Randy Lanier

At 69 years old, Randy Lanier physical status not available right now. We will update Randy Lanier's height, weight, eye color, hair color, build, and measurements.

Lanier began his motorsport career in 1978, following a meeting with the Sports Car Club of America at an auto show taking place in Miami Beach Convention Center on how to make a start in racing, he bought himself a 1957 Porsche 356 Speedster, where he used it to compete in E Production at the SCCA Southeast Regional Championship, eventually winning the class in 1980.

He made his IMSA Camel GT series debut at the 1981 Daytona Finale, partnering with Dale Whittington, finishing 30th. The following season at the 24 Hours of Daytona, he was approached by a crew member for the North American Racing Team to fill in for Janet Guthrie, who was unable to race due to illness. Partnering with Bob Wollek and Edgar Dören, the trio ran in 3rd place for 18 hours until their run ended when Lanier took over at dawn on his first lap, considered by fellow driver Desiré Wilson to be unsuited to drive as he had been seen previously acting nervously in the pits, he drove the car off course destroying the suspension.

He was invited by the same team to partner with Preston Henn and Denis Morin at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, retiring after they ran out of fuel. At Lanier's fifth race at the 6 Hours of Mosport, he brought an ex-works March 82G Chevrolet, scoring his first podium finish with a third, and then another at the Mid-Ohio 6 Hours.

In 1984, after driving for a variety of teams in the previous seasons, including a second place at the 24 Hours of Daytona, he formed his own team, Blue Thunder Racing, with Bill Whittington and crew chief Keith Leyton consisting of two March GTPs.

Earlier in the season, Whittington led the season, allowing Lanier to take over after the Charlotte 500. With the help of Whittington, who taught Lanier how to set up the car, he took six wins, enough to score a driver's championship with one race to remain along with the Most Improved Driver award, despite having a lack of sponsorship and being a wholly independent team, unsupported by March Engineering. Another reason for his success was that the team employed the services of talented engine builder Ryan Falconer, who rebuilt the engines after each race.

Lanier began to focus on his Indycar career, with the hope of winning the Indianapolis 500. He drove for Arciero Racing, intending to commit full-time for the 1986 season. For the following season, Lanier would also drive for Joest Racing for both the Daytona 24 Hours and Miami. After poor form in the previous year, Lanier would improve his form by finishing six of the nine races he entered including his 10th-place finish at the Indy 500, winning the Rookie of The Year honor and taking the fastest qualifying time for a rookie that year, an average of 209.964 MPH, beating the previous record set by Michael Andretti in 1984. His final race was at the Michigan 500 where he collided into a wall at 214 MPH following a tire blow out, breaking his right femur and shortly after this, he was arrested. Prior to that, he drove in 18 CART races in 1985 and 1986.

A year after his release from federal custody, Lanier returned to the track, coaching and racing with Rally Baby Racing, and the Road & Track teams in BMW E30s at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in the American Endurance Racing series.

Motorsports career results

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