Buddy will have a car for the Indy 500
source:
racing-live.com
The IndyCar Series has proven to be a fickle environment recently for drivers
without regular rides. Whether the driver had a middling history or was a former
Series Champion, good rides have been hard to find.
Buddy Lazier has been a driver that falls squarely in the latter category.
Lazier was not only an Indy Racing League Series Champion in 2000, but a winner
of the Indianapolis 500 in 1996. Along the way he racked up eight wins, tying
Scott Sharp for second in the record books for most wins in the Series.
A string of unfortunate circumstances from under funded efforts to underpowered
race cars had the former Champion mired at the tail of the field for a time.
Eventually he found himself on the outside looking in as drivers with arguably
lesser accomplishments were finding rides.
As the 2005 season began, Lazier was still rideless. However, programs were
coming together in the background pointing toward the Indianapolis 500.
Enter Byrd Brothers Racing, a second generation racing family consisting of
brothers Jonathan and David Byrd. The brothers, native Hoosiers, wanted to
return to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on the 20th Anniversary of their
family's involvement as owners and sponsors in IndyCar Racing and most
importantly the Indy 500. Their father, Jonathan Byrd Sr, sponsored that first
entry for driver Rich Vogler which spawned a long run of involvement including
Buddy Lazier's first successful attempt to enter the Indy 500 in 1991.