Butch Leitzinger
Encyclopedia
Robert Franklin "Butch" Leitzinger (born February 28, 1969 in Homestead, Pennsylvania
, USA) is a professional racecar driver
. He is best known as an ALMS driver with Dyson Racing
, but he has also driven for a variety of other teams and race series.
Butch has driven for the Bentley
factory team at Le Mans
in 2001 and 2002, for the Cadillac
team at Le Mans in 2000 and for Panoz
at Le Mans in 1999. Leitzinger has also driven in the GT
classification for Risi Competizione
at Le Mans in 2003. Butch was also named 2002 Rookie of the Year in the Trans-Am Series
. Butch drove the Alex Job Racing (AJR) # 81 Porsche GT3 car in the first four events in the American Le Mans Series GTC class for the 2010 season with Juan Gonzales earning victories at the 2010 12 Hours of Sebring
as well as at Long Beach and a podium finish at Laguna Seca resulting in the duo achieving a healthy lead in the points standings before unfortunate circumstances forced Alex Job Racing to down size to a single car effort with the #23 car for the remainder of the season.
Butch spent the 2011 season as a substitute driver when needed and as a third driver during endurance races. As a substitute Butch ran a total of two ALMS races, one of which was the Lime Rock race in which he and Bill Sweedler finished third in class in the AJR GTC Porsche. The other race was the Road America race in which Butch drove the PR1/Mathiasen Motorsports LMPC car with Rudy Junco and on his first time ever driving an LMPC car and the first time with the team Butch qualified on pole in class and along with Rudy, won the race in class. As a third driver in endurance races Butch drove along with Humaid Al Masaood and Steven Kane in the # 20 Oryx Dyson Racing car at Laguna Seca and Road Atlanta. At Laguna Seca the 20 car led much of the race and finished in third. In the Petit Le Mans at Road Atlanta the car was sidelined early with a throttle position sensor problem. Shortly after returning to the track something in the left rear of the car broke as Butch rounded turn 1 at about 150 MPH which sent him off the track and hard into the tires ending the day for the 20 car.
It has been announced that Butch will drive the full 2012 season in the ALMS in the PR1/Mathiasen Motorsports LMPC car. The 2012 season will reunite the successful combination from Road America 2011 of PR1/Mathiasen Motorsports, Butch, and Rudy Junco, Butch's co-driver for the majority of the 2012 season.
Leitzinger shared the 1999 United States Road Racing Championship
(USRRC) championship with teammate Elliott Forbes-Robinson
and won the famed Rolex 24 at Daytona
: twice with Dyson Racing (1997 & 1999), and once in a Nissan 300ZX
(1994) co-driven with Scott Pruett
, Steve Millen
and Paul Gentilozzi
.
At the beginning of their involvement in ALMS
, Leitzinger and the Dyson team fielded Ford
-powered Riley & Scott
cars but switched to the newer MG-Lola EX257
midway through the 2002 season. Dyson Racing achieved its first ALMS victory in the car when Leitzinger and James Weaver
scored an overall win at Infineon Raceway
in Sonoma, California
. This also marked the first time that an LMP675 (now called LMP2) class car scored an overall win in an ALMS race.
Leitzinger ran three NASCAR
Winston Cup races at Watkins Glen with a best finish of 12th in 1995. On June 24, 2007, Leitzinger ran the NASCAR Nextel Cup
race at Infineon Raceway in the Bill Davis Racing
-owned #23 Caterpillar
Toyota and finished 28th.
with his wife, Kirsten, and their daughter. He earned a Bachelor of Science
in business management from Penn State University in 1991. He is the son of IMSA
driver, Bob Leitzinger.
Homestead, Pennsylvania
Homestead is a borough in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, USA, in the "Mon Valley," southeast of downtown Pittsburgh and directly across the river from the city limit line. The borough is known for the Homestead Strike of 1892, an important event in the history of labor relations in the United...
, USA) is a professional racecar driver
Driving
Driving is the controlled operation and movement of a land vehicle, such as a car, truck or bus.Although direct operation of a bicycle and a mounted animal are commonly referred to as riding, such operators are legally considered drivers and are required to obey the rules of the road...
. He is best known as an ALMS driver with Dyson Racing
Dyson Racing
Dyson Racing is a professional sports car racing team based in Poughkeepsie, New York in the United States. Founded by Rob Dyson in 1974, the team is one of the longest-running and most successful privateer racing organizations. Over the years, it has competed in IMSA GTO and GTP, SCCA Trans-Am,...
, but he has also driven for a variety of other teams and race series.
Butch has driven for the Bentley
Bentley
Bentley Motors Limited is a British manufacturer of automobiles founded on 18 January 1919 by Walter Owen Bentley known as W.O. Bentley or just "W O". Bentley had been previously known for his range of rotary aero-engines in World War I, the most famous being the Bentley BR1 as used in later...
factory team at Le Mans
24 Hours of Le Mans
The 24 Hours of Le Mans is the world's oldest sports car race in endurance racing, held annually since near the town of Le Mans, France. Commonly known as the Grand Prix of Endurance and Efficiency, race teams have to balance speed against the cars' ability to run for 24 hours without sustaining...
in 2001 and 2002, for the Cadillac
Cadillac
Cadillac is an American luxury vehicle marque owned by General Motors . Cadillac vehicles are sold in over 50 countries and territories, but mostly in North America. Cadillac is currently the second oldest American automobile manufacturer behind fellow GM marque Buick and is among the oldest...
team at Le Mans in 2000 and for Panoz
Panoz
Panoz Auto Development is an American manufacturer of high-performance automobiles founded in 1989 by Dan Panoz, son of pharmaceutical and motorsport mogul Don Panoz. The company is located in Braselton, GA. Panoz products have included the Panoz Roadster and AIV Roadster, and the Panoz Esperante...
at Le Mans in 1999. Leitzinger has also driven in the GT
Grand tourer
A grand tourer is a high-performance luxury automobile designed for long-distance driving. The most common format is a two-door coupé with either a two-seat or a 2+2 arrangement....
classification for Risi Competizione
Risi Competizione
Risi Competizione is an American auto racing team formed by Giuseppe Risi in 1997. Initially a partnership with Doyle Racing using the name Doyle-Risi Racing, Giuseppe Risi took full control of the project and it was rebranded with its current name in 2000...
at Le Mans in 2003. Butch was also named 2002 Rookie of the Year in the Trans-Am Series
Trans-Am Series
The Trans-Am Series is an automobile racing series which was created in 1966 by Sports Car Club of America President John Bishop. Originally known as the Trans-American Sedan Championship it has evolved over time from its original format as a manufacturers championship for modified racing sedans...
. Butch drove the Alex Job Racing (AJR) # 81 Porsche GT3 car in the first four events in the American Le Mans Series GTC class for the 2010 season with Juan Gonzales earning victories at the 2010 12 Hours of Sebring
2010 12 Hours of Sebring
The 58th Mobil 1 12 Hours of Sebring presented by Fresh from Florida was the 2010 running of the 12 Hours of Sebring and the opening round of the 2010 American Le Mans Series season. It took place at the Sebring International Raceway, Sebring, Florida on March 20, 2010...
as well as at Long Beach and a podium finish at Laguna Seca resulting in the duo achieving a healthy lead in the points standings before unfortunate circumstances forced Alex Job Racing to down size to a single car effort with the #23 car for the remainder of the season.
Butch spent the 2011 season as a substitute driver when needed and as a third driver during endurance races. As a substitute Butch ran a total of two ALMS races, one of which was the Lime Rock race in which he and Bill Sweedler finished third in class in the AJR GTC Porsche. The other race was the Road America race in which Butch drove the PR1/Mathiasen Motorsports LMPC car with Rudy Junco and on his first time ever driving an LMPC car and the first time with the team Butch qualified on pole in class and along with Rudy, won the race in class. As a third driver in endurance races Butch drove along with Humaid Al Masaood and Steven Kane in the # 20 Oryx Dyson Racing car at Laguna Seca and Road Atlanta. At Laguna Seca the 20 car led much of the race and finished in third. In the Petit Le Mans at Road Atlanta the car was sidelined early with a throttle position sensor problem. Shortly after returning to the track something in the left rear of the car broke as Butch rounded turn 1 at about 150 MPH which sent him off the track and hard into the tires ending the day for the 20 car.
It has been announced that Butch will drive the full 2012 season in the ALMS in the PR1/Mathiasen Motorsports LMPC car. The 2012 season will reunite the successful combination from Road America 2011 of PR1/Mathiasen Motorsports, Butch, and Rudy Junco, Butch's co-driver for the majority of the 2012 season.
Leitzinger shared the 1999 United States Road Racing Championship
United States Road Racing Championship
The United States Road Racing Championship was created by the Sports Car Club of America in 1962. It was the first SCCA series for professional racing drivers. SCCA Executive Director John Bishop helped to create the series to recover races that had been taken by rival USAC Road Racing...
(USRRC) championship with teammate Elliott Forbes-Robinson
Elliott Forbes-Robinson
Elliott Forbes-Robinson is a road racing racecar driver. He is known for his race wins and championships in many different series, including the American Le Mans Series , Super Vee, Trans-Am Series, CanAm, IMSA GTU, and the World Challenge. He is known in NASCAR circles as a road course ringer...
and won the famed Rolex 24 at Daytona
24 Hours of Daytona
The 24 Hours of Daytona, currently known as the Rolex 24 Daytona for sponsorship reasons, is a 24-hour sports car endurance race held annually at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. It is run on a combined road course, utilizing portions of the NASCAR tri-oval and an infield...
: twice with Dyson Racing (1997 & 1999), and once in a Nissan 300ZX
Nissan 300ZX
The Z31 chassis designation was first introduced in 1983 as a 1984 Nissan/Datsun 300ZX in the US only. The 300ZX, as its predecessors, was known as a Nissan in other parts of the world. This continued in the US until 1985 model year when Nissan standardized their brand name worldwide and dropped...
(1994) co-driven with Scott Pruett
Scott Pruett
Scott Donald Pruett is an American race car driver who has competed in NASCAR, Champ Car, IMSA, Trans-Am and Grand-Am. He and his wife Judy have three children, and are children's book authors....
, Steve Millen
Steve Millen
Steve Millen was a New Zealand IMSA racecar driver. In the 1970s and 1980s, Millen raced in hillclimbing and Formula Ford before doing stadium off-road racing in the United States in the Mickey Thompson Entertainment Group . He then began sports car racing, winning numerous championships in IMSA...
and Paul Gentilozzi
Paul Gentilozzi
Paul Gentilozzi is a race car driver and businessman. His non-racing business interests are real estate development, principally developing store sites for big box retailers....
.
At the beginning of their involvement in ALMS
American Le Mans Series
The American Le Mans Series presented by Tequila Patrón is a sports car racing series based in the United States and Canada. It consists of a series of endurance and sprint races, and was created in the spirit of the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Teams compete in one of five classes: LMP1, LMP2 and LMPC...
, Leitzinger and the Dyson team fielded Ford
Ford Motor Company
Ford Motor Company is an American multinational automaker based in Dearborn, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. The automaker was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. In addition to the Ford and Lincoln brands, Ford also owns a small stake in Mazda in Japan and Aston Martin in the UK...
-powered Riley & Scott
Riley & Scott
Riley & Scott Cars Inc. was a racing constructor and racing team that primarily provided chassis for various forms of motorsport, but worked primarily in sports car racing. It was founded in 1990 by Bob Riley and Mark Scott.-Sports car racing:...
cars but switched to the newer MG-Lola EX257
MG-Lola EX257
The MG-Lola EX257 was a Le Mans Prototype built by Lola Cars International for the MG car company for their attempt to compete again at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in...
midway through the 2002 season. Dyson Racing achieved its first ALMS victory in the car when Leitzinger and James Weaver
James Weaver (racing driver)
James Weaver is a British former racing driver. He began his career in the European F3. In 1982 he was the Eddie Jordan Racing team's primary driver, but in 1983 he went back to the European F3. He debuted in the British Touring Car Championship in 1989 at the Oulton Park circuit in March that year...
scored an overall win at Infineon Raceway
Infineon Raceway
Infineon Raceway, formerly Sears Point Raceway, is a road course and drag strip located on the landform known as Sears Point in the southern Sonoma Mountains near Sonoma, California, USA. The course is a complex series of twists and turns that go up and down the hills...
in Sonoma, California
Sonoma, California
Sonoma is a historically significant city in Sonoma Valley, Sonoma County, California, USA, surrounding its historic town plaza, a remnant of the town's Mexican colonial past. It was the capital of the short-lived California Republic...
. This also marked the first time that an LMP675 (now called LMP2) class car scored an overall win in an ALMS race.
Leitzinger ran three NASCAR
NASCAR
The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing is a family-owned and -operated business venture that sanctions and governs multiple auto racing sports events. It was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1947–48. As of 2009, the CEO for the company is Brian France, grandson of the late Bill France Sr...
Winston Cup races at Watkins Glen with a best finish of 12th in 1995. On June 24, 2007, Leitzinger ran the NASCAR Nextel Cup
NEXTEL Cup
The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series is the top racing series of the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing . The series was originally known as the Strictly Stock Series and Grand National Series . While leasing its naming rights to R. J...
race at Infineon Raceway in the Bill Davis Racing
Bill Davis Racing
Bill Davis Racing was a racing team that participated in all three of NASCAR's top divisions until 2009.The team had run Toyota-branded stock cars and trucks in both the Camping World Truck Series and Sprint Cup Series since 2007. Dodge, Ford, and Pontiac previously backed the team...
-owned #23 Caterpillar
Caterpillar
Caterpillars are the larval form of members of the order Lepidoptera . They are mostly herbivorous in food habit, although some species are insectivorous. Caterpillars are voracious feeders and many of them are considered to be pests in agriculture...
Toyota and finished 28th.
Personal
Leitzinger lives on a working 1840's farm in Rebersburg, PennsylvaniaRebersburg, Pennsylvania
Rebersburg is a census-designated place in Centre County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is part of the State College, Pennsylvania Metropolitan Statistical Area...
with his wife, Kirsten, and their daughter. He earned a Bachelor of Science
Bachelor of Science
A Bachelor of Science is an undergraduate academic degree awarded for completed courses that generally last three to five years .-Australia:In Australia, the BSc is a 3 year degree, offered from 1st year on...
in business management from Penn State University in 1991. He is the son of IMSA
International Motor Sports Association
The International Motor Sports Association is an American sports car auto racing sanctioning body based in Braselton, Georgia. It was started by John Bishop, a former employee of SCCA , and his wife Peggy in 1969 with help from Bill France, Sr...
driver, Bob Leitzinger.
External links
- Butch Leitzinger Biography, Dyson Racing
- Butch Leitzinger is the Class of American Racing, Speed Channel editorial July 8, 2005
- Butch Leitzinger enjoys racing's family atmosphere, motorsport.com, April 1, 2004
- The Complete Driver: Butch Leitzinger of Dyson Racing, RaceFamily Motorsports