Make way for older guy in Montreal

Norris Mcdonald

MOTORSPORT WRITER

We all talk about the wonderful group of talented up-and-coming professional racing drivers we have in Canada (Robbie Wickens, James Hinchcliffe, Bruno Spengler, et al) but we don't often mention the older guys.

That's changing today.

Robin Buck is 47 and proud of it. He's also tickled pink that he finished third in last Saturday's NASCAR Canadian Tire Series race at the Grand Prix of Edmonton.

And he says that if it hadn't been for an antiquated NASCAR rule (my words, not his), he might have been right up there with the two drivers who finished one-two (J.R. Fitzpatrick and Andrew Ranger).

They each, incidentally, are more than half his age.

"I passed Donnie (Don Thomson Jr.) for third before the last caution came out," Buck said in a telephone interview this week.

"But I had to go back behind him because NASCAR rules say that when there's a caution, the field has to revert to the order of the previous lap.

(Note to NASCAR: this probably works fine for races on ovals; forget it on road courses. Now, back to Robin Buck . . .)

"Then, when the green came out, I had to get past him again and by that time the two leaders had opened up too big a gap for me to catch them. I asked NASCAR about this after the race but they said rules are rules. Too bad, because I could have given them some trouble."

Buck has been giving all sorts of people trouble since he started racing karts when he was a kid. He advanced to open-wheel cars (he was a teammate of Scott Goodyear's when they both ran Formula Fords in the early 1980s) and did a season of Atlantics in 1992 but is probably best remembered for racing in the Player's/GM Challenge Series from 1986-1991.

And then there's been his CASCAR involvement (which preceded NASCAR) that started back in 1994.

"I went to Delaware Speedway (near London) to see a CASCAR race and I thought, `Wow, this is really cool.' I'd met John Carmichael of City Buick-Pontiac and he'd told me that if he could ever do anything for me to give him a call. So I called."

That led to Buck's first full-season of CASCAR racing in 1995 with support from the Pontiac Performance Team. He was sponsored in subsequent years by STP and UAP/NAPA.

And he was no stranger to Victory Circle, either. For instance, one of his more memorable triumphs was winning the CASCAR race at the 2001 Molson Indy in Toronto.

But sponsorship support pretty much dried up after the 2002 season and Buck only drove sporadically after that. Then NASCAR came along.

"I wanted to test the waters," said Buck, who works as a driving trainer and consultant – among other things – for BMW, Toyota and Chrysler.

He'd been approached by team owner Dave Jacombs (who runs Quebecer Ranger in the new NASCAR series) so they made a deal for Buck to drive the road-course races.

Up next weekend is the Busch Grand National Series event at Circuit-Gilles Villeneuve in Montreal.

"I think it's going to be a really big deal," said Buck, after listening to suggestions from a cynic that running stock cars on a Formula One track would turn out to be a mistake.

"I think it's going to be a novelty and NASCAR, by itself, is huge. You might be right that F1 fans might not go (to the race), but closed-wheels fans will be out in droves – there's a big stock car constituency in Quebec – and they're going to come up from the U.S. for it, too.

"Plus, they're doing it right. The feature race will be held on Saturday and that means a lot of Nextel Cup drivers (who are racing in Pocono, Pa., also next weekend) will be able to fly up for it. Plus great Canadian drivers like J.R. (Fitzpatrick), Patrick Carpentier and Ron Fellows will be out there. I don't know how it can miss being a huge success."

Buck hopes to parley a good result next Saturday (the Canadian Tire series will race in the morning, with the Busch event set to go in mid-afternoon) into a full-time ride for 2008.

"I'm absolutely interested in running a full schedule next year," he said. "I'm still very competitive and with my experience and record, I can do a lot for a sponsor.

"Having Wal-Mart and Procter & Gamble involved (they're backing Andrew Ranger) is great because they're not automotive-related companies.

"What they're doing is showing other Canadian corporations that it can be done – that auto racing as a marketing platform can return dividends. So the future looks bright. I want to be a part of it."

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