Race Report: Argent Mortgage Indy Grand Prix

In his first outing with A.J. Foyt's ABC Supply Racing team, Jeff Bucknum drove the No. 14 ABC Supply Chevrolet to a tenth place finish in the Argent Mortgage Indy Grand Prix Sunday afternoon at Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, California. The race at Infineon marked the return of open wheel racing to the track for the first time in 35 years.

Bucknum, who is a regular in the American Le Mans Series, replaced Foyt IV in a one-off drive because of Bucknum's experience on the twisty 2.3 mile road course in the Napa valley. Bucknum started 17^th and despite a couple on-track incidents, he was able to soldier on and bring the No. 14 home to its second top-10 finish in the last three races.

The first incident occurred when Tomas Scheckter ran into him on a restart knocking both cars askew in the final hairpin before the start-finish line. Scheckter damaged his front suspension and was out of the race but Bucknum carried on. The second incident came about when Scott Sharp was charging back onto the pavement after his off-track excursion. The collision slightly damaged the endfence on the front wing of the No. 14 car.

"We had to stay clean and out of trouble," said Bucknum afterwards. "We had a couple incidents but they didn't hurt us too bad. I could see guys dive-bombing and the dust flying. Everyone was running qualifying laps out there. That's what this series is all about and that's what makes this series fun. We stayed clean and the ABC Supply team came out with a top-10."

"I thought he did a great job for our team," said team owner A.J. Foyt afterwards. "Considering the first time we worked together was our first practice on Friday morning, I was impressed with how quickly he adapted to everything."

It was Bucknum's third IndyCar race ever and the first one that he finished.

Tony Kanaan won the 80-lap event which was slowed by four cautions, the most serious of which was when Ryan Briscoe forced a pass on Danica Patrick and triggered a three-car crash which eliminated Briscoe, Patrick and Helio Castroneves.

Rounding out the top five were Buddy Rice, Alex Barron, Patrick Carpentier and Tomas Enge.

NOTES & QUOTES: Argent Mortgage Indy Grand Prix
Jeff Bucknum: No. 14 ABC Supply Dallara/Chevrolet/Firestone

Jeff Bucknum will replace A.J. Foyt IV in a one-off drive at Infineon Raceway this weekend. Team owner A.J. Foyt said, "We didn't test with Anthony at Infineon at the IRL Open Test in April and I decided it wouldn't be fair to run him since everyone else has tested there. It's a tricky course, especially running the long course [vs. NASCAR's shortened venue]. I think it'd be even harder for him than St. Pete where we struggled. Jeff Bucknum called last week offering to help Anthony out there. But I decided it would make more sense to put Jeff in the car. Jeff's familiar with the course, he's run there quite a bit in smaller cars and was an instructor there for a couple years. Also, he did a half-day in a Dreyer-Reinbold Indy car at the IRL test there in April and impressed them. I'm looking forward to having him drive for me this weekend. I knew his daddy [the late Ronnie Bucknum] way back when and I never thought his son would be driving for me. It's a small world."

Jeff Bucknum on driving the No. 14 ABC Supply Chevrolet: "I'm pretty excited to be driving the 14 car for A.J. It feels like things have come full circle for my family because my dad and A.J. raced together in the ‘60s. When I told my Mom that I was driving for A.J. I think it brought back so many memories of my dad that it brought a tear to her eye and became really special for her too. As far as driving at Infineon, my first ever racing experience was the Skip Barber School there. I've driven quite a few races at Infineon so I'm real familiar with the track. I tested the Dreyer-Reinbold Dallara there in April, so I feel pretty comfortable driving an Indy car there. With my knowledge of the track and A.J.'s experience in setting up Indy cars, I think we'll be able to get a good balance on the car and ultimately have a good weekend. I'm thrilled to be driving for him and I'm looking forward to working with his ABC Supply team."

A.J. Foyt IV on watching this weekend: "I had asked my grandfather about getting a replacement driver for me for this race about a month ago, and at first he said no, but then I think he thought about it. He didn't say anything about it until we came home from Colorado. I'm actually relieved because it would have been hard to be competitive--I've never even seen the track. I'll learn a lot by watching and hearing the feedback between Jeff and the crew. I know I'll have a lot more fun this weekend than I did at St. Pete."

This race marks the first time that someone other than A.J. IV will be driving the No. 14 car since he began his Indy car career in 2003. Foyt IV returns to the No. 14 ABC Supply Dallara at Chicagoland Speedway next month.

A.J. Foyt would have been a teammate of Ronnie Bucknum in the 1966 24 Hours of Le Mans when Bucknum finished third with co-driver Dick Hutcherson who was called in to replace Foyt. Foyt had been seriously burned in Indy car practice at Milwaukee the week before. Bucknum competed in Formula One for the nascent Honda factory team scoring points in the 1965 Mexico Grand Prix. He also drove Indy cars, winning the 1968 Michigan 250. He passed away in 1992, the year before his son drove in his first amateur race at the then Sears Point International Raceway.

This is the second time this year that Foyt Racing has hired a former Dreyer-Reinbold pilot--the first being at Indy when Felipe Giaffone drove a third entry for Foyt. Giaffone finished 15th in the 500. Ties to Dreyer-Reinbold go deeper than that. In Japan, it was Dreyer-Reinbold team manager John O'Gara and some of his crew that helped the Foyt team repair the 14 car that was damaged in final practice. The Foyt team didn't have a back-up car because it was being painted in the colors of newly acquired sponsor ABC Supply. Moreover, one of the team's owners, Robbie Buhl drove to a sixth place finish in the 1999 Indy 500 driving for A.J., and O'Gara was part of Foyt's team in the early 90s.

At Colorado last week, A.J. IV started 19th and finished 21st at Pikes Peak International Raceway. He is currently 17th in the IRL Drivers' standings.

The Argent Mortgage Indy Grand Prix will be televised live Sunday afternoon at 3:30 p.m. Eastern time on ESPN