ALMS drivers Ponder Their Odds if Mom was on the Team

During Winner’s Circle interviews, many drivers will thank their mom. The gratitude is generally for the support and encouragement received throughout a racing career. But what if that thanks meant "Thank you for that great pit stop and second stint that put us in the lead?" In honor of Mother’s Day, we asked several drivers from the American Le Mans Series presented by Tequila Patr¢n what their odds at the next race, Lime Rock Park, would be if Mom was a co-driver.

Chris Dyson, Dyson Racing
No. 16 Lola B09/86-Mazda (LMP1)
"If my mom was my co-driver at Lime Rock, the team would operate in its most efficient manner possible. She is an excellent driver and may be the quickest and smartest one in the family. While my sister, father and I have received countless speeding tickets, Mom never gets caught but gets from Point A to Point B faster than all of us. That’s intelligence. She’d never hit anyone in traffic due to impatience. Her debriefs would be crisp, decisive and the engineering staff would be right on point the whole weekend. As her co-driver, all I would have to do is not make a mistake, and we’d win the event by a lap. Then afterward she’d host the most incredible dinner at the farm as if nothing had happened that afternoon. That’s how cool my mom is!"

Luis Diaz, Level 5 Motorsports
No. 55 Lola-Honda (LMP2)
"I don’t think my chances would be very good because before each race my mother tells me `Drive safely,` and If I drive like that I will not have a chance."

Kyle Marcelli, Intersport Racing
No. 89 ORECA FLM09 (LMPC)
"For starters I think it may lead to a few speeding tickets en route to the race track then maybe a little fender bender in Turn 1! I actually had the experience of riding shotgun with her in a Corvette around Mosport International Raceway. You could tell she was intimidated by the circuit at first, but who isn’t? After a little coaching, it all came to her. She is quite the speed demon and certainly doesn’t have any fear for going fast whether it’s in a car, motorcycle or snowmobile… car control on the other hand could use some more coaching. So for Lime Rock Park, it would be either first or crash trying!"

P.J. Jones, JaguarRSR
No. 98 Jaguar XKR GT (GT)
"Let me start off by telling you a little story of the Jones` family: when my brother and I lived at home and the four of us would go out somewhere together, we would take four different cars because no one wanted to ride with anyone else. Parnelli would be in his own car, Page in his and my mom in hers because nobody wanted anyone telling them what to do, where to go or how to do it. So if my mom was riding with me in a racecar or as my teammate, we’d be in big trouble! She’d be telling me how I should be doing things differently; you know, she thinks she’s a racecar driver too. I love her, but this wouldn’t be something for us to do together."

Bryan Sellers, Team Falken Tire
No. 17 Porsche 911 GT3 RSR (GT)
"If my mom and I drove together at Lime Rock, I think we would be in pretty good shape. My mom is super-competitive and never gives up so we would have that going for us. Our only downside would be she tends to laugh in pressure situations, so I’m not sure how that would work in the car, but I would take my chances."

If you forgot that Sunday, May 8, is Mother’s Day in the U.S., now may be a good time to buy a belated gift from the ALMS Web Shop, or better yet, surprise her with some tickets to the American Le Mans Northeast Grand Prix at Lime Rock Park.