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Race Report: Watkins Glen

Driving A.J. Foyt's ABC Supply Dallara, Jeff Bucknum turned in another solid performance to finish 11th in the inaugural Watkins Glen Indy Grand Prix Sunday afternoon at Watkins Glen International in New York's Southern Tier.

Bucknum, who replaced A.J. Foyt IV in the No. 14 for the IRL IndyCar Series' third and final road course event, overcame several obstacles during the race weekend.

The first was the absence of team owner A.J. Foyt who also serves as the team's engineer. Foyt stayed home because of the impending arrival of Hurricane Rita which was classified as a category 5 hurricane at the time of his decision. As it turned out, Foyt's ranches escaped with minimal damage when the hurricane veered eastward.

Foyt's longtime team manager Craig Baranouski replaced the boss with whom he was in constant contact over the race weekend. Baranouski, who called Sunday's race from atop the pit box, is familiar with that responsibility which he held when Foyt operated a two-car team from 1996 through most of 2003.

The team decided not to participate in the first practice session Friday morning because the prediction for race day was clear weather.

"Jeff hadn't run here in at least 10 years, and we didn't feel the risk was worth the reward considering that race day was supposed to be clear," said Baranouski.

Since they didn't test here in the open test in June, there was some catching up to do. They practiced Friday afternoon in a 45-minute session.

Bucknum qualified 19th for the race; his efforts were tempered by the fact that he spun in the morning practice session Saturday. The damage to the car was minimal. However, with just one qualifying lap allowed around the 3.37 mile course, Bucknum was admittedly cautious.

"We made some significant changes to the car after our Saturday morning practice," he said afterwards. "If I had another lap, I would have pushed harder but at that point I just wanted to get it in the show. I figured we'd have a really solid race car for the race."

On race day the prediction for weather had changed so the team took part in the final practice Sunday morning in the rain. Unfortunately, Bucknum spun early in the session knocking off the rear wing and a front wing end fence. The team also had to replace the right rear toe link.

"The car felt really good and I think I just pushed it too hard too early in the session," he said afterwards. At the time of his accident, he was ninth quickest.

With a 3:45 pm start, there was plenty of time to repair the ABC Supply Chevy. Bucknum started 19th and by lap seven he was 15th where he continued to run until the cycle of pit stops started. He jumped to 11th and ran there until his second stop on lap 26. A problem with the refueling saw the team in the pits for nearly 25 seconds. Fortunately, a full course yellow two laps later minimized the impact and Bucknum went from 16th to tenth as several cars pitted during that caution period.

Some of the leaders were on a different pit strategy so when they pitted, Bucknum moved as high as fourth but as the stops cycled out, he dropped to 12th. Then a problem developed with the shifter cable during the caution on lap 56. He decided to nurse the car home since there were still five laps or nearly 17 miles left in the race. A crash which eliminated Tomas Enge and Helio Castroneves on the final lap moved Bucknum to his 11th place result.

"Overall, I think the team turned in a good solid performance," said Bucknum. "It was fun to race with those guys. We turned our quickest lap of the weekend in the race which means that we continued to make progress throughout the weekend. We compromised on our rear wing setting since the weather was iffy and we probably had too much drag on the straights. Still we didn't crash and that was an important factor in our finish. It was a solid race for the Foyt ABC Supply team and I was happy to be a part of that."

The team has finished on the lead lap of every race (with the exception of Colorado when they dropped out early) since switching to the Chevy powerplant last month.

Scott Dixon won the race, his first since Richmond in 2003, driving a Toyota-powered Panoz for Chip Ganassi. Second through fifth were Tony Kanaan, Dario Franchitti, Giorgio Pantano (Dixon's teammate) and newly crowned 2005 IRL IndyCar Series champion Dan Wheldon.

The final race for the IRL IndyCar Series is Sunday October 16th at California Speedway. It will be televised live on ESPN starting at 3:30 pm eastern time.

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

Jeff Bucknum will replace A.J. Foyt IV for the second time: Bucknum, who finished 10th driving the No. 14 in the Argent Mortgage Indy Grand Prix at Infineon Raceway last month, will again drive A.J. Foyt's ABC Supply Dallara/Chevrolet. "I thought Jeff did a good job for us last month so when it came time to replace A.J. IV for this road course event, I didn't have to look too far," said Foyt. "We'll be in the same position as we were at Infineon because we haven't been to the Glen testing with the Indy cars, but at the same time, we do know each other a little bit better which will help us find a comfortable and competitive set-up."

Jeff Bucknum on what he learned driving the No. 14 ABC Supply Chevrolet: "I was surprised at how quickly I fit in with the Foyt team. I think we had good communication right off the bat; I felt like we had been working together for a while. The other surprise for me was the pace of the race. In sports car racing, the cars and drivers are not that closely matched so that gaps and rhythms develop as the race progresses. In the IRL, the intensity of the race is there from start to finish--nobody eases up or takes a breather the whole race. The good part about that is that I can gauge myself against the best, the bad part is that I can't afford to make even a little mistake. As a team, we have to stay focused and not give up anything. It's a challenge that I'm looking forward to."

Bucknum's experience at Watkins Glen is limited to two races in the Barber Dodge Pro Series nearly ten years ago. Team owner A.J. Foyt's driving experience at the Glen dates back even further. He drove a stock car there in the NASCAR race in August, 1989 when he qualified 35th. He dropped out after 7 laps with overheating problems in the engine, placing 37th. Foyt didn't compete in the 1981 Indy car race at the Glen. He was still recovering from his Indy car accident at Michigan two months earlier when he nearly lost his right arm.

A.J. Foyt IV, who will not be at the Glen this weekend, will return to drive the No. 14 ABC Supply Dallara/Chevrolet in the IRL IndyCar Series final race of the season at California Speedway October 16th.

At Chicagoland on Sept. 11th, A.J. IV started 14th and finished 11th at Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet, Ill. He is currently 18th in the IRL IndyCar Series Drivers' standings.

The Watkins Glen Indy Grand Prix will be televised live Sunday afternoon at 3:30 p.m. Eastern time on ABC.