Buddy Rice

Buddy Rice is an American racing driver born the January 31st 1976 with Phoenix (Arizona). It in particular gained the 500 Miles of Indianapolis in 2004.

Biography

Revealed in 2000 by its victory in the championship of Formula Atlantic, Buddy Rice has to wait until 2002 to integrate one of the two major championships of North-American single-seater. This year there, it disputes the end of the championship of Indy Racing League on behalf of the stable of Eddie Cheever as a third pilot. The beginnings of Buddy Rice are sufficiently convincing to enable him to be the only pilot aligned in 2003 by Cheever.

Very waited in 2003, Rice however will disappoint and deliver anonymous services. A méforme mainly due to the weakness of the Chevrolet engine which equips Dallara with the stable Cheever Racing, but which does not prevent Cheever from separating from him little before the term of the season.

Without wheel, Buddy Rice considers a time to be reconverted in Nascar besides (in November 2003, it disputes a sleeve of Nascar Truck Series on the oval of Phoenix), but is finally called at the beginning of 2004 by the Rahal-Letterman stable to take over temporarily the duties of the Swede Kenny Brack, seriously wounded at the end of the former season. Quickly, the interim is transformed into final replacement, and Buddy Rice benefits from it to remember to the good memory of all by carrying out a brilliant season, punctuated of three victories, of which a success with the famous 500 Miles of Indianapolis. It finishes the season in the third place of the final classification.

Season 2005 of Rice proves more delicate. Victim of a large crash landing during the tests of Indy 500 and wounded with the cervical vertebrae, it must observe several weeks of rest (irony of fate, it is the ghost Kenny Brack who replaces it in Indianapolis) and does not know either a great success on its return, often eclipsed by its coéquipière Danica Patrick. At the conclusion one season 2006 anonymity, and at the end of the contract with Rahal-Letterman, it carries out a measuring rod in Field Because at the time of the test of Mexico City (it replaces A.J. Allmendinger at Forsythe), which leaves a time to suppose that it could change discipline. But in 2007, it will be always in IndyCar, within the stable Dreyer & Reinbold.

Prize list

Champion of Atlantic Formula in 2000
3 victories in the Indy championship Because Series

Indianapolis 500 2004
Money Mortgage Indy 300 2004
Firestone Indy 400 2004

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