Pilgrim Fourth and Bartone Sixth in Race One at GT America St. Pete Grand Prix

St. Petersburg, Fla., (March 3, 2023) - Andy Pilgrim and Anthony Bartone finished fourth and sixth respectively in the first of the two race GT America Powered by AWS Championship race at St. Pete weekend.

In a race marred by two full course cautions, Pilgrim and Bartone drove their Bartone Bros Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 cars to safe top five finishes. The 14-turn, 1.79-mile street circuit that encompasses a portion of city streets, 1st Street and Bayshore Drive, as well as the main runway of the Albert Whitted Airport can be treacherous. The race, which finished in the dark, was called a success by the Bartone Bros Racing with RealTime for the team’s first outing.

“I know typically what happens in Turn 1 here, so I was just going to stay to the outside,” Bartone said. “If someone gets by me that is ok. Before the green flag those guys were getting into each on the pace lap. I was just going to stay back and be careful. Then in Turn 3 it all broke loose, there was a tire in the track. I think I lost two positions at the start and then gained two from that crash. I was in fifth and Andy was fourth at the restart. I wanted to just stay with him, don’t do anything silly and make sure we both maximized our points and bring the cars back in one piece.”

Pilgrim knows that street racing can bring out the worst in drivers.

“I gave myself a little extra breathing room at the start,” Pilgrim said. “I had a feeling that Jason (Daskalos) was going to be coming. He has been here, he won the race last year, and I knew he would be coming. At the exit of Turn 3 all hell broke loose, there was smoke everywhere and a tire came off, I had to do a quick flick to miss the tire and the wall. Then two guys got together in Turn 4, and I had to really get in the brakes and the ABS. It was a great race. Anthony was pushing me around and he was driving really well. He was quicker than me in some places and I was quicker than him in sections and then the traffic came into play. We brought both Bartone Bros Racing cars home in one piece.”

The next GT America Powered by AWS Championship race will be at Sonoma Raceway, March 30 - April 2.

The team would like to thank sponsors Red Line Oil, Roger Dean Chevrolet, and Talon Air.

For more information on Bartone Bros Racing, including race recaps and photos, please visit the team site at www.BartoneBrosRacing.com.

About Bartone Bros Racing

Tony Bartone, team owner, is a former NHRA World Champion driver with over 80 NHRA National Event wins in his driving and team ownership career. The “Killer B’s” (Bartone, Bellemeur, and Boggs) have won more races and championships since teaming up on a full-time basis in 2018 than any other team in Top Alcohol Drag Racing. Team records include three NHRA Top Alcohol Funny Car World Championships; two Mid-West Drag Racing Series Top Alcohol Funny Car Championships; 31 NHRA National Event Wins; Top Alcohol Funny Car World Record Holder at 5.352 seconds in the quarter mile. 

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About RealTime Racing

As the most successful team in the World Challenge, RealTime Racing has won 15 Drivers’ Championships and 14 Manufacturers’ Championships in the series since 1993. With a brand new program for 2023, the series stalwarts intend to draw on that 30 years of experience to ensure success in its partnership with Bartone Bros Racing.

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For more information contact Kyle Chura, mobile 248-821-0468, Kyle@kcapr.com.