bore with a two-car effort. Starting strong, it captured GT class honors in the Rolex 24 At Daytona, then built upon this success to win other major North American endurance events, including the 12 Hours of Sebring and the Petit Le Mans. In 2014, AJR competed with WeatherTech Racing Porsche and Team Seattle-Heart of Racing Porsche in the GTD Class for the TUDOR United SportsCar Championship.

"I'm kind of lost for words," said Job who was presented with a specially-engraved Rolex Stainless Steel and Platinum Yacht-Master timepiece by Stewart Wicht, President of Rolex Watch U.S.A. "This is an enormous honor. I'm a little emotional about it. I knew Bob fairly well and had great respect for Bob. We knew each other originally through the Porsche car business. Bob had integrity, he had the passion and he had the love for the sport, and it takes every one of those to be Bob Snodgrass and, quite frankly, to succeed in this business – He was an enormous mentor for this industry."

Job went on to explain that Bob Snodgrass loved Rolexes, as does he. "My father, who is still alive, was a Rolex dealer. He is a Dutch born-and-raised master jeweler and was a Rolex dealer for many, many years. More so than a dealer, he was a technician that was repairing the Rolexes. I am an example of him and he is a lot like Bob Snodgrass and taught me a lot. So to be able to add another Rolex to the collection means a lot. Rolex stands for integrity, quality, and passion as well. There is no better marriage of Rolex and the sport and I am very happy to hear that it is going to continue for many more years. This is a major honor for me. We just celebrated our 25th year for AJR and in that time span to achieve this award is extremely important to me."

The Rolex Bob Snodgrass Award of Excellence was created to recognize the team owner or team manager who has demonstrated the qualities of integrity, passion for the sport and the love of cars for which Bob Snodgrass was known during his life and career. The award – supported by Gorsline Company, the premier insurer of high-risk professionals – has been presented to Bob Stallings (2010), Joe Sahlen (2011), Peter Baron (2012) and John Stevenson (2013).