Birthday: December 22, 1999
Birthplace: Lake Havasu City, AZ
Residence: San Luis Obispo, CA
Height: 5’ 10”
Weight: 140 lbs.
Spencer Bucknum is a third generation American racing driver carving his way into the top ranks of motorsports. His goal is to follow in his father and his grandfather’s footsteps and compete in the Indianpolis 500. Spencer is the 2020 Formula Pro USA F4 West Coast Championship and is looking to make his way through the Powered By Honda ladder system into the top ranks of racing.
Previously, Spencer has spent many hours testing in a number of different racing cars from the time he was 14 to hone his skills of driving on a racetrack. He has also competed in multiple karting championships and finished third in the Simraceway Karting Championship in 2018. While he is not racing, Spencer works at racing schools across the west coast and currently spends most of his time working at the Allen Berg Racing School at Weathertech Raceway Laguna Seca and the Sears Point Racing Experience at Sonoma Raceway.
Spencer had an early fascination with racing, spending countless hours at his father, Jeff Bucknum's, race shop as a child. It was there that his passion for the sport ignited. Witnessing his father's prowess as a driver inspired Spencer to embark on his own racing journey, emulating the footsteps of his grandfather, Ronnie Bucknum, and his father.
At the tender age of five, Spencer received his first go-kart, quickly excelling in karting competitions. His father recognized his talent and entered him in several kid kart races where Spencer consistently placed among the leaders, emerging victorious. However, karting proved to be a temporary phase, and Spencer's focus shifted to a racing simulator. Immersed in the virtual world of racing, Spencer spent the next decade honing his skills, perfecting his technique on the digital track. At the age of fourteen, Spencer finally got his hands on a real race car, savoring the thrill of driving on an actual racing circuit.
For his first few years of driving, Spencer spent a lot of time at Spring Mountain Motorsports Ranch in Pahrump, Nevada and did nothing but testing in order to perfect his driving skills. He spent most of his early driving years in a Mazda Miata and learned how to master the art of carrying momentum into a corner. Once he became very quick in a Miata, he started testing in higher-downforce cars like a Radical SR3. It didn’t take Spencer very long to adapt to the Radical and eventually he started doing private coaching in Radicals in exchange for seat time. This is how Spencer would get most of his experience in his early years of driving and in this time Spencer realized that he wanted to take racing seriously.
In 2017, Spencer went through his first official racing school. He attended Simraceway’s Formula 3 school and was the quickest in his class. After graduating the 3 day school, Spencer got his SCCA qualifications and decided he wanted to go racing. However it was not the right time for him. It was important that he focused on finishing his education before pursuing a racing career so that is what he did.
Spencer graduated highschool in 2018 and 2 weeks later he moved to Sonoma, CA. He started working at the Simraceway racing school at Sonoma Raceway as an instructor. That same year he competed in his first full karting season in the Simraceway Karting Championship. Spencer finished 3rd in the championship with a race win to his name. The following year, Spencer would make his way into Formula 4 cars. While working at the school, Spencer met his main supporter, Frank Vezer of Vezer Family Vineyards. Frank and Spencer hit it off immediately and Frank would offer to pay for Spencer’s first season in the F4 car.
In 2019, Spencer competed in the Simraceway Formula Car Cup Series in the Formula 4 class. The season was only 2 races long but it was a good platform for Spencer to learn how to race the F4 car. He saw great success that year in the F4 car with a couple wins to his name. Spencer spent the rest of that year doing many test days to prepare him for the 2020 season.
In 2020, Spencer moved into the Formula Pro USA F4 West Coast Championship presented by Exclusive Motorworks. Spencer raced with the Black Sheep Racing team headed by Brian Smith. Black Sheep Racing was a Porsche team previously and it was their first year in a formula car series so it was a learning experience not only for Spencer, but for Brian as well. However, throughout the year, Spencer and Brian worked hard to develop the car and would find more success as the season went on.
Spencer eventually won the Formula Pro Championship after podiuming every race he raced in except for one. Spencer clinched the championship with 2 races left in the season and due to a tight budget, he sat the last races out.
Thunderhill Raceway March 14-15
Race 1: 2nd Place
Race 2: 2nd Place
Laguna Seca Raceway June 6-7
Race 1: 2nd Place
Race 2: 3rd Place
Sonoma Raceway June 27-28
Race 1: 1st Place
Race 2: 1st Place
Laguna Seca Raceway August 1-2
Race 1: 3rd Place
Race 2: 1st Place
Laguna Seca Raceway August 29-30
Race 1: DNF
Race 2: 2nd Place
