Buddy close to out

[stockblock]

Buddy Rice that is.. Indy Star reporting Buddy Rice maybe out at Cheever if he does not do better this Sunday.

[aratapuss]

What's going on?? Chevy teams self destructing now?? I doubt Rice is the problem.....

[indyracefan]

>>>Next to change cars? Maybe Buddy Rice at Cheever Racing.

While Rice said Friday that he knew of no imminent plans to move on, team owner Eddie Cheever Jr. said a shakeup at the struggling team will be made if things don't go well in Sunday's Firestone Indy 225 at Nazareth Speedway.<<<



Cheever Racing struggling, may be at crossroads

[Maximas]

I doubt is all Buddys fault too. I would like to see Buddy in that yellow car myself but the Indy Star went on to say Barron right now would have to be the leader to get that seat.

[grogg]

Why?

Buddy Rice has hardly put a scratch on a car all year, This is in stark contrast over Team Cheever a year ago. You can't make a car with a boat anchor engine go any faster than it can go.

[JBaiza]

From reading the article, the feeling that I walk away with is that Red Bull wants to be in victory lane and they're pressuring Cheever to make something happen. Save the last couple of races, (IMO) there has not been a more consistant driver over the past 12 months than Rice.

It sounds like they need to work on their race setups. I'm sure the addition of 60 hp will have a huge impact on all of the setups that had been previously researched. Cheever may just need to tear up their notes and start from scratch.

It's tough to see a good young talent like Buddy take the hit for this team challenge.

I hope Eddie can tide Red Bull over while Team Cheever plays catch-up. No doubt Red Bull is pointing at teams like Panther and saying, "Why aren't they having the same problems?"

Now is the time for the silver tongue, Eddie.

[Snakepit]

Buddy has also been slow as heck and I'd rather be competitive and crash occasionally than slow and crashless. The guy is stinking it up on short tracks. Is it engineering? I don't know. If I owned that team, someone would be under the gun. I'd be looking at other drivers including Herta, Barron, Kite. Heck, I'd sure give Kite a try. He wouldn't be timid, that's for sure.

My first try, though, would be Buddy Lazier. There's one who I think could show you if it was your engineering or not. I know Lazier hasn't been fast this year, but he's got a better history than Rice and I have first-hand knowledge of some of the problems at Hemelgarn.

I'd love to see the other Buddy in the Red Bull car. Having said that, I hope Rice gets it together this weekend and has a really good run so they can put the problems behind them. I don't want to see him out of a job if he performs.

Just my humble rambling opinion.

[Vogler fan]

Sam now Buddy

Were talking my two favorite drivers in less than a week. Who else is Eddie going to get. Red Bull wants young American drivers....who's left????

[stan]

This has to be an easy fix if Eddie thinks its Buddy he can get in the car himself and prove it.

[JBaiza]

Originally posted by stan
This has to be an easy fix if Eddie thinks its Buddy he can get in the car himself and prove it.

And the award for "Best use of logic" goes to ... stan!!!!!

(thunderous applause!!!)



That was great stan.

[akimbo]

Don't you think this is in response to the incredible embarassment of Gateway? Sam/Panther gets the Gen IV at Michiganand he tears up the place. Rice/Cheever gets the Gen IV and does a Sarah Fisher impersonation. Sure he had an ill-handling car, but what does that say about the team?

I don't think anyone yet knows whether Rice has any talent aside from one for looking very dopey.

[Teej]

Have to agree with stan on this one

if Team Cheever OR Red Bull really thinks its the driver's fault, it's time for Eddie Cheever to put up or shut up, get in the car. Red Bull could offer up Felipe Massa as well...

[HerbieIsHere]

Geee....Owen Snyder leaves the team and suddenly they can't get a handle on the handling. Surprise, Surprise.

[mnkywrch]

Originally posted by HerbieIsHere
Geee....Owen Snyder leaves the team and suddenly they can't get a handle on the handling. Surprise, Surprise.

So Cheever will fire his driver, who oh-by-the-way has been sponsored by Red Bull for years. That'll make the sponsor happy.

And like Cheever's gonna do any better? Rice outclassed him last season.

The problem IMO is the team, not the driver.

I hope the sponsorship goes with Rice to a different team.

[Mark521]

Originally posted by stan
This has to be an easy fix if Eddie thinks its Buddy he can get in the car himself and prove it.

I was thinking the same thing, so why doesn't he?

Maybe he's afraid that its not the driver. Much like an under performing baseball team will fire the manager instead of changing out a bunch of players, its easier, faster and it buys you time. If I was hoping to keep my sponser, I'd rather explain that all we need to do is change out one guy than a chunk of the team.

Please note that I'm not saying I think the Cheever team is bad versus the Cheever driver(s), I just wondering why Eddie hasn't used himself as a benchmark to determine his driver's performance. While Eddie probably made the right decision not to race all year this year, he still should be able to "strap it on" for a couple of laps to see if its the car or its the driver that needs fixing. I always thought that this was one of the advantages of having a driver-owner.