Robbie Buhl
Robbie Buhl | |
---|---|
Nationality | American |
Born |
Detroit, Michigan | September 2, 1963
Retired | 2004 |
Indy Racing League IndyCar Series | |
Years active | 1996–2004 |
Teams |
Beck Motorsports Team Menard Sinden Racing Tri-Star Racing Dreyer & Reinbold Racing |
Starts | 78 |
Wins | 2 |
Poles | 0 |
Best finish | 3rd in 1996 |
Previous series | |
1993–1994 1990–1996 1989 |
CART World Series Indy Lights Barber Saab Pro Series |
Championship titles | |
1992 1989 |
Indy Lights Barber Saab Pro Series |
Robbie Buhl (born September 2, 1963) is a former Indy Racing League competitor and current team-owner, with the Dreyer & Reinbold Racing team in the IRL's IndyCar Series. He was a color commentator for the IndyCar races on Versus.
He won the 1992 Indy Lights championship and caught the eye of John Menard's Team Menard in 1996, running as team mate to Tony Stewart for two seasons succeeding the late Scott Brayton. He scored his first win in what was once the closest finish in series history when he beat ex-MasterCard Lola F1 driver Vincenzo Sospiri by 0.064 seconds at the New Hampshire International Speedway.
He started his own team, Dreyer & Reinbold Racing, in 2000 and stunned the establishment with a win from 22nd in the grid the season opener at Walt Disney World Speedway. Mild to moderate success followed the next few seasons and he retired as a driver prior to the 2004 Indianapolis 500. He has continued as a team owner, with moderate success, failing to win any races, but his driver Buddy Rice finished 9th in points in 2007, the team's best points result since Buhl's 8th place finish in 2000.
Personal
Buhl's wife is the widow of former racer Scott Brayton.
Buhl was born in Detroit but his home is Grosse Pointe Farms, Michigan. He is a graduate of Cranbrook School (now Cranbrook Kingswood School) in Bloomfield Hills. His family's wealth stems from 19th/early 20th century manufacturing and real estate development and the industrialization of Detroit in the period 1850-1950. Family holdings included Buhl Stamping, Buhl Aircraft manufacturing, development of vast real estate holdings (including the landmark Buhl Building in downtown Detroit), Parke Davis (now part of drug giant Pfizer), Copper and Brass Sales, Inc, (by marriage) and many other holdings. His parents reside in Grosse Pointe Farms, Harbor Springs, Michigan, and Hobe Sound, Florida.
Robbie is a Founder and key Supporter of "Racing for Kids", a charitable foundation established to assist chronically ill children. Robbie makes a point of visiting sick children at hospitals on each stop of the circuit, bringing a bit of cheer to their lives in the process.
In 2007, he began a broadcasting career, joining the broadcast booth for the Indy Pro Series, now the Firestone Indy Lights Series, alongside veteran broadcaster Bob Jenkins. He would join Jenkins and Jon Beekhuis in the Versus broadcast booth for the 2009 IndyCar Series.[1] It was announced on the Izod Indycar Series website he was let go by Versus for the network's IndyCar coverage and will be replaced by Wally Dallenbach Jr., who is also a color commentator for TNT's NASCAR coverage.[2]
Motorsports Career Results
American Open Wheel
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position)
CART
Year | Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | Rank | Points |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1993 | Coyne | SRF Ret |
PHX Ret |
LBH 6 |
IND DNS |
MIL 17 |
DET Ret |
POR | CLE Ret |
TOR | MIC | NHA | ROA Ret |
VAN | MDO 14 |
NAZ 17 |
LS 16 |
21st | 6 |
1994 | Coyne | SRF Ret |
PHX | LBH Ret |
IND | MIL | DET | POR | CLE | TOR | MIC | MDO | NHA | VAN | ROA | NAZ | LS | 41st | 0 |
IndyCar
Year | Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | Rank | Points |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1996 | Beck | WDW 3 |
PHX Ret |
INDY 9 |
3rd | 80 | |||||||||||||
1996-1997 | Beck/Menard | NHM Ret |
LVS 8 |
WDW | PHX Ret |
IND 8 |
TXS Ret |
PPI | CLT | NH2 1 |
LV2 3 |
13th | 170 | ||||||
1998 | Menard | WDW Ret |
PHX 12 |
INDY Ret |
TXS 6 |
NHM 10 |
DOV | CLT | PPI 2 |
ATL Ret |
TX2 7 |
LVS 7 |
17th | 174 | |||||
1999 | Sinden/Foyt/Tri-Star | WDW 20 |
PHX 3 |
CLT C |
INDY 6 |
TXS | PPI | ATL | DOV | PP2 | LVS 3 |
TX2 Ret |
22nd | 114 | |||||
2000 | Dreyer & Reinbold | WDW 1 |
PHX 7 |
LVS 5 |
INDY Ret |
TXS 18 |
PPI Ret |
ATL 6 |
KTY 13 |
TX2 Ret |
8th | 190 | |||||||
2001 | Dreyer & Reinbold | PHX 11 |
HMS Ret |
ATL Ret |
INDY 15 |
TXS Ret |
PPI 3 |
RIR 9 |
KAN Ret |
NSH Ret |
KTY Ret |
STL 5 |
CHI Ret |
TX2 3 |
12th | 237 | |||
2002 | Dreyer & Reinbold | HMS Ret |
PHX Ret |
FON DNS |
NZR | INDY 16 |
TXS Ret |
PPI Ret |
RIR 13 |
KAN Ret |
NSH Ret |
MIS Ret |
KTY 10 |
STL 6 |
CHI Ret |
TX2 Ret |
17th | 177 | |
2003 | Dreyer & Reinbold | HMS Ret |
PHX 12 |
MOT 10 |
INDY Ret |
TXS Ret |
PPI 15 |
RIR 15 |
KAN 12 |
NSH Ret |
MIS 13 |
STL 12 |
KTY 7 |
NZR 9 |
CHI 10 |
FON 12 |
TX2 11 |
14th | 261 |
2004 | Dreyer & Reinbold | HMS 10 |
PHX Ret |
MOT Ret |
INDY | TXS | RIR | KAN | NSH | MIL | MIS | KTY | PPI | NZR | CHI | FON | TX2 | 24th | 44 |
Years | Teams | Races | Poles | Wins | Podiums (Non-win) |
Top 10s (Non-podium) |
Indianapolis 500 Wins |
Championships |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
9 | 6 | 78 | 0 | 2 | 7 | 19 | 0 | 0 |
Indy 500 results
Year | Chassis | Engine | Start | Finish | Team |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1993 | Lola | Buick | Practice Crash | Coyne | |
1996 | Lola | Ford-Cosworth | 23rd | 9th | Beck |
1997 | G-Force | Oldsmobile | 4th | 8th | Menard |
1998 | Dallara | Oldsmobile | 5th | 31st | Menard |
1999 | Dallara | Oldsmobile | 32nd | 6th | Foyt |
2000 | G-Force | Oldsmobile | 9th | 26th | Dreyer & Reinbold |
2001 | G-Force | Infiniti | 9th | 15th | Dreyer & Reinbold |
2002 | G-Force | Infiniti | 2nd | 16th | Dreyer & Reinbold |
2003 | Dallara | Chevrolet | 22nd | 23rd | Dreyer & Reinbold |
References
External links
Sporting positions | ||
---|---|---|
Preceded by Bruce Feldman |
Barber Saab Pro Series Champion 1989 |
Succeeded by Rob Wilson |
Preceded by Eric Bachelart |
Indy Lights Champion 1992 |
Succeeded by Bryan Herta |