Buddy Rice

Buddy Rice (born January 31, 1976) is an American former professional race car driver. He is best known for winning the 2004 Indianapolis 500 while driving for Rahal Letterman Racing, and the 2009 24 Hours of Daytona for Brumos Racing.

Career

Early years

Born in Phoenix, Arizona, Rice is the son of a former drag racer. Rice's grandfather was from Indianapolis and passed on his interest in racing to Rice's father. Rice saw his first race when he was six years old. He started racing in go-karts when he was eleven. Rice played baseball in high school in Phoenix, Arizona, and attracted the attention of college and professional scouts. However, both Rice and his father decided he would pursue a career in racing instead.^[1][2]

Rice's professional career began in 1996, when he drove in one U.S. F2000 event; he finished eighth after starting second. He also drove in the Dodge Shelby Pro Series, winning from the pole at Las Vegas, Nevada.

In 1997, Rice drove in F2000 for Lynx Racing/DSTP Motorsports, finishing fourth in points and winning at Phoenix.^[3] He also won the 1997 Valvoline Team USA Scholarship, where he represented the United States in Europe's Nations Cup.

In 1998, Rice won from the pole at Nazareth.^[4] He finished seventh in Toyota Atlantic points, and won the Gilles Villeneuve Memorial Award. He finished fifth in the Toyota Atlantic championship in 1999, driving for Lynx Racing.

Rice won the 2000 Toyota Atlantic Series championship, which gained the attention of Red Bull Cheever Racing.^[5] In 2001, he tested with Red Bull Cheever Racing in November at California.

IRL IndyCar Series

In August 2002, Rice had his first race in the IRL for Red Bull Cheever Racing at Michigan International Speedway. Hired initially to replace crash-prone Tomas Scheckter, team owner Eddie Cheever discovered that Scheckter's contract was more iron-clad than first thought. Team Cheever then ran three entries (joined by their team owner), and the best crew and parts were given to Rice.^{[citation needed]} Rice lost the race by inches to Scheckter, but made a mark in the series. He competed in the final five races of the IRL IndyCar Series season with Red Bull Cheever Racing, scoring four top-ten finishes and two top-five finishes in five starts.

In 2003, Rice competed in thirteen of sixteen races for Red Bull Cheever Racing but was replaced by the more experienced Alex Barron.^[6]

In November 2003, Rice dabbled with a one-off drive in a NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race at the Homestead circuit before being called by Bobby Rahal to drive the No. 15 Argent Mortgage Honda when Kenny Bräck was injured in a late-race crash at Texas Motor Speedway in 2003.

In 2004, Rice started on pole and won a rain-shortened Indianapolis 500, his first IndyCar race victory. He finished third in the IRL championship that year, earning five poles, three wins and leading 342 laps. After his Indy 500 win, his sponsors told him that they would buy him any car he wanted, he chose a 1949 Mercury Eight.

For 2005, Rice and Vítor Meira were joined by Danica Patrick. However, Rice was injured in a crash at Indianapolis during practice, and was not cleared to race. In an ironic twist, Bräck then substituted for Rice.

The 2006 season began tragically for Rice at the season-opening race at Homestead-Miami Speedway when teammate Paul Dana of Rahal Letterman Racing team was killed in the final practice session. Rice and his other teammate Danica Patrick immediately withdrew from the race. Rice started his 2006 season in the following race at St. Petersburg, Florida. His Indianapolis 500 race ended early in a crash with Hélio Castroneves. After the IRL season ended, he raced in the Champ Car World Series race at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez for Forsythe Racing and finished tenth.

For 2007, Rice joined Sarah Fisher at Dreyer & Reinbold Racing. He captured three top-five finishes in the first half of the season and finished ninth in points, his best result since 2004. He was retained by the team for the 2008 IndyCar season, the high point of which came with a fourth-place finish at Watkins Glen. He ultimately finished sixteenth in points.

Rice did not participate in the 2009 IndyCar Series season after being released from Dreyer & Reinbold Racing at the end of the 2008 season. Further, his long-standing partnership with Red Bull also expired and was not renewed.^{[citation needed]}

Rice raced for Panther Racing in the 2011 Indianapolis 500 as a teammate to J. R. Hildebrand driving the No. 44 Honda Dallara.^[7]

A1 Grand Prix

Starting the 2007-08 season, Rice signed to drive for A1 Team USA in the A1 Grand Prix international racing series.^[8] He drove in the first two rounds of the season with a best finish of thirteenth in the Zandvoort feature race before ceding the seat to Jonathan Summerton for the remainder of the season.

Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series

Rice competed in a few Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series in the early 2000s. In his debut in 2000, he finished second at Watkins Glen on a TRP Lola Nissan. In 2002, he resulted second at the 6 Hours of Watkins Glen and fourth in Homestead and Phoenix, driving a Miracle Riley & Scott Ford.

Rice competed at the 24 Hours of Daytona from 2005 to 2008, with a best result of ninth in 2006. He also raced at Utah from 2006 to 2008, collecting a seventh again in 2006.

In 2009, Rice won the 24 Hours of Daytona on a Brumos Racing Riley Porsche.^[9] He spent the second half of the season as teammate of Antonio García in a Spirit of Daytona Coyote Porsche, where he finished fourth at Barber in his only top-ten.

Rice raced full-time for Spirit of Daytona in the 2010 Rolex Sports Car Series, joining again García. He helped Spirit of Daytona get the first podium finish for the team at the Six Hours of the Glen in 2010, collecting a third place.^[10] He also resulted fifth in three races and ended the season in eleventh place.

Rice's last Grand-Am race was the 2011 24 Hours of Daytona, where he finished ninth in an Action Express Racing Riley Porsche.

Personal life

In his free time, Rice collects and restores classic cars.^{[citation needed]} He has a child, Mina, who was born on April 9, 2008.^[11]

Motorsports career results

American open–wheel racing results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

USF2000 National Championship

Atlantic Championship

IRL IndyCar Series

¹ Rahal-Letterman Racing withdrew both Rice and teammate Danica Patrick from competition when fellow teammate Paul Dana was killed in a race-morning practice session accident.

² Races run on same day.

³ Non-points-paying, exhibition race.

Indianapolis 500

Champ Car World Series

Complete A1 Grand Prix results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

International Race of Champions

(key) (Bold – Pole position. * – Most laps led.)

Camping World Truck Series

References

1. ^ "Honda IRL Racing - Buddy Rice". Archived from the original on 2008-07-05. Retrieved 2009-12-21.
2. ^ "JockBio: Buddy Rice Biography". www.jockbio.com. Archived from the original on 2016-03-03. Retrieved 2009-12-21.
3. ^ "Buddy Rice returns to DSTP". Motorsport. 15 April 2002.
4. ^ "Nazareth race report". Motorsport. 8 May 2001.
5. ^ "rpm.espn.com: Rice to return to Cheever's team". www.espn.com. Retrieved 2026-03-13.
6. ^ "Buddy Rice profile on". Retrieved 2026-03-13.
7. ^ "Panther Racing - News - Buddy System: Panther Signs Former Indy Winner Rice to Team with Hildebrand for 94th Indianapolis 500". Archived from the original on 2012-07-15. Retrieved 2011-04-29.
8. ^ Buddy Rice, an American champion, to drive for A1 TEAM USA in season opener at Zandvoort Archived October 11, 2007 at the Wayback Machine, A1 Grand Prix, September 25, 2007. Retrieved 2009-12-8.
9. ^ "Porsche wins Daytona 24 hours". www.grandprix.com. Retrieved 2026-02-12.
10. ^ "Spirit of Daytona ready for Sahlen's Six Hours of the Glen". Archived 2024-06-02 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2026-02-12.
11. ^ "IndyCar Series driver Buddy Rice and wife welcome first child". People.com. Retrieved 2026-01-06.
12. ^ "Buddy Rice – 2002 Indy Racing League Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved August 1, 2023.
13. ^ "Buddy Rice – 2003 IndyCar Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved August 1, 2023.
14. ^ "Buddy Rice – 2004 IndyCar Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved August 1, 2023.
15. ^ "Buddy Rice – 2005 IndyCar Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved August 1, 2023.
16. ^ "Buddy Rice – 2006 IndyCar Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved August 1, 2023.
17. ^ "Buddy Rice – 2007 IndyCar Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved August 1, 2023.
18. ^ "Buddy Rice – 2008 IndyCar Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved August 1, 2023.
19. ^ "Buddy Rice – 2011 IZOD IndyCar Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved August 1, 2023.
20. ^ "Buddy Rice – 2006 Champ Car World Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved August 15, 2023.
21. ^ "Buddy Rice – 2005 IROC Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved August 3, 2023.
22. ^ "Buddy Rice – 2003 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved August 3, 2023.

External links

• Official Site
• IndyCar Driver Page
• Buddy Rice on the Honda site