Dr. Don (Donald) Panoz was born February 13, 1935, in Alliance, Ohio. Dr. Panoz is most famous for owning motor sports teams, races, and tracks in North America.

Panoz comes from Italian/Irish background. His father, Eugene Panunzio (later shortened to Panoz), immigrated to the US from Italy in the 1900s, and was a champion featherweight boxer.

In 1960 Dr. Panoz formed his first company, Mylan Laboratories in Morgantown, West Virginia.

In 1997 Dr. Panoz decided he wanted his own racing team and formed Panoz Motor Sports in Georgia.