Buddy Lazier
An Indy 500 champion who embodies perseverance, winning the great race just months after a crash that broke his back.
Born 1967 (age 59)·American racecar driver·Birthday: October 31·Generation X
Biography
Buddy Lazier's story is one of raw determination etched into the history of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Coming from a racing family in Vail, Colorado, he cut his teeth in lesser formulas before finding his place in IndyCar. His defining moment came in 1996, a year that began with catastrophe. During practice for the Indy 500, a violent crash fractured his spine. Most drivers would have written off the season. Lazier, fitted with a custom brace, not only started the race but, with a combination of shrewd strategy and sheer grit, drove to a stunning victory. That win cemented his reputation as a driver of immense fortitude. He became a stalwart of the Indy Racing League, capturing its championship in 2000, and continued to race at Indianapolis well into his fifties, a testament to his enduring passion and toughness.
Generation X
1965–1980
The latchkey kids. Raised during divorce, recession, and the end of the Cold War. Skeptical, self-reliant, media-literate. They invented indie culture, grunge, and the early internet — then watched the Boomers take credit.
Buddy was born in 1967, placing them squarely in the Generation X. The events that shaped this generation — economic uncertainty, the end of the Cold War, and the rise of personal computing — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Buddy Was Born
The biggest hits of 1967
#1 Movie
The Jungle Book
Best Picture
In the Heat of the Night
#1 TV Show
The Andy Griffith Show
Buddy's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1967Born
Summer of Love in San Francisco; first Super Bowl
Gas: $0.33/galHome: $14,250Min wage: $1.40/hrPresident: Lyndon B. Johnson"To Sir, with Love" — LuluBest Picture: In the Heat of the Night
1972Started school
Watergate break-in; last Apollo Moon mission
Gas: $0.36/galHome: $19,550Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Richard Nixon"The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face" — Roberta FlackBest Picture: The Godfather
1980Became a teenager
John Lennon shot and killed in New York
Gas: $1.19/galHome: $47,200Min wage: $3.10/hrPresident: Jimmy Carter"Call Me" — BlondieBest Picture: Ordinary People
1983Could drive
Internet adopts TCP/IP, creating the modern internet
Gas: $1.16/galHome: $57,700Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"Every Breath You Take" — The PoliceBest Picture: Terms of Endearment
1985Could vote
Live Aid concerts raise money for Ethiopian famine
Gas: $1.12/galHome: $62,900Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"Careless Whisper" — Wham!Best Picture: Out of Africa
1988Turned 21
Pan Am Flight 103 bombed over Lockerbie
Gas: $0.90/galHome: $74,800Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"Faith" — George MichaelBest Picture: Rain Man
1997Turned 30
Princess Diana dies in Paris car crash; Harry Potter published
Gas: $1.23/galHome: $104,100Min wage: $5.15/hrPresident: Bill Clinton"Candle in the Wind 1997" — Elton JohnBest Picture: Titanic
2007Turned 40
iPhone released; Great Recession begins
Gas: $2.80/galHome: $172,600Min wage: $5.85/hrPresident: George W. Bush"Irreplaceable" — BeyonceBest Picture: No Country for Old Men
2017Turned 50
#MeToo movement; solar eclipse crosses the US
Gas: $2.42/galHome: $195,000Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Donald Trump"Shape of You" — Ed SheeranBest Picture: The Shape of Water
2026Age 59 today
Gas: $3.91/galPresident: Donald Trump
Key Achievements
- Won the 1996 Indianapolis 500 just months after suffering a fractured vertebrae in a practice crash.
- Captured the Indy Racing League (IRL) championship in the 2000 season.
- Recorded 8 career victories in IndyCar competition, all within the IRL series.
Did You Know?
His father, Bob Lazier, was also an Indianapolis 500 racer, and they competed against each other in the 1981 race.
He attended the University of Colorado at Boulder, studying engineering before focusing on racing full-time.
Lazier's 1996 Indy 500 win was the first for car owner Ron Hemelgarn.
“I won the 500 with a broken back and a will of steel.”
