Kevin Buckler

Last updated
Kevin Buckler in 2018 Kevin Buckler.jpg
Kevin Buckler in 2018

Kevin Buckler (born c. 1959) is an American race car driver and entrepreneur. He founded Adobe Road Winery [1] and currently owns The Racer's Group, a professional sports car racing team; TRG Motorsports, formerly a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series team; and TRG-AMR. In 2019, Kevin launched a $56 racing-themed wine aptly named SHIFT. It comes from Adobe Road, a boutique winery in Sonoma County, California. [2]

Contents

History

Buckler began racing at the local level in the late 1980s. He attended his first high-speed race in 1990. In 1992, Buckler and his wife Debra created The Racer's Group (TRG) as a Porsche Club Racing business that has grown into much more. [3] 1995 saw Buckler take his first start as a professional driver. He would go on to win that race, beginning a notable career in professional motorsports. Off the track the same year, Buckler and his wife, along with friends, opened Adobe Road Winery in Sonoma County California.

In 2002, TRG with support from Porsche Factory, won the GT class at the Rolex 24 at Daytona and the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Buckler would lead TRG to 3 more GT class wins in the Rolex 24 at Daytona, including an overall 1st place in 2003. TRG holds the record for the team with the most Rolex Sports Car Series GT victories at 29, and is ranked third for the most GT pole positions with 15. [4]

In 2009, Buckler would expand his racing horizons into NASCAR with the formation of TRG Motorsports. TRG Motorsports would go on to take 106 starts in the Sprint Cup Series with 2 top 10 finishes and 6 starts in the Camping World Truck Series, taking 6 starts with 2 top 10 finishes and 1 top 5 finish. [5]

In 2012, TRG Motorsports announced it would not continue competing in NASCAR, but would focus on Grand-Am. [6] As Buckler and TRG continued to make a name for their selves on the track, Buckler and Adobe Road Winery established themselves as a boutique national brand. Adobe Road wines have collected many awards and has 15 wines receiving Wine Spectator scores of 90 and above, including the 2008 Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley, Beckstoffer Georges III which received a score of 94 out of 100. [7]

24 Hours of Le Mans results

YearTeamCo-DriversCarClassLapsPos.Class
Pos.
2002 Flag of the United States.svg The Racer's Group Flag of Germany.svg Lucas Luhr
Flag of Germany.svg Timo Bernhard
Porsche 911 GT3-RSGT32216th1st
2003 Flag of the United States.svg The Racer's Group Flag of Germany.svg Jörg Bergmeister
Flag of Germany.svg Timo Bernhard
Porsche 911 GT3-RSGT30420th5th
Sources: [8] [9]

See also

Related Research Articles

The International Motor Sports Association (IMSA) is a North American sports car racing sanctioning body based in Daytona Beach, Florida, under the jurisdiction of the ACCUS arm of the FIA. It was started by John Bishop, a former executive director of SCCA, and his wife Peggy in 1969 with help from Bill France Sr. of NASCAR. Beginning in 2014, IMSA is the sanctioning body of the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, the premier series resulting from the merger of Grand-Am Road Racing and the American Le Mans Series. IMSA is owned by NASCAR, as a division of the company.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Scott Pruett</span> American racing driver (born 1960)

Scott Donald Pruett is an American retired racing driver who has competed in numerous disciplines of the sport. In the 1980s, Pruett established himself as a top sports car racer, winning two IMSA GTO, and three Trans-Am championships. Later in his career, he won five Grand-Am championships. In the 1990s, Pruett competed in CART Championship cars. After a brief stint in NASCAR, he returned to sports cars.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jan Heylen</span> Belgian racing driver (born 1980)

Jan Heylen is a championship-winning Belgian racing driver, based out of Tampa, Florida.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Racer's Group</span> Racing team

The Racer's Group, or TRG, is a WeatherTech SportsCar Championship racing team located in Petaluma, California, owned by Kevin Buckler and his wife Debra. TRG has competed professionally in road racing since 1995. The team formerly competed in NASCAR as TRG Motorsports from 2007 to 2011.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Colin Braun</span> American racing driver

Colin James Braun is an American racing driver. He is the 2014 and 2015 WeatherTech SportsCar Championship Prototype Challenge Champion and currently drives the No. 60 Meyer Shank Racing Acura ARX-06 for Meyer Shank Racing in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship. Driving the ARX-06, he was part of the winning team of the 2023 24 Hours of Daytona. He formerly competed in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series and the Xfinity Series. He lives in Charlotte, North Carolina.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Monterey Motorsports Reunion</span> Annual event

The Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion is an annual event held at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca in Monterey, California. Its purpose is to provide an event in which historic racecars can compete. It takes place over the course of one weekend every mid-August. It was first established by Steve Earle in 1974 as the Monterey Historic Automobile Races. Earle organized the meeting for his friends to race their cars at Laguna Seca. The event, known as the Monterey Historics until 2010, acts as a part of Monterey Car Week, which includes the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance and other events.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Andy Lally</span> American racing driver (born 1975)

Andrew J. Lally is an American professional auto racing driver. He competes full-time in the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, driving the Audi R8 for Magnus Racing and part-time in the Michelin Pilot Challenge, driving the Hyundai Elantra TCR Touring Car for StarCom Racing.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Justin Marks</span> American racing driver (born 1981)

Justin Marks is an American racing driver, entrepreneur, and owner of Trackhouse Racing in the NASCAR Cup Series. He last competed part-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, driving the No. 10 Chevrolet Camaro for Kaulig Racing.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dane Cameron</span> American racing driver

Dane Richard Cameron is an American racing driver from Glen Ellen, California. He won the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship overall in 2016 and 2019, and also in the GTD class in 2014.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ryan Eversley</span> American race car driver

Ryan A. Eversley is an American professional auto racing driver. He currently races the No. 07 Toyota GR GT4 Supra Evo for Precision Racing L.A. in the Pirelli GT4 America series as well as serving as Head of Driver and Racing Business Development for them and their sister team L.A. Honda World Racing. He is affectionately referred to as "The People's Champ," due to his fan interactions. From 2015 to 2023, Eversley was a Honda factory driver who primarily raced in sports car racing championships such as the Michelin Pilot Challenge and Pirelli World Challenge. He won the 2018 Pirelli World Challenge TCR championship.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lucas Luhr</span> German racing driver (born 1979)

Lucas Luhr is a German racing driver. He is a staple of the American Le Mans Series during the 2000s and early 2010s, winning the GT class with Porsche in 2002, the LMP2 category in 2006, and taking the overall LMP1 championship as part of the Audi Sport North America works outfit in 2008. He also won the P1 title in 2012 and 2013, driving for Honda-fielding Muscle Milk Pickett Racing.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dion von Moltke</span> American-born race car driver (born 1990)

Dion von Moltke is an American-born race car driver who has participated under a South African racing license for the majority of his career. Von Moltke currently competes in the IMSA WeatherTech Championship GTD class with Paul Miller Racing in the #48 Audi R8 LMS with co-driver Christopher Haase. His early career involved an upbringing in karts and the Skip Barber National Championship.

The 2014 United SportsCar Championship was the inaugural season of the International Motor Sports Association's new series created out of a merger of the Rolex Sports Car Series and the American Le Mans Series and the first to be held under the name as the United SportsCar Championship. It began with the 24 Hours of Daytona, the first time since the 1997 IMSA GT Championship season that IMSA sanctioned an event at Daytona International Speedway on 25 January and ended on 4 October at Petit Le Mans. It was the 44th overall season of IMSA GT championship racing tracing its lineage to the 1971 IMSA GT Championship.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2016 24 Hours of Daytona</span> Motor race

The 2016 24 Hours of Daytona was an International Motor Sports Association (IMSA)-sanctioned 24-hour automobile endurance race for Prototype and Grand Touring sports cars held at the Daytona International Speedway combined road course in Daytona Beach, Florida, from January 30 to 31, 2016. It was the first of twelve 2016 IMSA SportsCar Championship races, the 54th 24 Hours of Daytona, and the first of the four-round North American Endurance Cup. The event was attended by approximately 35,000 people.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Misha Goikhberg</span> Canadian racing driver

Mikhail "Misha" Goikhberg, is a Russian-born Canadian race car driver who is best known for competing in the IMSA SportsCar Championship.

The 2017 IMSA SportsCar Championship was the 47th season of the International Motor Sports Association (IMSA) GT Championship that traces its lineage to the 1971 IMSA GT Championship. It was the fourth season of the United SportsCar Championship and second under the name as the IMSA SportsCar Championship. It began on 28 January with the 24 Hours of Daytona, and ended on 7 October with the Petit Le Mans.

Action Express Racing (AXR) is a sports car racing team that currently competes in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship. The team is owned by NASCAR CEO Jim France and run by Bob Johnson and former NASCAR champion crew chief Gary Nelson. Based in Denver, North Carolina, the team currently fields the No. 31 Whelen Engineering Cadillac V-LMDh for Jack Aitken, Pipo Derani and Tom Blomqvist.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Billy Johnson (racing driver)</span> American racing driver

William Ryan Johnson is an American professional sports car and stock car racing driver. He is the 2016 IMSA Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge GS champion. He currently competes part-time in the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship and FIA World Endurance Championship, driving for Ford Chip Ganassi Racing UK in the No. 66 Ford GT.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2021 24 Hours of Daytona</span> 59th 24 Hours of Daytona race

The 2021 24 Hours of Daytona was an endurance sports car race sanctioned by the International Motor Sports Association (IMSA). The event was held at Daytona International Speedway combined road course in Daytona Beach, Florida, on January 30–31, 2021. This event was the 59th running of the 24 Hours of Daytona, and the first of 12 races across multiple classes in the 2021 IMSA SportsCar Championship, as well as the first of four rounds in the 2021 Michelin Endurance Cup. Acura scored its first overall 24 Hours of Daytona victory, while Wayne Taylor Racing became the second team to win the race three times in a row.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2023 24 Hours of Daytona</span> 61st 24 Hours of Daytona race

The 2023 24 Hours of Daytona was an endurance sports car race sanctioned by the International Motor Sports Association (IMSA). The event was held at Daytona International Speedway combined road course in Daytona Beach, Florida, on January 28–29, 2023. This event was the 61st running of the 24 Hours of Daytona since its inception in 1962, and the first of 11 races across multiple classes in the 2023 IMSA SportsCar Championship, as well as the first of four rounds in the 2023 Michelin Endurance Cup. The No. 60 Meyer Shank Racing Acura, driven by Tom Blomqvist, Colin Braun, Hélio Castroneves and Simon Pagenaud, took the overall win, but the team was later penalized for tire pressure data manipulation, resulting in penalties, fines and probation for those responsible. This was Meyer Shank's second Rolex 24 win in a row, and their third major endurance race win in four events. The No. 10 Wayne Taylor Racing Acura finished second overall and scored the most points towards the GTP championship.

References

  1. "About Adobe Road Winery". Adobe Road Winery Official Website. Archived from the original on 12 November 2010. Retrieved 26 September 2010.
  2. Passy, Charles. "A former race-car driver created this wine to be 'a party in your mouth'". MarketWatch. Retrieved 2019-11-15.
  3. "About TRG". TRG Official Website. Retrieved 4 April 2014.
  4. "IMSA Team Listings". IMSA Official Website. Archived from the original on 26 March 2014. Retrieved 4 April 2014.
  5. "Camping World Truck Stats". Driver Averages Website. Archived from the original on 23 September 2015. Retrieved 5 April 2014.
  6. "TRG leaves NASCAR". Tireball Sports News. 4 January 2012. Retrieved 5 April 2014.
  7. "Wine Rating Database". Wine Spectator Official Website. Retrieved 5 April 2014.
  8. "Kevin A. Buckler". Automobile Club de l'Ouest . Retrieved August 15, 2023.
  9. "Kevin Bucker Results". Motorsport Stats. Retrieved August 15, 2023.