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The current issue of Sports Illustrated has a wonderful profile of 1986 Indy 500 Rookie of the Year Randy Lanier, who was released from federal prison in 2014 after serving 27 years for smuggling marijuana to finance his racing addiction in the 1970s and 80s
Automobile Magazine ran a similar (and better) article last September that SI seemed to rely on heavily (copied).
Lanier, now 62 and fit, is living in South Florida, making ends meet as an Uber driver and hoping against hope to someday return to racing. He started with a four-cylinder 1957 Porsche 356 Speedster in the mid-70s and worked his way up through SCCA and IMSA and CART to an 18-race IndyCar career before the **** hit the fan and the feds upended his smuggling empire. He teaches occasionally for the Performance Driving Group at Miami-Homestead and shops at thrift stores.
"The thing about driving," he says, "is that you go as fast as your ******* lets ya."
__________________ -Peter Krause www.peterkrause.net www.gofasternow.com
"Combining the Art and Science of Driving Fast!"
Specializing in Professional, Private Driver Performance Evaluation and Optimization
Consultation Available Remotely and at VIRginia International Raceway
27 years for smuggling marijuana wow seems like cruel and unusual punishment for doing something that's now legal in many states. Glad he's out. Show's how screwed up the marijuana law is.
27 years for smuggling marijuana wow seems like cruel and unusual punishment for doing something that's now legal in many states. Glad he's out. Show's how screwed up the marijuana law is.
Half a life wasted over smuggling pot. And nobody goes to jail for f*cking with millions of people's financial well being (and lives) in 2008. Ridiculous.
In any case, at least he didn't get caught in Singapore.
Won the IMSA title in 1984, Rookie of the Year and finished 10th OA at Indy, then originally sentenced to life, without parole. For pot... That March GTP car beat the Porsches, too.
It amazed me that after 27 years in prison, he had lost zero passion for racing.
Not surprising, if you were able to witness the resources he threw at it, along with the Whittingtons, in the mid-1980's in IMSA Camel GT racing. It was AWESOME to watch, back then!
When Randy last raced, there was very little in the way of data for driver improvement. I know he has hopes of returning to the track. Do you think he is capable of embracing the "new" world of following the "squiggly lines?"
When Peter says Randy had enormous talent, I think he was speaking of that generation's best, who just seemed to feel what the car was giving them and streamed data through their butts.
When Peter says Randy had enormous talent, I think he was speaking of that generation's best, who just seemed to feel what the car was giving them and streamed data through their butts.
As Randy does! I mean, to beat the consummate "data" guy, Al Holbert, when Al was at the top of his game, means he was REALLY good.
What I find interesting is that he wasn't very good when he started. He thought his excellent "butt calibration" in offshore power boats could be transferred to cars, and his results weren't very good until Bill worked with him on car setup (which improved his understanding of the dynamics) and on driving (which he could exercise with cat-like reflexes and iron *****). After that, he was nearly unbeatable, when the car stayed under him. Pretty cool.
Now? Like he said at the Mid-Ohio race, he's just glad to be back in the seat.
I shared a car with Randy last year at Mid Ohio for the AER race Van mentioned. Great dude - it was his first time in a racecar in nearly three decades, but it was amazing to witness the raw talent! More importantly, his attitude and way of looking back at his experience and the days ahead of him was even more impressive.
And the stories he had - it's not my experience to share, but the last time he was at Mid O was a lot more exciting ...
01-19-2017, 01:37 PM
The Resurrection of Randy Lanier
