Andy Pilgrim

Andrew Pilgrim (born 18 August 1956 in Nottingham) is a British-born racing driver, who became a United States citizen in 1998. He has competed in the SCCA World Challenge, 24 Hours of Le Mans, 24 Hours of Daytona, and NASCAR.

Andy Pilgrim
Born (1956-08-18) 18 August 1956
Nottingham, England
Achievements2005 SPEED World Challenge GT champion
NASCAR Cup Series career
1 race run over 1 year
Best finish47th (2011)
First race2011 Toyota/Save Mart 350 (Infineon)
Wins Top tens Poles
0 0 0
NASCAR Xfinity Series career
2 races run over 1 year
Best finish97th (2007)
First race2007 NAPA Auto Parts 200 (Montreal)
Last race2007 Zippo 200 at the Glen (Watkins Glen)
Wins Top tens Poles
0 0 0
24 Hours of Le Mans career
Years1996–1997, 2000–2003
TeamsNew Hardware Racing, Parr Motorsport, Roock Racing, Corvette Racing

Racing career

Having taken a keen interest in motorcycle racing as a child, Pilgrim raced motorcycles from 1978 to 1980 until an injury sidelined him.[1]

Pilgrim was living in England when his job as a computer programmer necessitated a move to the United States. His first foray into racing stateside was with SCCA Autocross.[2] In 1984, Pilgrim borrowed $3,000 to buy a Renault Alliance and began competing with it. He eventually moved up to professional racing in 1986 running the Firebird series.[1] In the late 1980s and early 1990s, Pilgrim ran in the Corvette Challenge series.[1]

Pilgrim made appearances in the 24 Hours of Le Mans in the late 1990s, running for New Hardware Racing, Roock Racing and Corvette Racing.[3] He joined the Chevrolet Corvette factory team in 1999. In 2001 he was selected as teammate for Dale Earnhardt, Jr., Dale Earnhardt Sr. and Kelly Collins in the 24 Hours of Daytona and the team finished second in class.[2] After the 24 Hours of Daytona, Dale Earnhardt Sr. promised to someday put Pilgrim in a NASCAR stock-car, a promise he was unable to fulfill due to his death a few weeks later during the 2001 Daytona 500.

From 2004 to 2008, Pilgrim drove for Cadillac in the SPEED World Challenge, winning a championship in 2005. He moved to K-Pax Racing in 2009 and 2010 before returning to Cadillac for another stint that lasted from 2011 to 2014. In 2015, he stepped away from the PWC to run various endurance races.[4] In 2016, Pilgrim joined Black Swan Racing for a four-race endurance schedule, including the 24 Hours of Daytona. The move came after his FIA rating was changed from gold to silver.[5] Pilgrim returned to the World Challenge in 2018 with Blackdog Speed Shop.[6]

In 2007, Pilgrim drove two road course races in the NASCAR Busch Series for JR Motorsports.[7] Pilgrim made his NASCAR Sprint Cup Series debut in 2011 at Infineon Raceway driving the No. 46 for Whitney Motorsports, where he finished 26th.[8]

Personal life

Pilgrim operates a traffic safety foundation.[9] [10]

Motorsports career results

SCCA National Championship Runoffs
SCCA National Championship Runoffs
YearTrackCarEngineClassFinishStartStatus
1985Road AtlantaFord MustangSSGT69Running

24 Hours of Le Mans results
Year Team Co-Drivers Car Class Laps Pos. Class
Pos.
1996 New Hardware Racing
Parr Motorsport		 Stéphane Ortelli
Andrew Bagnall		 Porsche 911 GT2 GT2 299 17th 4th
1997 Roock Racing André Ahrlé
Bruno Eichmann		 Porsche 911 GT2 GT2 306 10th 2nd
2000 Corvette Racing Franck Fréon
Kelly Collins		 Chevrolet Corvette C5-R GTS 327 10th 3rd
2001 Corvette Racing Franck Fréon
Kelly Collins		 Chevrolet Corvette C5-R GTS 271 14th 2nd
2002 Corvette Racing Franck Fréon
Kelly Collins		 Chevrolet Corvette C5-R GTS 331 13th 2nd
2003 Corvette Racing Oliver Gavin
Kelly Collins		 Chevrolet Corvette C5-R GTS 326 11th 2nd

NASCAR

(key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)

Sprint Cup Series
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series results
Year Team No. Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 NSCC Pts
2011 Whitney Motorsports 46 Chevy DAY PHO LVS BRI CAL MAR TEX TAL RCH DAR DOV CLT KAN POC MCH SON
26		 DAY KEN NHA IND POC GLN MCH BRI ATL RCH CHI NHA DOV KAN CLT TAL MAR TEX PHO HOM 47th 18

Busch Series
NASCAR Busch Series results
Year Team No. Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 NBSC Pts
2007 JR Motorsports 88 Chevy DAY CAL MXC LVS ATL BRI NSH TEX PHO TAL RCH DAR CLT DOV NSH KEN MLW NHA DAY CHI GTY IRP CGV
15		 GLN
15		 MCH BRI CAL RCH DOV KAN CLT MEM TEX PHO HOM 97th 236

References
  1. Prince, Richard (17 September 2015). "Sometimes, Nice Guys Finish First". Corvette Magazine. Retrieved 7 October 2020.
  2. Pruett, Marshall (21 April 2020). "RETRO: Pilgrim's PR man". Racer. Retrieved 7 October 2020.
  3. Thiruvenkatam, Gokulanand (18 September 2020). "Racer Andy Pilgrim Recalls Andy's 24 Hours of Le Mans Experiences". Trending Motors. Retrieved 7 October 2020.
  4. Myrehn, Ryan (8 February 2018). "Pilgrim "Genuinely Excited" for PWC Return". SportsCar365. Retrieved 7 October 2020.
  5. Dagys, John (30 December 2015). "Pilgrim Completes Black Swan Lineup for NAEC". SportsCar365. Retrieved 7 October 2020.
  6. Allaway, Phil (8 February 2018). "Blackdog Speed Shop Taps Andy Pilgrim, Michael Cooper for GTS SprintX". Frontstretch. Retrieved 7 October 2020.
  7. "July 2007 Busch Series Archives". Jayski's Silly Season Site. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved 7 October 2020.
  8. "Pilgrim to Drive Red Line Oil #46 at Infineon" (Press release). Benicia, CA: Cision News. Kahn Media. 22 June 2011. Retrieved 7 October 2020.
  9. "#26: Andy Pilgrim – $100 in his pocket when he got to the US – now a racing legend". Racecoin. 12 July 2019. Retrieved 7 October 2020.
  10. Sergent, Don (11 February 2018). "Race car driver brings safety message to NCM". Park City Daily News. Retrieved 7 October 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
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