Andy Pilgrim

Andy Pilgrim
Born	(1956-08-18) 18 August 1956 (age 65) Nottingham, England
Achievements	2005 SPEED World Challenge GT champion
NASCAR Cup Series career
1 race run over 1 year
Best finish	47th (2011)
First race	2011 Toyota/Save Mart 350 (Infineon)
Wins Top tens Poles 0 0 0
NASCAR Xfinity Series career
2 races run over 1 year
Best finish	97th (2007)
First race	2007 NAPA Auto Parts 200 (Montreal)
Last race	2007 Zippo 200 at the Glen (Watkins Glen)
Wins Top tens Poles 0 0 0
24 Hours of Le Mans career
Years	1996–1997, 2000–2003
Teams	, , Roock Racing, Corvette Racing

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.

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[]

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[]

Busch Series[]

References[]

External links[]

• Official website
• Andy Pilgrim driver statistics at Racing-Reference
• Andy Pilgrim on Twitter
• Traffic Safety Education Foundation profile
• Automobile magazine page
• Corvette Racing profile
• Blancpain GT profile