DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — The road that John Potter has taken to becoming one of the most respected and successful owner/drivers in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship nearly veered way off course before it really began.
Preparing to compete in his very first IMSA race in 2007 at Watkins Glen, Potter was on his very first out lap in a GT car for The Racers Group when alerted over the radio that Daytona Prototypes would be coming out of the pits ahead of him next time around. As Potter carefully followed a pair of prototypes into The Glen’s esses, he recalls with a nervous laugh, “the one in front of me, the top of their engine explodes, shattering the little bubble that was over it.”
The sudden debris shower also shattered the windshield on Potter’s Porsche. Somehow, he managed to avoid crashing and continued slowly around the track. Humbly, he came back over the radio.
“I’m like, ‘A prototype just blew up, I don’t think that’s normal. Can I pit for a windshield?’ … That was my welcome to the series.”
It certainly didn’t deter Potter’s drive and passion for IMSA racing and he has been a welcome presence since. Three years after that near disaster, Potter started his own team. Magnus Racing has gone on to win its class twice in the Rolex 24 At Daytona (2012, 2016) and once at the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring (2014). Along the way, Potter has also become one of the top “non-professional” (as he calls it) drivers in the series.
Andy Lally has had a front-row seat, literally. He and Potter became friends while teammates in different cars for The Racers Group. Potter hired Lally as his pro co-driver starting in 2012. Lally has been part of all six of Potter’s top-level IMSA wins plus another in the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge.
“His speed has obviously come a long way to be able to keep up with a competitive IMSA (GTD) field,” Lally observed, “but his race prowess is probably the thing he might not be most proud of but the thing that he should be most proud of. He’s been so solid in so many of these long-distance races where he’s got to do hours on hours on hours. And to be able to do them mistake-free, which is nearly impossible to ask from any driver, is a massive testament to how he’s grown as a driver.”
Spencer Pumpelly was also at The Racers Group with Potter and Lally. He’s been the endurance add-on driver for Magnus since 2019 and has also seen up close what Potter does behind the wheel.
“He’s got pace to match Andy and I most of the time, and while he doesn’t quite eke out that last little bit that we can as pros, he doesn’t drive as much as we do,” Pumpelly said. “I’m always impressed with how consistent he is, how quick he is and how quickly he gets up to speed. For a gentleman (racer) and a teammate, he’s one of the best you can ask for as a pro.”
Lally and Pumpelly are just as impressed with how Potter runs the team on top of his commercial real estate development business in Utah. The driver trio takes turns poking fun at each other – “We both have the ability to tolerate Andy Lally,” Pumpelly jokes – and Magnus Racing takes a fun, light-hearted approach in its social media posts and press releases. But the veteran drivers also realize the businesslike method Potter implemented to build the team.
“He surrounds himself with really good people and he brings a level of organization to the team that I think allows it to be successful – those off-track aspects and preparational aspects,” Pumpelly says. “I think he does a very good job of encouraging and inspiring the people around to hear his vision of success.”
Though official records aren’t kept, Potter believes he and Lally must rank near the top for career IMSA race starts together. Lally thinks Potter must have among the most IMSA races and most Rolex 24 podiums (five) as a Bronze-rated driver.
Which brings Potter back to the “non-professional” term he prefers, as opposed to amateur. Considering the commitment he’s made to IMSA – both financially and through years of development as a driver – few could argue.
“It is an impactful amount of commitment financially and an impactful amount of time commitment,” Potter says. “It requires a dedication physically, dedication financially and a strong desire to do it. As people that commit serious effort to this and can race at a top level, even if not at the same level as an Andy Lally, I still consider non-professional to be a thing as opposed to the amateur label.”
And Potter, the father of two young sons who turns 41 on Saturday, has no plans for slowing down. And why should he? After all, he and the team just finished second in the GTD class in the Rolex 24 At Daytona for the second consecutive year in the No. 44 Aston Martin Vantage GT3.
“I enjoy the pursuit of the results and as soon as I feel that that’s no longer possible, I certainly would see no reason to participate anymore,” he says. “As long as there’s a possibility of some good results, then I’m in.”