Randy Lanier

Together, their haul grew from a 65 ft wooden trawler that was used to carry 18000 lb of drugs to a fleet of tugboats that was used to haul barges.

As Lanier defeated the heavily sponsored and factory supported oppositions of the Group 44 Racing Jaguar XJR-5 and Löwenbräu-sponsored Holbert Racing Porsche 962, the sudden racing successes began to raise questions about the team's source of finance and thus Lanier was under investigation from the FBI.

Randy Thomas Lanier (born 1954) is a professional race car driver and convicted drug trafficker from the United States.

Lanier was born in 1954 in Lynchburg, Virginia to a family of tobacco farmers..

At age 13, he moved to Miami, Florida.

When he was caught with an ounce of cannabis, he dropped out of high school to avoid suspension but later earned his GED.

Lanier worked in construction to make a living.

In 1976 he married his wife Pam.

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 is best known for his racing efforts in the mid-1980s, including winning the 1984 IMSA Camel GT title for the wholly independent Blue Thunder Racing team, and for being arrested for marijuana smuggling in 1988 to support his racing efforts.

They had a daughter, Brandie in 1980 and a son Glen in 1987, who was named after Lanier's younger brother who was killed in a motorcycle accident at the age of 16.

He has other siblings as well.

The couple divorced in the mid-1980s in an attempt to protect their house and other property when they became fearful of the authorities catching up with Lanier's illegal activities.

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.

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.

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.

Lanier's presence in Florida during his youth has been suggested as a potential precursor to his later involvement in the drug trade.

Shortly after moving to Broward County, Lanier discovered cannabis at 14 when he began enjoying it recreationally.

At 15, he began to sell drugs on the side.

At the age of 20, he bought an $18,000 (equivalent to $ in ) 27 ft Magnum go-fast boat, for recreational use, with money he made as a marijuana dealer.

Later as suggested by a friend, he took the opportunity to use this to smuggle a ton of marijuana out of the Bahamas and took this as an opportunity to make a small sideline to his personal water craft rental business.

He later took to Ben Kramer, who raced in offshore powerboat racing, as a business partner.

In 1986, Lanier became romantically involved with Maria De La Luz Maggi, and she accompanied him during his time as a fugitive.

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.

In 1993, Maggi was convicted of money laundering, and by the time she was released from prison in 1999, the two were divorced.

Some time after his 2014 release from prison, Lanier moved in with his ex-wife, Pam, and the two are planning to marry.

According to a 2021 Netflix documentary about Lanier, "Need For Weed", he is a brand ambassador for a medical marijuana company and plans to continue racing with them as a sponsor.

In the documentary Pam claims that "Randy's release from prison is a true miracle. He got a presidential pardon.", when in fact Lanier did not receive a pardon; Lanier's release was based on a cooperation agreement with the prosecution.

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.