A Lap of 2012: New Jersey

24 Irrelevant Questions: John Bedell

Magnus Racing Crew Chief John Bedell is one of the most recognizable faces on the team. In fact, you can't miss him. He's a big dude. But don't let his size fool you, he's a giant teddy bear... if you're on his good side. Don't get us started if you're on his bad side. Born and raised in Long Island (to be pronounced "lawnggguyisland"), John is another of the Magnus originals. He and Team Owner John Potter actually first worked together back in 2008 for another team, and when Potter decided to form his own team in November of 2009, Bedell was one of the first to be called. John B. and his wife, Lorie (our Hospitality Director) have since become one of the biggest parts of the team's day-to-day operations, managing everything from the cars, to most of the crew, and just about everything else that puts the car on track. A veteran of the sportscar scene, John celebrated many career highlights in 2012, including kissing the bricks and taking his first ever win at The Rolex 24 as a Crew Chief.

As the team continues its pre-season preparation for next January's 51st Running of The Rolex 24 at Daytona, here's our next installment of getting to know one of our team members, it you consider this "getting to know."

While of course our interviews are meant to be fun and light hearted, we also would like to wish the best for the Bedell family and many other Long Island residents during what has been a rough few weeks.

1. YOU LIVE ON LONG ISLAND. DO YOU KNOW SNOOKI?
Yes I live on Long Island, No I don't know the New Jersey Snooki. I do, however, know the Long Island Snooki, AKA Jbreggs (Magnus Hospitality worker Jessic Bregy. If you know her you'll understand).

2. SPEAKING OF JERSEY SHORE, DO YOU GET ANNOYED WITH THE CONSTANT DRAMA BETWEEN RONNIE AND SAMMI?
Do you mean Rosie and Sammi? They are my cockerspaniel and stray cat. those two carry on like a WWF match.

3. WHICH SEASON OF JERSEY SHORE DID YOU PREFER, THE ONES IN ATLANTIC CITY, SOUTH BEACH, OR ITALY?
Well I believe the real Jersey Shore is in New Jersey. Miami would be on the Florida shore. So NJ of course.

3. DID YOU KNOW THAT ATLANTIC CITY AND LONG ISLAND ARE TWO DIFFERENT PLACES?
I do but apparently you may not.

4. HAVE YOU BEEN TO ATLANTIC CITY?
Not in a dog's age.

5. DO YOU WATCH BOARDWALK EMPIRE?
No.

6. DID YOU SEE IT COMING WHEN NUCKY KILLED DARMODY? THAT WAS CRAAAZY!!!
WTF?

7. YOUR WIFE RUNS TEAM HOSPITALITY, SO YOU LITERALLY SPEND 365 DAYS A YEAR WITH HER. HOW DOES SHE DEAL WITH YOU?
Let's just say she gets a little help from her old friend Jack Daniels.

8. YOU HAVE TWO DAUGHTERS, ONE IN HIGH SCHOOL AND ONE IN MIDDLE SCHOOL. DOES THE MUSIC JUST SOUND LIKE NOISE TO YOU?
No you can hear it playing in the shop most days on Patric's (our French-Canadian mechanic) iPod. He's especially partial to Taylor Swift.

7. NAME FIVE SONGS THAT WILL NEVER BE IN YOUR IPOD.
The Chicken Dance, Ice Ice Baby, Mandy, Baby, and anything from the Beastie Boys.

8. YOU'VE TRAVELLED THE COUNTRY FOR SEVERAL DECADES WITH RACING NOW. WHICH STATE COULD THE UNION AFFORD TO LOSE?
Wyoming.

9. THE CREW GUYS BITCH A LOT AS THE SEASON GOES ON. IS IT EASIER TO CALM YOUR DAUGHTERS OR YOUR CREW?
Teenage girls are way easier to calm!

10. THE TEAM HAS HAD SEVERAL DIFFERENT FRENCH-CANADIANS COME THROUGH. WHICH ONE HAS THE BEST HAIR?
Denis Montepelier; the waxy look

11. YOU'VE BEEN WITH MAGNUS SINCE THE BEGINNING.IS THIS WHERE YOU SAW YOUR CAREER GOING?
Yes. It's been a great opportunity .

12. YOU WERE THE CREW CHIEF OF THE FIRST-EVER GT CAR TO WIN AT INDY. WHO FROM YOUR HIGH SCHOOL WOULD YOU MOST LIKE TO TELL?
The whole football team.

13. WHO IS THE TEAM ENGINEER, LARS GIERSING OR ANDY LALLY?
Don't tell Lars I came clean, but it's Andy lally.

14. ANDY LALLY CLAIMS TO BE FROM LONG ISLAND TOO, BUT DOESN'T EAT MEAT. IS THAT POSSIBLE?
Aliens. There is no other explanation.

15. JOHN POTTER RECENTLY GOT MARRIED. WHAT PITFALLS SHOULD HE AVOID?
Becoming a Vegan.

16. WHAT IS JOHN POTTER'S MOST MEDIOCRE ATTRIBUTE?
His shoes.

17. IF JOHN POTTER WERE A CHARACTER ON BOARDWALK EMPIRE, WHAT WOULD YOU NAME HIM?
(no answer, apparently he has "better" things to do than watch Boardwalk Empire)

18. WHERE ARE THE HOTTEST WAITRESSES IN LONG ISLAND?
Mamma's Pizza.

19. CAN YOU THINK OF A 19th QUESTION?
Who is the publicist for Magnus Racing and why?

20. IF YOU COULD LIVE ANYWHERE OTHER THAN LONG ISLAND, WHERE WOULDN'T IT BE?
Salt Lake City.

21. ONE OF YOUR MECHANICS, TUCKER MERTEN, ALWAYS HAS NEW IDEAS FOR "PRODUCTS." ANYTHING YOU'D EVER BUY?
Whatever he's selling I ain't buying.

22. WHO IS THE MOST OVER-APPRECIATED PERSON ON THE TEAM?
Do you really want to know the answer to that?

23. WHICH IS EASIER TO TRAIN, YOUR GUYS OR YOUR COCKER SPANIEL?
My dog has much better aim. Let's just leave it at that.

24. 2013: ANOTHER DAYTONA WIN, ANOTHER INDY WIN, OR A CHAMPIONSHIP?
YES,YES, YES!!!

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MAP ONE MONDAY: A Lap of Homestead

24 Irrelevant Questions: Lars Giersing

If you don't know Magnus Racing Engineer Lars Giersing, don't worry. You're not alone. No one really knows him, except maybe his wife. Hailing from Denmark and currently living in the British Virgin Islands, Lars has been a staple of the sportscar scene for the last decade, with a particular reputation for knowing his way around a Porsche. Having won three Rolex GT championships over a five year period, Lars has been with Magnus since their very first race in 2010. As is often the case, we give our drivers the credit when we have a good day, but it's usually Lars' fault when we have bad one, and yet somehow he takes it in stride. 2012 was a great year for Lars and the Magnus crew, not only winning at Indy and the North American Endurance Championship, but delivering Giersing's first ever victory at The Rolex 24.

As the team continues its pre-season preparation for next January's 51st Running of The Rolex 24 at Daytona, we figured we'd introduce you to different team members every Wednesday, featuring a series of questions that won't really help you know them any better.

1. YOU LIVE IN THE BRITISH VIRGIN ISLANDS. DO YOU KNOW RIHANNA?

Yes, she bought a piece of land near me.

2. DO YOU THINK RIHANNA SHOULD BACK TOGETHER WITH CHRIS BROWN?

Who the hell is he??

3. WHAT DO YOU THINK IS THE MOST UNDERRATED RIHANNA SONG?

I really don't know any of her songs, is she a country singer?

4. HAVE YOU EVER WORRIED THAT SEAN PENN MAY SET UP CAMP ON YOUR FRONT LAWN?

Who the hell is he??

5. YOU'RE FROM DENMARK. IT SEEMS LIKE EVERYONE WE MEET FROM DENMARK CLAIMS TO BE A DANISH CELEBRITY, IS THAT A SOCIALIST THING?

We are all celebrities. And vikings.

6. DID YOU KNOW THAT THE DANISH AND THE DUTCH ARE FROM DIFFERENT COUNTRIES?

What do you think, I'm not a Yankee.

7. WHO IS THE MOST OVER-RATED DANISH CELEBRITY?

The Queen.

8. DO THE DUTCH EVEN HAVE CELEBRITIES?

No way.

9. WHY DO FINNISH PEOPLE HAVE NO PERSONALITY?

You try and drink that much and see if you have any personality left.

10. WOULD YOU WATCH KIMI RAIKKONEN DO STAND-UP?

Who the hell is he??

11. DURING A TEAM WEBCAST, IT WAS SAID THAT YOU WEAR YOUR EMOTIONS ON YOUR SLEEVE. THE PROBLEM IS, YOU LEFT THAT SHIRT AT HOME. WHO DOES YOUR LAUNDY?

We hang it out in the rain. It's still there.

12. HAVE YOU EVER SMILED? EVER?

Once. Someone bought me a very large beer.

13. ANDY LALLY SEEMS TO BE CONCERNED WITH EVERYTHING BUT DRIVING OVER THE RADIO. WOULD HE MAKE A GOOD TV REPORTER?

Yup, they would be able to do the entire 24 with only one commentator.

14. ANDY LALLY WON TWO MORE STREET LUGE WORLD TITLES THIS YEAR. DO YOU LOOK AT HIS CAREER GOING DOWNHILL AS A POSITIVE?

It's incredible.

15. JOHN POTTER HAS COME A LONG WAY AS A DRIVER SINCE STARTING MAGNUS. IS THAT ALL ENGINEERING?

Definitely. What else could it be???

16. WHAT IS JOHN POTTER'S MOST MEDIOCRE ATTRIBUTE?

He doesn't like beer.

17. DO YOU THINK JOHN POTTER COULD BE A DANISH CELEBRITY TOO?

Well he looks somewhat Danish, why not, but he will have to take up beer drinking. It's a National Pass Time.

18. IF YOU WERE TO GO WATCH A TYLE PERRY MOVIE WITH JOHN POTTER AND RIHANNA, WHICH MOVIE WOULD IT BE?

Who the hell is Tyler Perry?? But I'll watch a movie with Rihanna.

19. YOU HAVE TO BOTH ENGINEER THE CAR AND CALL RACE STRATEGY. IF YOU COULD ALSO LEARN TO SING THEY'D CALL YOU A "TRIPLE THREAT." IS THAT IN YOUR FUTURE?

You obviously have not heard me sing, since you could suggest this.

20. YOU EAT A LOT OF THAI FOOD. WHICH CITY HAS THE HOTTEST ASIAN WAITRESSES?

Salt Lake City. We once had a Thai waitress by the name of Porn. Try to beat that anywhere.

21. CAN YOU THINK OF A TWENTY-FIRST QUESTION?

How did the Danish Vikings lose Northern Europe, England, Scandinavia and North America? Did they really get that drunk???

22. WE JUST DISCOVERED THAT YOU'RE ON FACEBOOK. WHAT HAS BEEN YOUR FAVORITE PICTURE OF FOOD SO FAR?

A big cold mug of beer. What? Beer is food also.

23. LEWIS HAMILTON RECENTLY "ACCIDENTALLY" TWEETED CONFIDENTIAL ENGINEERING DATA. WHAT WOULD YOU DO IF YOU WERE HIS ENGINEER?

Who the hell is Lewis Hamilton, and what is tweeting? For that matter, what is engineering data? You forget I'm a farmer..

24. 2013: ANOTHER DAYTONA WIN, ANOTHER INDY WIN, OR A CHAMPIONSHIP?

Daytona and a Championship. Let's do it!

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MAP ONE MONDAY: A Lap of Barber