Ronnie Bucknum, was a very accomplished racing driver in the 1960’s and 70’s. It was a period in racing where each time you put on a helmet and hopped in the car, you knew it could be your last. Despite the danger, he saw great success in his career. Ronnie was the first ever driver for the Honda Motor Co. in Formula 1 and helped develop their first ever race car. His best finish was at the 1965 Mexican Grand Prix where he finished 5th place.
After a couple year stint in Formula 1, he went on to race in other top ranks in motorsports such as multiple sports car series and IndyCar which was known as USAC at the time. Ronnie Bucknum competed in the 24 Hours of Le Mans and was part of the legendary 1,2,3 finish for Ford in 1966 where they swept the podium and dominated over Ferrari who was their main rival at the time. This historic event was later depicted into the movie Ford V. Ferrari and is still remembered as the most famous finish to ever happen at Le Mans. Ronnie then went on to race IndyCar for a few years and competed in the “Greatest Spectacle in Racing,” the Indianapolis 500 in 1968, ’69, and ’70. His biggest accomplishment in USAC racing though was winning the inaugural race held at the Michigan International Speedway in 1968.
Jeff Bucknum had a long career as a racing driver from the 1990’s into the 2000’s. He raced in all sorts of junior formula car series at the time such as the Barber Dodge Pro Series and Formula Mazda and eventually found himself in sportscar racing where he started his own team called Team Bucknum Racing. Team Bucknum Racing ran in the Formula Mazda Series and American Le Mans Series where Jeff raced as a driver/owner. In 2003, Jeff took Team Bucknum Racing and raced in the 24 Hours of Le Mans which is a difficult task for an American, single-car team. However, they pulled it off and made their debut over in France.
Two years later in 2005 Jeff won the 12 Hours of Sebring with the Miracle Motorsports team and they finished 2nd in the LMP2 championship that year after a hard fought battle. After much success in sports car racing, he caught the attention of the legendary A.J. Foyt. AJ offered Jeff a ride in IndyCar and Jeff took his first green flag in IndyCar in 2005 at Motegi over in Japan. Jeff never ran a full season in IndyCar but competed in the Indianapolis 500 in 2005 and 2006. His best finish in IndyCar was 10th at Sonoma Raceway in 2005. After his stint in IndyCar, Jeff went back to sportscar racing where he eventually finished his career. Jeff’s last year in racing was in 2012 where he drove in the Continental Sports Car Challenge Series in the Chevrolet Camaro for Mitchum Motorsports.
Spencer Bucknum is a third generation American racing driver. His goal is to follow in his father’s and grandfather’s footsteps by becoming a third generation driver in the Indianapolis 500. He is the 2020 Formula Pro USA F4 West Coast Championship winner and is looking to make his way through the open wheel ladder system into the top ranks of racing.
Previously, Spencer has spent many hours testing in all sorts of 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 all over 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.
