Butch Leitzinger
A versatile American driver who dominated sports car endurance racing, claiming multiple championships and three grueling Daytona 24 Hours victories.
Born 1969 (age 57)·American racing driver·Birthday: February 28·Generation X
Biography
Butch Leitzinger won consecutive IMSA championships in the late 1990s, driving for Dyson Racing in the American Le Mans Series. He captured three victories at the Daytona 24 Hours, a race of brutal attrition that demands elite stamina and skill. Emerging in the early 1990s, Leitzinger became the cornerstone of Dyson Racing's endurance racing effort. His smooth, calculated driving style suited the demands of long-distance events, where mechanical sympathy and relentless pace are paramount. Beyond the cockpit, Leitzinger contributed to car development and strategy, applying a sharp, analytical mind to the team's operations. He was far more than a hired wheel. His career demonstrated longevity and adaptability across two decades of sports car racing, making him a complete professional in the most demanding form of motorsport.
Generation X
1965–1980
The latchkey kids. Raised during divorce, recession, and the end of the Cold War. Skeptical, self-reliant, media-literate. They invented indie culture, grunge, and the early internet — then watched the Boomers take credit.
Butch was born in 1969, placing them squarely in the Generation X. The events that shaped this generation — economic uncertainty, the end of the Cold War, and the rise of personal computing — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Butch Was Born
The biggest hits of 1969
#1 Movie
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
Best Picture
Midnight Cowboy
#1 TV Show
Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In
Butch's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1969Born
Apollo 11: humans walk on the Moon; Woodstock festival
Gas: $0.35/galHome: $15,550Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Richard Nixon"Sugar, Sugar" — The ArchiesBest Picture: Midnight Cowboy
1974Started school
Nixon resigns the presidency
Gas: $0.53/galHome: $22,600Min wage: $2.00/hrPresident: Gerald Ford"The Way We Were" — Barbra StreisandBest Picture: The Godfather Part II
1982Became a teenager
Michael Jackson releases Thriller
Gas: $1.22/galHome: $55,200Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"Physical" — Olivia Newton-JohnBest Picture: Gandhi
1985Could drive
Live Aid concerts raise money for Ethiopian famine
Gas: $1.12/galHome: $62,900Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"Careless Whisper" — Wham!Best Picture: Out of Africa
1987Could vote
Black Monday stock market crash
Gas: $0.90/galHome: $72,400Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"Walk Like an Egyptian" — The BanglesBest Picture: The Last Emperor
1990Turned 21
Hubble Space Telescope launched; Germany reunifies
Gas: $1.15/galHome: $79,100Min wage: $3.80/hrPresident: George H.W. Bush"Hold On" — Wilson PhillipsBest Picture: Dances with Wolves
1999Turned 30
Columbine shooting; Y2K panic builds
Gas: $1.17/galHome: $113,900Min wage: $5.15/hrPresident: Bill Clinton"Believe" — CherBest Picture: American Beauty
2009Turned 40
Michael Jackson dies; Bitcoin created
Gas: $2.35/galHome: $148,500Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Barack Obama"Boom Boom Pow" — The Black Eyed PeasBest Picture: The Hurt Locker
2019Turned 50
First image of a black hole; Hong Kong protests
Gas: $2.60/galHome: $224,400Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Donald Trump"Old Town Road" — Lil Nas XBest Picture: Parasite
2026Age 57 today
Gas: $3.91/galPresident: Donald Trump
Key Achievements
- Won the IMSA Pro WSC Championship driver's title in both 1997 and 1998.
- Secured three victories at the Daytona 24 Hours race (1994, 1997, 1999).
- Became a long-term, championship-winning pillar of the Dyson Racing team in the ALMS.
Did You Know?
His nickname 'Butch' was given to him by his grandfather when he was just a baby.
He is the son of former Formula One and endurance racer Bob Leitzinger.
He has also competed in rally racing, including the prestigious Race to the Sky hillclimb in New Zealand.
“The race is won by the driver who makes the fewest mistakes.”
