Chevrolet’s IndyCar boss Buckner moving on after Barber

Rob Buckner’s tenure as Chevrolet’s IndyCar program manager will come to an end after the May 4 race at Barber Motorsports Park, and it’s for the best of reasons.

With Buckner and his wife preparing to welcome their first child towards of the end of May, he is set to hit the pause button after Barber, take some time at home as a father, and once he’s ready to return, he’ll assume a new title of Senior Manager GM Motorsports Propulsion Program Team, where he’ll oversee the majority of General Motors’ racing engine programs.

With GM Racing and powertrain veteran Russ O’Blenes having been promoted to lead the new Cadillac Formula 1 motor program, Buckner was named to step in and continue in his footsteps. Along with IndyCar, Buckner will oversee the engine side of GM’s NASCAR, IMSA GTP/WEC LMDh, and global GT3 racing with Corvette.

“I joined GM directly out of college in 2010 in product development, I was working on the C7 Corvette, and I thought life could get no better than that,” Buckner told RACER. “And then an opportunity come up to drive over to Wixom (Michigan), when our facility was over there, and meet Russ O’Blenes. And that was a turning point in my life. And so now to be able to try to fill some of Russ’s shoes, all these years later? I talked to him about it the other day – I’m like, ‘Can you imagine if someone would have told us you’re going to go run an F1 engine program in 10-12 years, and I’m going to be trying to fill your shoes?’ Because no one works harder than Russ, so it’s a huge undertaking. And it’s a big responsibility that I’m honored to take on.”

Buckner rose to prominence in IndyCar as an engine technician supporting Sebastien Bourdais at the former KVSH Racing team, where they won two races in 2015. At the start of 2018, Buckner was introduced as Chevy’s new IndyCar program manager, replacing Chris Berube. Under his leadership, Chevy has won the last three Manufacturers’ championships.

Andrew Schutter, currently Buckner’s second in command, will fill his role and become Chevy’s new Competition and Engineering IndyCar Program Manager.

“We compete in so many series, in so many different engine architectures,” Buckner said. “It’s very exciting for me to get involved in LMDh, GT3, NASCAR… I’ve worked in NASCAR previously in the engine program, so to be able to work with our partners at Hendrick and ECR, again, it’s phenomenal, and it’s a great time for the IndyCar program. Andrew Schutter, who’s coming in, is well-deserving and well-prepared to take IndyCar to the next level.