Summary
Robbie Buhl (born September 2, 1963) is an American former race car driver who competed in the Indy Racing League. He was a color commentator for the IndyCar races on Versus. In 2016, Robbie, along with his brother Tom Buhl, started Buhl Sport Detroit, a motorsports marketing company, professional race team, and teen driving program based in Detroit, MI.
| Robbie Buhl | |
|---|---|
 Buhl at the 1997 Indianapolis 500 | |
| Nationality | American |
| Born | September 2, 1963 Detroit, Michigan, U.S. |
| 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 |
Buhl's current race team, Racing4Detroit, is the first professional race team based in Detroit, and most recently ran in the 2019 Americas Rallycross Championship. He also created and acts as lead instructor of Teen Street Skills, an advanced teen driver training program also based and operating in Detroit.
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.
Personal life edit
Buhl's wife Becky 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 Company, development of vast real estate holdings (including the landmark Buhl Building in downtown Detroit), Parke-Davis (now part of drug giant Pfizer), Buhl Steel (now part of U.S. Steel), Copper and Brass Sales, Inc, (by marriage) and many other holdings. Relatives include former Detroit mayors Christian H. Buhl and Frederick Buhl. 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]
Career results edit
American Open Wheel Racing results edit
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position)
American Racing Series / Indy Lights edit
| Year | Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | Rank | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990 | Leading Edge Motorsport | PHX 22 |
LBH 13 |
MIL 2 |
DET 18 |
POR 9 |
CLE 6 |
MEA 4 |
TOR 11 |
DEN 2 |
VAN 6 |
MDO 2 |
ROA 2 |
NAZ 2 |
LS 16 |
4th | 118 |
| 1991 | Leading Edge Motorsport | LBH 2 |
PHX 8 |
MIL 9 |
DET 4 |
POR 6 |
CLE 5 |
MEA 3 |
TOR 2 |
DEN 11 |
MDO 14 |
NAZ 1 |
LS 17 |
6th | 110 | ||
| 1992 | Leading Edge Motorsport | PHX 3 |
LBH 3 |
DET 2 |
POR 2 |
MIL 3 |
NHA 3 |
TOR 2 |
CLE 3 |
VAN 2 |
MDO 3 |
NAZ 1 |
LS 4 |
1st | 186 | ||
| 1995 | Dorricott Racing | MIA 4 |
PHX 2 |
LBH 2 |
NAZ 3 |
MIL 4 |
DET 1 |
POR 12 |
TOR 2 |
CLE 22 |
NHA 3 |
VAN 3 |
LS 21 |
2nd | 140 | ||
| 1996 | FRE Racing | MIA | LBH | NAZ | MIS | MIL | DET | POR | CLE | TOR 11 |
TRO | VAN | LS | 26th | 2 |
CART edit
| Year | Team | Chassis | Engine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | Rank | Points | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1993 | Dale Coyne Racing | Lola T92/00 | Chevrolet 265A V8t | SRF 23 |
PHX 19 |
LBH 6 |
MIL 17 |
DET 28 |
POR | CLE 24 |
TOR | MIC | NHA | ROA 19 |
VAN | MDO 14 |
NAZ 17 |
LS 16 |
21st | 6 | [3] | |
| Buick 3300 V6t | INDY DNQ |
|||||||||||||||||||||
| 1994 | Dale Coyne Racing | Lola T93/00 | Ford XB V8t | SRF 20 |
PHX | LBH 16 |
INDY | MIL | DET | POR | CLE | TOR | MIC | MDO | NHA | VAN | ROA | NAZ | LS | 41st | 0 | [4] |
IRL IndyCar Series edit
| Year | Team | Chassis | No. | Engine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | Rank | Points | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 | Beck Motorsports | Reynard 94i1 Lola T942 |
54 | Ford XB V8t | WDW 3 |
INDY 9 |
3rd | 240 | [5] | ||||||||||||||
| Zunne Group Racing | Lola T94 | PHX 13 |
|||||||||||||||||||||
| 1996-1997 | Beck Motorsports | Lola T94/00 | Ford XB V8t | NHM 22 |
LVS 8 |
WDW | 13th | 170 | [6] | ||||||||||||||
| Team Menard | G-Force GF01 | 3 | Oldsmobile Aurora V8 | PHX 18 |
INDY 8 |
TXS 16 |
PPI | CLT | NH2 1 |
LV2 3 |
|||||||||||||
| 1998 | G-Force GF01B | WDW 20 |
17th | 174 | [7] | ||||||||||||||||||
| Dallara IR8 | PHX 12 |
INDY 31 |
TXS 6 |
NHM 10 |
DOV | CLT | PPI 2 |
ATL 11 |
TX2 7 |
LVS 7 |
|||||||||||||
| 1999 | Sinden Racing | Dallara IR9 | 44 | Infiniti VRH35ADE V8 | WDW 20 |
PHX 3 |
CLT C |
INDY Wth |
22nd | 114 | [8] | ||||||||||||
| A. J. Foyt Enterprises | 84 | Oldsmobile Aurora V8 | INDY 6 |
TXS | PPI | ATL | DOV | PP2 | |||||||||||||||
| Tri-Star Motorsports | 22 | LVS 3 |
TX2 24 |
||||||||||||||||||||
| 2000 | Dreyer & Reinbold Racing | G-Force GF05 | 24 | WDW 1 |
PHX 7 |
LVS 5 |
INDY 26 |
8th | 190 | [9] | |||||||||||||
| Infiniti VRH35ADE V8 | TXS 18 |
PPI 23 |
ATL 6 |
KTY 13 |
TX2 18 |
||||||||||||||||||
| 2001 | G-Force GF05B | PHX 11 |
HMS 24 |
ATL 20 |
INDY 15 |
TXS 21 |
PPI 3 |
RIR 9 |
KAN 21 |
NSH 13 |
KTY 9 |
STL 5 |
CHI 22 |
TX2 3 |
12th | 237 | [10] | ||||||
| 2002 | G-Force GF05C | HMS 12 |
PHX 13 |
FON DNS |
NZR | INDY 16 |
TXS 20 |
PPI 23 |
RIR 13 |
KAN 21 |
NSH 21 |
MIS 24 |
KTY 10 |
STL 6 |
CHI 20 |
TX2 18 |
17th | 177 | [11] | ||||
| 2003 | Dallara IR-03 | Chevrolet Indy V8 | HMS 19 |
PHX 12 |
MOT 10 |
INDY 23 |
TXS 22 |
PPI 15 |
RIR 15 |
KAN 12 |
NSH 21 |
MIS 13 |
STL 12 |
KTY 7 |
NZR 9 |
CHI 10 |
FON 12 |
TX2 11 |
14th | 261 | [12] | ||
| 2004 | Dallara IR-04 | HMS 10 |
PHX 18 |
MOT 21 |
INDY | TXS | RIR | KAN | NSH | MIL | MIS | KTY | PPI | NZR | CHI | FON | TX2 | 24th | 44 | [13] |
| 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 |
Indianapolis 500 edit
| Year | Chassis | Engine | Start | Finish | Team |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1993 | Lola T92/00 | Buick 3300 V6t | Practice Crash | Dale Coyne Racing | |
| 1996 | Lola T94/00 | Ford XB V8t | 23 | 9 | Beck Motorsports |
| 1997 | G-Force GF01 | Oldsmobile Aurora V8 | 4 | 8 | Team Menard |
| 1998 | Dallara IR8 | Oldsmobile Aurora V8 | 5 | 31 | Team Menard |
| 1999 | Dallara IR9 | Oldsmobile Aurora V8 | 32 | 6 | A. J. Foyt Enterprises |
| 2000 | G-Force GF05 | Oldsmobile Aurora V8 | 9 | 26 | Dreyer & Reinbold Racing |
| 2001 | G-Force GF05B | Infiniti VRH35ADE V8 | 9 | 15 | Dreyer & Reinbold Racing |
| 2002 | G-Force GF05C | Infiniti VRH35ADE V8 | 2 | 16 | Dreyer & Reinbold Racing |
| 2003 | Dallara IR-03 | Chevrolet Indy V8 | 22 | 23 | Dreyer & Reinbold Racing |
References edit
- ^ Q&A with Robbie Buhl
- ^ [1][permanent dead link]
- ^ "Robbie Buhl – 1993 CART Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved August 15, 2023.
- ^ "Robbie Buhl – 1994 CART Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved August 15, 2023.
- ^ "Robbie Buhl – 1996 Indy Racing League Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved August 6, 2023.
- ^ "Robbie Buhl – 1997 Indy Racing League Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved August 6, 2023.
- ^ "Robbie Buhl – 1998 Pep Boys Indy Racing League Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved August 6, 2023.
- ^ "Robbie Buhl – 1999 Pep Boys Indy Racing League Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved August 6, 2023.
- ^ "Robbie Buhl – 2000 Indy Racing Northern Lights Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved August 6, 2023.
- ^ "Robbie Buhl – 2001 Indy Racing Northern Lights Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved August 6, 2023.
- ^ "Robbie Buhl – 2002 Indy Racing League Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved August 6, 2023.
- ^ "Robbie Buhl – 2003 IndyCar Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved August 6, 2023.
- ^ "Robbie Buhl – 2004 IndyCar Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved August 6, 2023.
External links edit
- Robbie Buhl career summary at DriverDB.com