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acegear
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Joined: 22 Oct 2004
Posts: 973
Location: Enumclaw, WA
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 Posted: Tue Dec 28, 2004 12:31 am Post subject: Driver: Buddy Rice |
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Buddy's dad built and raced dragsters, so Buddy has been surrounded by racing since birth. Buddy strapped into kart racing at 11. Although his family had been involved in motorsports since his birth, Buddy was also a big fan of baseball, and focused on both sports for a few years. Buddy dad finally took him aside at the age of 16 and explained that he needed to choose a direction. Ultimately, he choose racing.
Buddy eventually moved from karts into the Dodge Shelby Pro Series and made an instant impression by winning the Las Vegas race from the pole. From there he went to F2000 winning one race in 1997, and finishing 4th in the standings. In 1998 he moved yet again, this time to the Toyota Atlantic Series, which the breeding ground for young open-wheel talent. He managed to make a quick impression by winning one race, and finishing 8th in the points. 1999 saw more of the same with Buddy finishing 5th in the standings. Finally in 2000, Buddy had the breakout success he was looking for, winning 5 races, finishing 2nd twice and capturing the Toyota Atlantic Championship.
Buddy earned the attention of team owner and racing great Bobby Rahal. Rahal enlisted Buddy's services in 2001 as a test driver, and driver for Rahal's Formula Atlantic team. In 2002 Buddy moved to the Eddie Cheever, Jr's Red Bull team, but was only kept in reserve until Cheever had a falling out with driver Tomas Scheckter. With only 5 races left in the season, Buddy took the uncomfortable position of filling Scheckter's seat. The pressure must have been good for Buddy becuase he placed second in the Michigan Indy 400, and fourth in the Gateway 250. With these results Cheever decided to extend Buddy's stay with the team and gave him a ride for the 2003 Indy 500. Buddy placed 11th which was the highest placing for a Chevy-powered car, and his crew took home the Pit Stop championship for the race. However, this would appear to be the highlight of Buddy's season. Cheever pulled the seat from Buddy with only three races left in the season. This was a devistating blow for the young driver.
While Buddy thought his future looked bleak for 2004, a crash and injuries to Rahal driver Kenny Brack brought an opening on the team. Rahal hired Buddy with the understanding that he would step aside once Kenny was recovered. Buddy jumped at the chance and did not disappoint. In the first race at Homestead, Buddy captured Rahal's first pole. He went on to finish 7th, following up with top-ten finishes in Phoenix and Japan. Although he had produced "good" results for the team, he was in no way considered a favorite for the upcoming Indy 500. However, he silenced all critics by snatching the pole with a qualifying run of 222.024 mph. in addition his crew won a second straight Pit Stop challenge.
Buddy's start of the 2004 Indy 500 was delayed by bad weather but was finally allowed to begin almost 2 hours late. During the rain interupted, and crash marred race Buddy held the lead 5 times. Three laps after he had captured the lead for the final time, it began to rain and the race was called with Buddy getting the win.
This was just the beginning of Buddy's winning ways as he went on to win in Kansas, and Michigan, just missing the championship and coming in 3rd overall.
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