1. Albert Lee "Buddy" Rice was born on January 31,1976 and is an American former race car driver.
28 Facts About Buddy Rice
2.
Buddy Rice 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.
3.
Buddy Rice started racing in go-karts when he was 11.
4.
Buddy Rice played baseball in high school in Phoenix, Arizona, and attracted the attention of college and professional scouts.
5.
Buddy Rice drove in the Dodge Shelby Pro Series, winning from the pole at Las Vegas, Nevada.
6.
Buddy Rice won the 1997 Valvoline Team USA Scholarship, where he represented the United States in Europe's Nations Cup.
7.
Buddy Rice finished seventh in Toyota Atlantic points, and won the Gilles Villeneuve Memorial Award.
8.
Buddy Rice finished fifth in the Toyota Atlantic championship in 1999, driving for Lynx Racing.
9.
Buddy Rice won the 2000 Toyota Atlantic Series championship, which gained the attention of Red Bull Cheever Racing.
10.
Buddy Rice lost the race by inches to Scheckter, but made a mark in the series.
11.
Buddy Rice competed in the final five races of the IRL IndyCar Series season with Red Bull Cheever Racing, scoring four top-10 finishes and two top-five finishes in five starts.
12.
In 2003, Buddy Rice competed in 13 of 16 races for Red Bull Cheever Racing but was replaced by the more experienced Alex Barron.
13.
In 2004, Buddy Rice started on pole and won a rain-shortened Indianapolis 500, his first Indycar race victory.
14.
Buddy Rice finished 3rd in the IRL championship that year, earning five poles, three wins and leading 342 laps.
15.
However, Buddy Rice was injured in a crash at Indianapolis during practice, and was not cleared to race.
16.
Buddy Rice started his 2006 season in the following race at St Petersburg, Florida.
17.
Buddy Rice captured 3 top-five finishes in the first half of the season and finished 9th in points, his best result since 2004.
18.
Buddy Rice was retained by the team for the 2008 IndyCar season, the high point of which came with a 4th-place finish at Watkins Glen.
19.
Buddy Rice raced for Panther Racing in the 2011 Indianapolis 500 as a teammate to JR Hildebrand driving the No 44 Honda Dallara.
20.
Buddy Rice drove in the first two rounds of the season with a best finish of 13th in the Zandvoort feature race before ceding the seat to Jonathan Summerton for the remainder of the season.
21.
Buddy Rice competed in a few Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series in the early 2000s.
22.
Buddy Rice raced at Utah from 2006 to 2008, collecting a 7th again in 2006.
23.
In 2009, Buddy Rice won the 24 Hours of Daytona on a Brumos Racing Riley Porsche.
24.
Buddy Rice spent the second half of the season as teammate of Antonio Garcia in a Spirit of Daytona Coyote Porsche, where he finished 4th at Barber in his only top 10.
25.
Buddy Rice raced full-time for Spirit of Daytona in the 2010 Rolex Sports Car Series, joining again Garcia.
26.
Buddy Rice 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.
27.
Buddy Rice resulted 5th in three races and ended the season in 11th place.
28.
Buddy Rice has a child, Mina, who was born on April 9,2008.