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Grand Am
GRAND-AM: VIR Friday Notebook
Champagne Celebration for Andy Lally, Bill Lester's Happy New Home at Starworks Motorsports, Andy Pilgrim Plays Super-Sub, and von Moltke is a Media Baron.
Marshall Pruett  |  Posted April 23, 2010   Danville, VA
Andy Lally will drive into GRAND-AM's history books tomorrow. (Marshall Pruett)
Champagne Celebration for Lally

There are precious few drivers in the Rolex Series that have done enough to earn the title "Mister GRAND-AM," but after lining up for his 100th start tomorrow for the Bosch Engineering 250, you can go ahead and add Andy Lally to that list.

The affable New York native, a fixture in the Rolex Series since its inception, has made a home for himself in GRAND-AM like few others have. We've grown accustomed to seeing NASCAR drivers spend decades in their form of the sport, but to have a sportscar driver like Lally become so heavily associated with one series has been remarkable, if not wholly unique.

While Lally has tried his hand at everything from stock cars to street luge, the 35-year-old has built his career in GRAND-AM since its inaugural season. Lally's pride in being there from the start was obvious when he shared how the road to number 100 got started.

"Number one was Road America in an SRP2 car. That was in 2000, in the inaugural season of the GRAND-AM series. And there's been just a whole bunch of awesome races in between. Actually, one of the more memorable ones was race number two, which was the 24 Hours of Daytona...we won that one."

As Lally took a walk down memory lane for us, the thought of trying to capture the highlights of those first 99 races came to him.

"You know what? That would be cool if I could put a number on all of these and figure out which ones were the memorable ones! To make a quick summary along the way, in 99 starts so far, there's two Daytona 24 Hour victories, there's 20 total victories, some of them class, some of them overall, 61 podium finishes, and 74 top-five finishes. It's crazy."

For a relatively young driver -- at least in the world of sportscar racing -- Lally admitted he was surprised to look back and see just how many events and how much success he's had in such a short amount of time.

"I'm extremely proud of those numbers. It's really cool. It's third on the all-time win list, it’s first on the all-time top threes, it's first on the all-time top fives and I'm pretty sure there's a couple of cool other steps in there as well but I've been pretty fortunate. I'm the only three time Rolex Champion. It's surreal to read these stats out loud. I'm the only one on the current tour right now that has won a race on every single track on the schedule. It's been really cool looking back this last week…"
Although his 100th start is important, Lally, left, has treated this weekend like any other event. (Marshall Pruett)

Lally said that he knew the 100th event was coming up, but wasn't exactly sure at which event it would take place.

"I thought it was going to be Lime Rock so I hadn't paid attention to a whole lot of this stuff and the series called back and they’re like, 'Oh, wait, there’s a race we missed!' I did a Daytona Prototype race that they missed. They said it's going to be VIR, so here I am!"

With a wide ranging view of the series and its growth, Lally said he's proud to see how far it has come since he made his first start.

"I was fortunate to be part of the GRAND-AM from the very beginning and also fortunate to be involved in the first season of Daytona Prototype racing. And to see the idea, the concept, and the dream of the Daytona Prototype come to a reality has been amazing. I first remember seeing a really awesome example about what the future had in store for it when Darren Law and I were teamed up with Synergy Racing, back then it was G&W Racing, and we were in Phoenix. There were only four Daytona Prototypes there but right when we went green all four were nose to tail, having an awesome battle.

"The cameras had come over to do a quick interview because Darren was running really well and I was getting ready to get in the car and I was up on top of the pit box jumping up and down and pumping my fists and I looked down and one of the SPEED reporters was there and I looked at the camera and I said, 'Imagine in a few years from now when there’s 20 of these things doing this exact same thing, this is going to be an amazing event.' And it's been pretty cool over the years to see the numbers grow and see the racing be as awesome as it is, both in the Daytona Prototype class and the GT class. It's been an honor to be a part of it and also an honor to be only the second guy to reach number 100."

In a fitting sense of coming full-circle, Darren Law, Lally's friend and former teammate, was the first GRAND-AM driver to hit the 100th race mark. Not only does Lally share that honor with Law, the two also share a heavy association with the Porsche marque. Much of Lally's time in Porsches has come with The Racer's Group -- something that he's proud of.

"I'm very happy about that because to be associated with one team for so long means that there's people that want you to stick around. And there’s certainly drivers that bounce around from team to team and it's kind of a norm in sportscar racing but I like to stay with people that have been helping me out. And Kevin [Buckler, TRG team owner] and I have worked together for a really long time and had a lot of really good results. That's been great. The association with a Porsche is the same way.

"It's funny because probably for my first 50 odd starts, none of them were Porsches, and probably the last 50 starts probably 40 or almost 50 of them have been Porsches, so it's been good. The Porsche brand has been good to me and we've had a lot of success in that. I'm also now this year doing a Kia project in the Continental Series and running with that manufacturer. So that's cool to kind of branch out with the guys at Kinetic and also work with TRG at the same time, that's pretty cool."

Rather than risk offending any of Lally's numerous teammates over the years -- and he's polite enough to care about such things -- he preferred to reflect on the tenured, respected drivers who he looked up to when he was first making his name in the sport. As it turns out, he's had a few co-drivers who showed him how to last in this profession.
Few would argue Andy Lally has come a long way since his days piloting an SRP II Picchio-BMW... (LAT)

"It would be hard for me to even put a top-10 list together of favorite drivers. I've got guys that have turned from teammates into exceptionally great friends, as well as teammates that I've had in the past that I've learned from. Guys who I've stepped into a seat with that have been probably my biggest awe-inspiring days early on with were guys like Andy Wallace, James Weaver and Butch Leitzinger. I looked up to them as a young driver and knew it would be cool to have a career like theirs."

Another reward of working in the GRAND-AM paddock since its inception, as Lally explained, has been teaming with Pro-Am drivers, and helping them to achieve their goals and dreams in sportscar racing.

"Helping guys out in the sport that aren't full-time guys, guys like Mark Bunting and RJ Valentine, and Ted Ballou, who are inspiring people that got the start on their racing careers a little later in life after business came first -- to help be able to bring them some success -- that has been a pleasure as well. Wins and championships are rewarding, but finding success with someone who is relatively new to the sport is just as big of a deal."

And what does Lally hope to receive for his 100th start? A gold watch, possibly? Maybe a cake? He says a champagne celebration -- the kind you can only get in Victory Circle -- is what he's aiming for.

"What I'm looking for is win number 21. That's the thing I’m looking for most this weekend. I'm not sure if there's any sort of real celebration or not, what anybody has planned, if anything. I'm kind of a low-key guy, so as far as celebrating anything I’d rather do it just with performances on the track and try and get win number 21, podium number 62, and top-five number 75 all on the books in one day here and move on to looking forward to what is hopefully the beginning of our steps toward race number 200."

A Sense of Calm for Lester

Rolex Series driver Bill Lester has always sported a bright smile, but in 2010, and with a happy new home at Starworks Motorsports, the open-wheel, sportscar and NASCAR veteran appears to have a permanent grin on display.
Today's qualifying session went slightly awry for Lester, but it hasn't dampened his enthusiasm for Saturday's race. (LAT)

For a driver accustomed to honing his craft over a few years at every step along his journey prior to the Rolex Series, Lester has been fighting to gain traction within the Daytona Prototype ranks -- looking for a shot at spending a few seasons with the same outfit.

As he shared with me today, rolling with the changes that have come his way has only made him stronger. Now a part of the fast-starting Starworks Motorsports program, Lester sees a chance to make a home for many years to come.

"The road to getting here threw me a lot of curves, but at each turn, I've spent a lot of time getting to know the people, the environment in the series, and all the processes and procedures behind what it takes to succeed in GRAND-AM. Continuity with a team helps, but even without it, you can still learn a lot and prepare yourself for when the right opportunity comes along."

While the team name has changed and many of the behind-the-scenes arrangements in terms of ownership are different, Lester is thankful to have joined his new team where many of the faces are familiar.

"What we have here at Starworks is an outgrowth of what we initiated with Orbit last year. The last thing I wanted to do was to step into a completely unfamiliar situation. If you look at my history in Daytona Prototype, the fact is in ’07 I did a couple of one-offs with RVO and then in ’08 I was with Southard Motorsports for one year and then last year is one year with Orbit and it wasn't even a full year, it was a partial season before we ran out of funding.

"And this year I'm back in new, but familiar surroundings. [Team owner] Peter Baron knows who I am, I know who Peter is, the two of us are comfortable with each other, we enjoy each other, and we have a lot of respect for each other. Same thing with Ryan Dalziel, we hit it off really well. He's a really good asset to our program. The thing is we're looking not only to this year but were looking to the next year; we’re already putting the pieces in place to make sure this is a multiyear program. And that's really where the success comes from."

As Starworks matures, looking to the championship teams in the Daytona Prototype class for the blueprint on how to model a successful program is a no-brainer, explained Lester.
Hopes are high for the No. 7 Starworks car in the Bosch engineering 250. (Marshall Pruett)

"If you look at a Ganassi, where Pruett has been with that same car, that same engineering infrastructure, and those same people, all these things lead toward success. It's the same with the SunTrust program. The key thing is that infrastructure they build over the years. This is the first time in Grand Am where I’ve been given the opportunity for the most part to be in the same program for a second year, and I think that's going to pay off."

Although the management and crew within the Starworks team have fostered a sense of stability for Lester, the opposite has been true when it comes to his co-drivers this year.

Driving with Dion von Moltke at Daytona, Ian James at Homestead, Kasper Andersen at Barber, (and thanks to the limited number of flight from Europe due to volcanic ash keeping Andersen in his native Denmark, Joey Hand this weekend), Lester hopes the revolving door of teammates will slow down, if not stop altogether.

"That part has been challenging. Kasper's baptism by fire went well at Barber; after doing some testing at Daytona in January, he acquitted himself well at the last race. He came to grips with the car fairly quickly, but he'd suffered a back injury driving in the Superleague Formula in Europe, and I'm not sure whether it was his seat insert in the Riley, but he drove at Barber with some serious discomfort. I would up driving most of the race as a result, but I have optimism for Kasper for the rest of the year, provided he's up to the task physically. He clearly has the talent.

"I hope to have Kasper back for Lime Rock, but I've adjusted to whomever Peter has put in the car with me. Having Joey with me this weekend is a great call by Peter; Joey knows the car, he's a factory BMW driver, and we've all seen what he can do in this series."

Qualifying didn't go as Lester had hoped today, with an off leaving the No. 7 Starworks car with a broken nose and damaged splitter. A starting spot of 12th will mean Lester and Hand will have a lot of work ahead of them, but the two veterans are certainly capable of moving up the grid when the green flag drops tomorrow. After the Bosch Engineering 250 is over and Hand returns to his regular duties for Turner Motorsports, the learning process will begin once again for Lester.

Provided Lester can start to form a bond with a dedicated teammate -- someone he knows will be in the No. 7 at every round -- he says his team has all the potential to join the other flagship entries at the front of the field.
Joey Hand has enjoyed his return to the Daytona Prototype category alongside Lester for the weekend. (Marshall Pruett)

"That's exactly the case, but you know, you got to put things in perspective. You can have plenty of talent, but finding real success is a matter of building chemistry, and it doesn't happen overnight. So I got to be optimistic that this is going to gel. That it's going to be basically now, that the foundation for our future is going to be established. And realize that you've got to walk before you can run. If we get ourselves some good, strong finishes then we start thinking about the win."

No matter how long it takes to get there, Lester's determination to rise to the top of the Daytona Prototype ranks is what keeps motivating him to train harder, and to keep overcoming the obstacles in front of him. After more than 20 years of trying and coming close to achieving his goals, don't look for Lester to give up anytime soon.

"Yeah, I'm hungry as heck. I'm not going to lie. By the same token, I have a lot of patience, apparently, when it comes to just sticking it out and doing what it takes to get to where I need to go. I haven't thrown in the towel, by any means. I still love what I do. Every time you put a helmet on it's a wonderful thing, it's a blessing. There are not a lot of 49-year-old guys like me that are still professional athletes. I just saw a recent article on Scott Pruett...Pruett's 50 and he's still doing it better than ever. We're kind of the exception and not the norm. It's becoming more and more a young man's sport. But the fact of the matter is I'm still able to do it, still get the job done, I still love doing what it is that I do.

"And I’m looking at the alternative, which is just sitting on the sidelines and watching these guys, and I'm not doing that! I temper that with while I haven't won this year and I'm hungry for it, the alternative is that no one is guaranteed a career in this sport. So I'm fortunate that I am in the sport, I'm doing the best I can, I'm pushing as much as I can to gain success, but I'm also realistic about how long it's likely to take for that to happen. Winning doesn't happen overnight, but every time I go to the track I'm there with the belief that we can win, and I don't think that will ever change."

Temporary Digs

Along with Joey Hand in the Starworks Riley-BMW, another all-star super sub landed in the paddock today as Andy Pilgrim got the call to stand in for Rich Zahn in the No. 46 Autohaus Motorsports Rolex GT Camaro.
Pilgrim's call to replace the injured Rich Zahn came at the last minute, but the sportscar veteran has adapted quickly to the challenge. (Marshall Pruett)

While the Pratt & Miller chassis is dressed in its new Camaro clothes and Pilgrim is no stranger to the chassis, when it comes to the team, the sportscar veteran is getting up to speed in an unfamiliar program with little time to spare. Despite those challenges, and with tens of thousands of miles under his belt in every form of GT car, Pilgrim was a perfect choice to step in and contribute immediately.

"The regular driver, Rich Zahn, messed up his knee pretty bad. I didn't know Rich, but I know the owner of Autohaus, Bob Kirland. I've bought a few cars off of him over the years from his Mercedes dealership. I knew he had a racing team and I knew it was close to my house, but that was about it. He called me earlier this week to see if I was available, I told him I was running with the Fall-Line guys (in the Continental Tire series), they said it was OK, and here we are!"

Pilgrim had time to familiarize himself with the Bank of America-sponsored car Friday morning, but didn't expect to get serious seat time again until his stint to close out the race.

"My first time in the car was this morning. I don't quite fit the car yet, but it's good. I'm glad to be back in the Rolex Series. It has been a while...I don't actually remember the last time I did a Rolex race..."
Pilgrim, right, chats with former Cadillac teammate Lawson Aschenbach, just prior to qualifying where Shane Lewis put the No. 46 Bank of America Camaro in an impressive eighth position. (Marshall Pruett)

His last Rolex Series race -- Salt Lake City in 2007 -- went rather well for the Englishman, as he won that race behind the wheel of a Banner Racing Pontiac GXP.R. With a different shape, and the aerodynamic changes that come with it, Pilgrim said he can feel a number of differences to the GXP.R days.

"Remembering back to the Pontiac from three years ago, the engine feels stronger, it rolls around a lot; it's pretty soft, but it's very driveable. We're just getting used to the car; the team is new to this Camaro, so we're off the pace a little bit, but we're getting there."

The opportunity to pair up with another sportscar veteran in Shane Lewis has made it easier to find his groove, says Pilgrim.

"I've run with Shane a few times over the years, and it's good to drive with him again. Its been many years, but between driving with Fall-Line, helping Bob and the Autohaus boys, I'll do my best. I love this stuff!"

von Moltke the Media Baron

Doran Racing's rapidly improving young driver, Dion von Moltke, spent most of Friday looking like a kid on Christmas morning as he discussed the addition of PR Newswire to the sponsorship portfolio on his team's Dallara-Ford. von Moltke was beaming when he shared how the partnership with PR Newswire will help deliver news of his team and the Rolex Series to new markets.
von Moltke hopes to fill the Doran Racing Dallara-Ford with more sponsors as a result of bringing PR Newswire into the program. (Marshall Pruett)

"I'm really excited about this because PR Newswire is in something like 140 countries and distributes press information in 70 languages, and they are one of the biggest international news services around. This will help bring our team and the series to all areas of the globe more than they've ever had. I really think they will help in so many ways."

As Doran Racing continues to move forward in the paddock, von Moltke sas he hopes the alliance with PR Newswire will help to increase their commercial standing.

"They also help us because they can target the exact companies or markets we want to speak to. It's very specific, which is big for us. Doran Racing has a long history in GRAND-AM, and I want to find more partners to give us a chance to fight with Ganassi and the other big teams. [PR Newswire] is a new approach for us to achieve this, so it's hard not to be enthusiastic."

von Moltke's other big morale boost has come from his teammate, Memo Gidley. Gidley, also a top-tier driver coach, has taken von Moltke under his wing to groom the youngster.

"This has been fantastic. Memo, he's very motivated! And so am I. He pushes me all the time. I'll go to the gym for three hours and tell him how hard I worked. He'll call back and say he just did four hours of training, and that I took it too easy...it's good like this. In the car, it's the same way. He teaches me a lot, but I also try to push him. I'm not the guy to be happy with a fourth or a fifth. The team also cannot be pleased with those results. Memo and I push to win, and everyone at the team is like this too. Things are good at Doran. The culture is right for us to keep doing better. I think if we can attract more sponsors, it won't take long to achieve our goals."

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