Team Bucknum Racing

[gaijin]

Notes of Interest - Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course (Team Bucknum Racing)

Chris McMurry 6-17-2004

FIRST ALMS WIN CAME AT MID-OHIO

There are certain circuits that have been very good for Team Bucknum. In Canada, for instance, the team has never missed the podium, including two wins in four tries at Trois Rivieres and Mosport. Mid-Ohio has brought a similar stroke of good fortune.

In fact, it was in Round 3 at Mid-Ohio, during the team’s inaugural season, that drivers Bryan Willman, Jeff Bucknum and Chris McMurry scored their first ALMS win.

“Being a new team then, and having run two prior races with cars that didn’t see the finish line, we really surprised people at Mid-Ohio in 2002,” said team owner/driver Jeff Bucknum.

“This year, I think there will be greater expectations than in the past.”

3.4-LITER WILLMAN6 BACK IN THE PILBEAM

The 3.4-liter Willman6 engine that often had Team Bucknum outpacing LMP900 entries last season will be back in service at Mid-Ohio following three testing sessions since Sebring that focused solely on engine reliability.

“We think it’s ready and we think we’ll need it to keep pace with Banana Joe’s LMP2 entry,” said team owner/driver Bryan Willman.

“We ran our 3.0-liter Nissan at Sebring because we knew speed was less critical than absolute reliability in a 12-hour race. If Sebring were this weekend, we would likely be running our 3.4 instead, as it seems to have what it takes now.”

The IES-prepared 3.4-liter engine, which the team used throughout last season, produced 6.0% faster lap times than the 3.0-liter that carried the team to three victories in 2002. The 3.4-liter turned lap times of 1:23.1 at Road Atlanta, for instance, where the 3.0-liter produced times of 1:31.7 on the same circuit, a 9.4% time difference.

In the off-season, other teams noted Team Bucknum’s on-track speed and upgraded their engine packages. Intersport Racing’s #30 arrived at Sebring with a 3.4-liter Judd that showed signs of running 2-3 seconds faster than the 3.0-liters that were used by all other class entries.

WHERE’S WALLY?

Well, actually, where’s Chris? Look closely at the page one 2002 victory celebration photo at Mid-Ohio and you’ll notice driver Chris McMurry, who drove in the lead-off position that day, is nowhere to be found. We caught up with Chris to ask, “What happened?”

“You wouldn’t believe it, I had a plane to catch!” said McMurry. “Really! And it was an important one to catch.” McMurry had to meet his family on a connecting flight leading to a family vacation.

As soon as his stint ended that day, he headed to the airport. “I guess you could say that being able to leave is one of the benefits of having a three-driver lineup as we always do. I listened to the balance of the race in the car on ALMS radio and called the guys with congratulations.”

NEAR MISS AT SEBRING

If you could have painted the perfect week, it would look a lot like the one Team Bucknum had in March to open its season at the 52 nd running of the 12 Hours of Sebring. All except the ending.

The team’s pursuit of the ALMS championship in the LMP2 class included a week of flawless practice, qualifying on pole and leading by a massive 18 laps with about five hours left in the 12-hour racing classic.

On lap 181 of the 350-lap race, a rear tire lost pressure. It began unraveling and shredded the rear body work, ultimately tearing an oil line that resulted in an engine failure. Of all places, the puncture occurred just a short distance beyond pit entry on the 3.7-mile circuit.

“Had the same thing happened further around the track, the tire probably wouldn’t have had the time to create all the problems that it did and we would have simply replaced it on a pit stop and rolled back onto the track for more,” added team owner/driver Jeff Bucknum.

Bucknum was the fast qualifier in the LMP2 class, giving the team it’s first-ever pole position for a race. During post-qualifying technical inspection, a small leak in the air intake was detected, necessitating that the #56 car start from the back of the field for the inadvertent infraction.

MUSICAL CHAIRS WITH SPONSOR LOGOS

This weekend the featured logo on the nose of Team Bucknum’s entry will be Slime, the famous neon green tire sealant and brand leader in the do-it-yourself tire repair sector. At Sebring, the space was occupied by German high-end audio and speaker maker MB Quart.

“The rotation is by design. Our partners, whose logos also appear all over our checkerboard car, picked races where they wanted to be in the spotlight,” said team owner/driver Jeff Bucknum. “Slime also selected Monterey. Like Mid-Ohio, it, too, is a network broadcast, and it will be an important VIP weekend for Slime since they are located in nearby Pismo Beach.”

Slime is available throughout the U.S. at popular retailers such as Wal-Mart, Kmart, AutoZone, O’Rielly’s, Toys R Us and Lowe’s. Its Smart Spair is now an OEM product in the BMW Mini-Cooper and many Fiat models as a safer, easier, and longer-lasting alternative to undersized tires or “donuts.”

NEW DRIVER AND SCHEDULE CARDS

Alex Tagliani’s wife does “sideline” reporting for CART. And throughout racing history, wives have been instrumental in many ways. Driver Chris McMurry’s wife Bobbi provides graphic design to Team Bucknum, including the team’s new driver and team schedule cards.

“Looking good is essential to a professional race team, and Bobbi’s outside perspective (not being from a motorsports background) and crisp professional design gives our materials great visual punch,” said team owner/driver Bryan Willman.

In past years the team has created posters. This season it opted for oversized profile cards unique to each of its three drivers. The cards pose questions to the drivers who respond with personal stories most fans have never heard before. Long-time sponsor Times Printing, located near Road America in Random Lake, WI, has printed the nearly 17,000 items the team has distributed in two seasons.

ALMS TEAM AT A GLANCE

Drivers: Bryan Willman, Chris McMurry, Jeff Bucknum
Car color: Royal blue and white checkerboard
Class: LMP 2 (#56)
Chassis/Engine: Pilbeam MP91, 3.4-liter Willman V6
Tires: Dunlop
Team: Team Bucknum Racing
Location: Lake Havasu, AZ, USA
Web: www.teambucknum.com