IMSA’s Patrick Gallagher: “Road America Is A Great Place To Win”
Robby Foley (L) and Patrick Gallagher (R) celebrate their 2024 GTD win at Road America. Photo courtesy of IMSA/Michael L. Levitt/LAT Images
By Dennis Krause
It’s always special returning to the track where you score your first win in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship. Even more so when it’s also your favorite track on the schedule. That’s the feeling Patrick Gallagher has coming into this weekend’s Motul Sports Car Grand Prix at Elkhart Lake’s Road America.
“Yeah, certainly it's my favorite place we go. I think Elkhart Lake, anyone who's in American sports car racing, or ever been there, understands that quickly. So not only is the track great, but the town's great, and the fan turnout is awesome.
“I think we had a good race there last year. We've struggled a bit as of late, but we're getting better each week. It's great to go back and hopefully repeat. We'll see.”
Gallagher and co-driver Robby Foley return to Road America fifth in the GTD standings driving the No. 96 Turner Motorsports BMW M4 GT3 EVO. Reflecting on last year’s race, Gallagher says the win was a long time in coming.
“Yeah, certainly it did go late into the race before we knew we were going to be good when the Lexus pitted. I think it was a long time coming. Me and Robby and all the guys and girls at Turner Motorsport at that point had had a couple slip through the cracks that I feel like we probably should have won, most notably probably Laguna (Seca) last year, when we got hit out of the way by the GTP car with the half a lap to go. (It) didn't really need to happen. So at that point it was frustrating, but it was a long time coming.”
When Gallagher says the village of Elkhart Lake is great, too, he knows what he’s talking about. After last year’s win, the team tipped a few Spotted Cows at one of racing’s most famous watering holes.
“Yeah, I would say that the team definitely had a little party down at Siebkins afterwards. Just a great place to win with the team, right? A lot of these places, we end up leaving right after and everybody goes their separate ways. But there, it seems like the way the flights are out, everybody stays. So just a great place to win in and get to enjoy time with all the all the guys and girls on the team that make it happen. So I think it was special in that way that we didn't have to leave the racetrack and get to the airport straightaway, and they all got to enjoy it as well, which was good.”
Photo courtesy of IMSA/Michael L. Levitt/LAT Images
After four podium finishes last year, Gallagher and Foley are still looking for their first one of this season. The duo has consistently finished between 5th and 9th in class this season, but hope to get back on the podium again in the near future.
“It's all the same people, all the right stuff's in place. I think we've just been learning the EVO car and getting a little better every week. In GTD, we don't get to test quite as much as GTD PRO. And so the way the BOP (Balance of Performance) works with them being the same, I think we're maybe a little behind, but it seems like we've made up ground each week. It's all the same people, and we're just getting better. So I think we'll be back to the podium and hopefully fighting for wins in the future. I'm hoping it's the near future.”
Could that be as soon as this weekend?
“I'll be honest with you, I'm probably different than everybody else. I don't even know how to get to the BOP website and see. I'd have no idea if it's good or bad. (I) just show up and try and do the best job I can. So to be honest with you, I have no idea if we are good or bad or we got have more power, less power, weight, I don't think you can control it, so there's not a point in spending too much time on it.
“But yeah, certainly it's a good track for us. We were good there last year, and I think we rolled off the truck really good last year. And we'll take that over some philosophies learned with the EVO package, and see where we end up.”
Coming off a year in which they finished runner-up in the championship, Gallagher and Foley had hoped to be in the title fight this season. While it doesn’t look like that’s in the cards, at the moment, Gallagher says it helps that the two are best friends.
“Yeah, certainly. Robby and I have been best friends for 10 or 15 years now. We both moved in to some terrible rental house and air mattresses in Monticello, New York, a long time ago, and have kind of made the climb together.
“Honestly, Will (Turner, team owner) and the guys at the team, they believe in us, and they're behind us, and there's not a lot of pressure there, per se, other than to just just push the ball forward. So being good friends with Robby and Will definitely makes it easier when it's not going bad, but we certainly are getting everything that we want right now.
“And, yeah, it's been great. Robbie's helped me a ton. I felt like I was good in the GT4 cars, and it took me a little bit to get going in the GT3. And he helped me just that last little bit. And I think I'm in a good spot with the car now, and just having people believe in you and not be worried about, you know, is this going to continue, or do they think it's us?
“We don't have any of that. So the chemistry inside the team is great, and I'm thankful for that. And as well as just going racing with your best friend, is pretty wild to think about most of the ways that these GT cars get paired up with gentlemen drivers. It's just not the most likely circumstance, and so I'm trying to enjoy it even when we are running, you know, fifth or sixth.”
Photo courtesy of IMSA/Richard Dole/LAT Images
Strategy can play a big part in winning or losing in IMSA, particularly at Road America, with its uphill climb to the finish line. Turner Motorsports’ team strategist is Don Salama, sometimes known as “The Iceman”. According to Gallagher, Salama can put the team in a winning position, even if the car isn’t the fastest on that day.
“Yeah, no doubt. I think everybody knows Don's name. He's a bit infamous, if you will. He's just so good at what he does. He can see stuff before it happens. And he's been there for so long, he’s been on the team for every IMSA race since I've been around.
“Also, like a little known fact about Don is when him and Will drove together, he would do the strategy from in the car. So, on the pit box, it's probably quite a bit easier for him and he definitely gives us a chance,
“Even if the car is not the best car, BOP wise, or whatever. with him, you always have a shot, and he'll get us to the front at some point. Hopefully we can stay there. Particularly in the long races, he'll always get us to the front one way or another, and it's up to us to stay there once we get there.
“But yeah, going into a race with him. If he asks you to hit a fuel number, you just do it. You don't even think twice about it. You know that it's the right call. And you know, even if you don't understand what they're doing in the moment, you know that they're up to something.”
Sunday’s Motul Sports Car Grand Prix at Road America is the only sprint race (2 hours, 40-minutes) on the schedule that features all four classes of the WeatherTech Championship - Grand Touring Prototype (GTP), Le Mans Prototype 2 (LMP2), Grand Touring Daytona PRO (GTD PRO) and Grand Touring Daytona (GTD). Even though at 4.048-miles Road America is the longest track the series visits, multi-class traffic can still get physical.
“The cars are so close,” said Gallagher. “You kind of have to use the fenders at this point. Everybody's on top of each other all the time, and at some point you either get used up or use them up. So yeah, it's just part of the racing. I think as much as drivers talk about BOP and our car’s good and our car’s bad, the reality is is that the cars are closer than ever. With all the aero, it's hard to pass. So if you get an opportunity, you have to go for it.
“And yeah, just part of the game at this point.”
With any luck, Gallagher, Foley and the Turner team will be tipping a few more Spotted Cows in town, again, Sunday night.
Dennis Krause has spent decades covering all forms of motorsports, including over 40 Indianapolis 500s, with stints at WIBA Radio, PIT PASS - Radio’s Premier Motorsports Magazine and Motorsports Minute. Follow him on X @DennisKrause500 or motorsportsminute.bluesky.social or motorsportsminute on Threads or MotorsportsMinute+ on Facebook.