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Jimmy Vasser

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Jimmy Vasser
Born (1965-11-20) November 20, 1965 (age 58)
Canoga Park, California, U.S.
Championship titles
1996 PPG Indy Car World Series Champion
Champ Car career
233 races run over 16 years
Years active1992–2006, 2008
Team(s)Hayhoe/Cole Racing (1992–1994)
Target Chip Ganassi Racing (1995–2000)
Patrick Racing (2001)
Rahal Letterman Racing (2002)
American Spirit Team Johansson (2003)
PKV Racing (2004–2006)
KV Racing (2008)
Best finish1st (1996)
First race1992 Dailkyo IndyCar Grand Prix (Surfers Paradise)
Last race2008 Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach (Long Beach)
First win1996 Marlboro Grand Prix of Miami (Homestead)
Last win2002 The 500 Presented by Toyota (California)
Wins Podiums Poles
10 33 8
NASCAR Xfinity Series career
2 races run over 1 year
Best finish97th (2003)
First race2003 Koolerz 300 (Daytona)
Last race2003 GNC Live Well 250 (Milwaukee)
Wins Top tens Poles
0 0 0

James "Jimmy" Vasser Jr. (born November 20, 1965) is an American former racing driver who competed primarily in the CART series and Champ Car. Vasser won ten CART series races and won the 1996 CART championship with Chip Ganassi Racing.[1] Vasser was the last American to win the CART title. Vasser won the 1996 U.S. 500, and had a best finish of 4th at the Indianapolis 500 twice (1994 and 2001).

Vasser and business partner Kevin Kalkhoven won the 2013 Indianapolis 500 as a car owners of KV Racing Technology, with driver Tony Kanaan.

Driving career

[edit]

Vasser made his CART debut in 1992 and qualified for the Indianapolis 500, as the fastest rookie qualifier.[2] While he become a top driver on the open-wheel circuit, his rise to prominence overlapped with the IRL-CART "Split". Vasser's best years were mostly spent away from the Indy 500, although he did race at Indy on a one-off basis a few times after the Split.

In 1995, Vasser joined Chip Ganassi Racing. At the Indianapolis 500 he was battling for the lead when he crashed with just 30 laps to go. Later in the season, Vasser finished second at both Detroit and Portland. But at Portland, race winner Al Unser Jr.'s car failed post-race inspection due to insufficient ground clearance. Unser was stripped of the victory, and Vasser was elevated to the winner, tentatively his first-career Indy car triumph.[3][4][5] A protest and appeals process dragged out through the summer,[6] and in September Unser was reinstated the win.[7][8] Vasser would finish the 1995 season 8th in points.

In 1996 Vasser won the CART season opener at Homestead, officially his first win in Indy/Champ Car competition. He won four races, including the U.S. 500 at Michigan. He built a large points lead during the first half of the season, with seven top-tens in the first seven races. He clinched the championship at the season's final race, scoring points in every race except one.[9]

Vasser finished third in points in 1997 with one race win. He finished second in points with three wins in 1998, including the Marlboro 500 at Fontana. But teammate Alex Zanardi would outshine him over those two seasons, winning the points championship both years.[10] Vasser teamed with Juan Pablo Montoya in 1999. He was once again outperformed by his teammate and Montoya won the championship in his rookie season.[11] In 2000, his last year with Chip Ganassi Racing, Vasser won the Houston Grand Prix for his first victory since 1998.[12] In that year, Ganassi also became the first major CART major team to crossover to the IRL and compete at the Indianapolis 500. It was Vasser's first appearance at Indy since 1995. Vasser and Montoya were well-received by fans, and were quickly up to speed with the IRL regulars. Vasser led 5 laps, but slipped to 7th at the finish. Montoya dominated the race en route to victory.

For 2001, Vasser moved to the Patrick Racing team to drive the No. 40 Reynard Toyota. Despite having limited sponsorship for the car at first, Vasser started the season strong with four straight finishes of 4th to 6th place. Continuing the strong start to 2001, Vasser was reunited with Target Chip Ganassi Racing driving for them in the Indianapolis 500. Vasser ran well and finished in 4th place as CART drivers swept the top five spots at the 500. However, once returning to the CART circuit, back to back crashes in race No. 5 at Milwaukee and race No. 6 at Detroit seemed to derail the season as Vasser finished the final sixteen races of the season with only four more finishes of 5th to 7th.

After a disappointing year without even a podium, Vasser was able to secure the seat of the No. 8 Shell Lola Ford with Rahal Letterman Racing for 2002 which had finished 2nd in CART points the previous season. In the Shell car, Vasser showed some muscle at Long Beach scoring the pole, leading laps late, and finishing 2nd behind Michael Andretti. Vasser and Rahal Letterman also crossed over into the IRL where they ran the IRL race in Fontana to prepare for Indianapolis and then the Indianapolis 500. Success was limited as Vasser scored only a 9th at Fontana and a gearbox failure cut short his Indy 500 race. Vasser's 2002 season in the Shell car was much improved over the previous year with Patrick Racing. Vasser really finished the year strong with scoring points in each of the final nine races including a podium at Miami and a dominating win at Fontana after a late-race pass of Andretti. Vasser's Fontana win was to be the final win of his CART career.

Without sponsorship at Rahal for 2003, Vasser had to look for opportunities with other teams and without many seats available for the 38-year-old he ended up with Stefan Johansson's startup American Spirit team. The team was not fully funded and they ran the Reynard chassis which were not up to the pace of the current Lola chassis cars. Additionally, Reynard had gone bankrupt so further development of the chassis had to be taken on by the teams so the performance gap to the Lolas continue to widen during the season. Except for a couple of fourth-place finishes, leading 15 laps at Cleveland, and podium at Surfer's Paradise in a wet/dry race the season was not very successful as rookie teammate Ryan Hunter-Reay was outpacing Vasser. Vasser reunited with Rahal Letterman for his final run at an Indianapolis 500 win but was again sidelined with gearbox failure during the race.

In 2004 he became co-owner of PKV Racing (later renamed to KV Racing Technology) along with Dan Pettit and Kevin Kalkhoven and was a driver for the team. In 2004, he broke the modern CART–Champ Car record for the most consecutive starts.[13] Vasser retired from open wheel racing in 2006, but remains active in his ownership role. He temporarily came out of retirement to drive in the final Champ Car World Series event at the 2008 Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach.[14]

In 2006, Vasser competed in three Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series races, including the 24 Hours of Daytona, driving for GAINSCO/Blackhawk Racing. In 2007, he again drove for the renamed GAINSCO/Bob Stallings Racing at the 24 Hours of Daytona, and on Sept. 4, 2007, it was announced that he would return to the team for the season-ending Sunchaser 1000 km. Vasser drove again for Stallings' team beginning at Laguna Seca in May 2008, pairing with fellow Champ Car champion Cristiano da Matta.

In 2013, Vasser joined the Stadium Super Trucks and was scheduled to make his debut at Honda Indy Toronto.[15] However, he was injured prior to the race and was replaced by Davey Hamilton.[16]

Early career

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Motorsports career results

[edit]

SCCA National Championship Runoffs

[edit]
Year Track Car Engine Class Finish Start Status
1985 Road Atlanta Swift DB1 Ford Formula Ford 25 5 Running
1986 Road Atlanta Swift DB1 Ford Formula Ford 1 2 Running

American open-wheel racing results

[edit]

(key)

Indy Lights

[edit]
Year Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Rank Points
1988 R & K Racing PHX MIL POR CLE TOR MEA
10
POC MDO ROA NAZ LAG MIA 26th 3
1989 Barclay Racing PHX LBH MIL DET POR MEA TOR POC MDO ROA NAZ LAG
8
24th 5

CART/Champ Car

[edit]
Year Team Chassis Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 Rank Points Ref
1992 Hayhoe-Cole Racing Lola T92/00 Chevrolet 265A SRF
15
PHX
15
LBH
7
INDY
21
DET POR
23
MIL NHA TOR
12
MCH CLE
14
ROA VAN
18
MDO
25
NAZ
Wth
LAG
12
22nd 8 [18]
1993 Hayhoe-Cole Racing Lola T92/00 Chevrolet 265A SRF
24
PHX
3
LBH
22
MIL
8
DET
16
POR
11
CLE 16th 30 [19]
Ford XB V8t INDY
13
TOR
11
MCH NHA
9
ROA VAN
18
MDO
10
NAZ LAG
21
1994 Hayhoe-Cole Racing Reynard 94i Ford XB V8t SRF
4
PHX
5
LBH
24
INDY
4
MIL
11
DET
20
POR
32
CLE
31
TOR
25
MCH
25
MDO
14
NHA
7
VAN
15
ROA
28
NAZ
13
LAG
26
15th 42 [20]
1995 Chip Ganassi Racing Reynard 95i Ford XB V8t MIA
8
SRF
24
PHX
23
LBH
23
NAZ
24
INDY
22
MIL
9
DET
2
POR
2
ROA
3
TOR
17
CLE
3
MCH
7
MDO
9
NHA
6
VAN
27
LAG
8
8th 92 [21]
1996 Chip Ganassi Racing Reynard 96i Honda HRH V8t MIA
1
RIO
8
SRF
1
LBH
1
NAZ
7
500
1
MIL
10
DET
12
POR
13
CLE
10
TOR
8
MCH
9
MDO
2
ROA
6
VAN
7
LAG
4
1st 154 [22]
1997 Chip Ganassi Racing Reynard 97i Honda HRR V8t MIA
3
SRF
12
LBH
9
NAZ
5
RIO
9
GAT
5
MIL
3
DET
4
POR
19
CLE
13
TOR
7
MCH
24
MDO
5
ROA
8
VAN
2
LAG
1
FON
2
3rd 144 [23]
1998 Chip Ganassi Racing Reynard 98i Honda HRK V8t MIA
16
MOT
7
LBH
8
NAZ
1
RIO
6
GAT
4
MIL
1
DET
6
POR
8
CLE
7
TOR
3
MCH
2
MDO
27
ROA
9
VAN
26
LAG
5
HOU
4
SRF
24
FON
1
2nd 169 [24]
1999 Chip Ganassi Racing Reynard 99i Honda HRS V8t MIA
4
MOT
12
LBH
10
NAZ
11
RIO
27
GAT
10
MIL
4
POR
12
CLE
23
ROA
23
TOR
8
MCH
9
DET
5
MDO
4
CHI
3
VAN
3
LAG
18
HOU
20
SRF
18
FON
5
9th 104 [25]
2000 Chip Ganassi Racing Lola B2K/00 Toyota RVA V8t MIA
4
LBH
3
RIO
2
MOT
21
NAZ
7
MIL
13
DET
7
POR
24
CLE
8
TOR
9
MCH
21
CHI
8
MDO
21
ROA
5
VAN
6
LAG
8
GAT
7
HOU
1
SRF
3
FON
22
6th 131 [26]
2001 Patrick Racing Reynard 01i Toyota RV8F V8t MTY
6
LBH
5
TXS
C
NAZ
4
MOT
5
MIL
21
DET
18
POR
16
CLE
5
TOR
26
MCH
23
CHI
14
MDO
23
ROA
21
VAN
19
LAU
15
ROC
7
HOU
11
LAG
5
SRF
6
FON
12
12th 77 [27]
2002 Team Rahal Lola B02/00 Ford XF V8t MTY
20
LBH
2
MOT
20
MIL
9
LAG
8
POR
16
CHI
17
TOR
6
CLE
6
VAN
17
MDO
8
ROA
5
MTL
5
DEN
10
ROC
7
MIA
3
SRF
12
FON
1
MXC
11
7th 114 [28]
2003 American Spirit Team Johansson Reynard 02i Ford XFE V8t STP
6
MTY
14
LBH
4
BRH
19
LAU
8
MIL
11
LAG
8
POR
7
CLE
13
TOR
13
VAN
11
ROA
9
MDO
15
MTL
16
DEN
11
MIA
4
MXC
17
SRF
3
FON
NH
11th 72 [29]
2004 PKV Racing Lola B02/00 Ford XFE V8t LBH
16
MTY
12
MIL
4
POR
8
CLE
5
TOR
2
VAN
10
ROA
8
DEN
17
MTL
8
LAG
17
LVG
5
SRF
12
MXC
5
8th 201^ [30]
2005 PKV Racing Lola B02/00 Ford XFE V8t LBH
9
MTY
14
MIL
5
POR
6
CLE
6
TOR
4
EDM
11
SJO
11
DEN
15
MTL
7
LVG
3
SRF
3
MXC
6
6th 217 [31]
2006 PKV Racing Lola B03/00 Ford XFE V8t LBH
14
HOU MTY MIL POR CLE TOR EDM SJO DEN MTL ROA SRF MXC 24th 7 [32]
  • ^ New points system implemented in 2004

IndyCar

[edit]
Year Team Chassis No. Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 Rank Points Ref
2000 Target Chip Ganassi Racing G-Force GF01C 10 Oldsmobile Aurora V8 WDW PHX LVS INDY
7
TXS PPIR ATL KTY TX2 32nd 26 [33]
2001 G-Force GF05B 44 PHX HMS ATL INDY
4
TXS PPIR RIR KAN NSH KTY GAT CHI TX2 36th 32 [34]
2002 Team Rahal Dallara IR-02 19 Chevrolet Indy V8 HMS PHX FON
9
NAZ INDY
30
TXS PPIR RIR KAN NSH MCH KTY GAT CHI TX2 40th 23 [35]
2003 Dallara IR-03 Toyota V8 HMS PHX MOT INDY
26
TXS PPIR RIR KAN NSH MCH GAT KTY NAZ CHI FON TX2 36th 4 [36]
2008 KV Racing Technology Panoz DP01 12 Ford XFE V8t HMS STP MOT1
DNP
LBH1
10
KAN INDY MIL TXS IOW RIR WGL NSH MDO EDM KTY SNM DET CHI SRF2 42nd 0 [37]
1 Run on same day.
2 Non-points-paying, exhibition race.

Indianapolis 500 results

[edit]
Year Chassis Engine Start Finish Reason out Team
1992 Lola Chevrolet 28th 21st Crash Hayhoe
1993 Lola Ford-Cosworth 19th 13th Running Hayhoe
1994 Reynard Ford-Cosworth 16th 4th Running Hayhoe
1995 Reynard Ford-Cosworth 9th 22nd Crash Ganassi
2000 G-Force Oldsmobile 7th 7th Running Ganassi
2001 G-Force Oldsmobile 12th 4th Running Ganassi
2002 Dallara Chevrolet 19th 30th Gearbox Rahal
2003 Dallara Honda 27th 26th Gearbox Rahal

Notes

[edit]
  • Winner of fastest CART race: Fontana 2002, Average Speed: 197.995 mph (318.642 km/h)

NASCAR

[edit]

(key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)

Busch Series

[edit]
NASCAR Busch Series results
Year Team No. Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 NBSC Pts Ref
2003 Braun Racing 30 Dodge DAY
28
CAR LVS DAR BRI TEX TAL NSH CAL RCH GTY NZH CLT DOV NSH KEN MLW
25
DAY CHI NHA PPR IRP MCH BRI DAR RCH DOV KAN CLT MEM ATL PHO CAR HOM 97th 167 [38]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Vasser might be taking his last laps". Las Vegas Sun. September 23, 2005. Retrieved January 23, 2010.
  2. ^ "Vasser headlines seven Indianapolis 500 rookies". Boca Raton News. Associated Press. May 20, 1992. Retrieved January 23, 2010.
  3. ^ Harris, Mike (June 26, 1995). "Unser Jr. bumped from victory (Part 1)". The Indianapolis Star. p. 27. Retrieved February 7, 2018 – via Newspapers.com.Open access icon
  4. ^ Harris, Mike (June 26, 1995). "Unser Jr. bumped from victory (Part 2)". The Indianapolis Star. p. 29. Retrieved February 7, 2018 – via Newspapers.com.Open access icon
  5. ^ Miller, Robin (June 27, 1995). "Excuse me, sir, but you won the race". The Indianapolis Star. p. 13. Retrieved February 7, 2018 – via Newspapers.com.Open access icon
  6. ^ "Unser's disqualification upheld by IndyCar panel". The Indianapolis Star. August 2, 1995. p. 16. Retrieved February 7, 2018 – via Newspapers.com.Open access icon
  7. ^ "Still no decision on Portland". The Indianapolis Star. September 20, 1995. p. 59. Retrieved February 7, 2018 – via Newspapers.com.Open access icon
  8. ^ "Better late than never for Al Unser Jr". The Indianapolis Star. September 23, 1995. p. 48. Retrieved February 7, 2018 – via Newspapers.com.Open access icon
  9. ^ Harris, Mike (September 9, 1996). "Zanardi wins race, but Vasser takes title". The Modesto Bee. Associated Press. Retrieved January 23, 2010. [dead link]
  10. ^ "Ganassi changes drivers". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Associated Press. Archived from the original on July 15, 2012. Retrieved January 23, 2010.
  11. ^ "Ganassi changes drivers". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Associated Press. Archived from the original on July 15, 2012. Retrieved January 23, 2010.
  12. ^ "Vasser ends drought on streets of Houston". ESPN. Associated Press. October 2, 2000. Retrieved January 23, 2010.
  13. ^ Graves, Gary (August 26, 2004). "Champ Car's Vasser revved up to break record". USA Today. Retrieved January 23, 2010.
  14. ^ Lawley, Erin (April 17, 2008). "Vasser getting behind wheel at LBC". Napa Valley Register. Retrieved January 23, 2010.
  15. ^ "Paul Tracy, Jimmy Vasser join Robby Gordon's Stadium SUPER Trucks series for Toronto". Racer. July 11, 2013. Retrieved December 12, 2013.
  16. ^ "Lofton wins Stadium Truck Race 1 in Toronto". Racer. July 13, 2013. Archived from the original on July 1, 2014. Retrieved December 12, 2013.
  17. ^ Taylor, Michael (January 7, 2007). "A Fascination For Fine Machines". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved January 23, 2010.
  18. ^ "Jimmy Vasser – 1992 CART Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved August 15, 2023.
  19. ^ "Jimmy Vasser – 1993 CART Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved August 15, 2023.
  20. ^ "Jimmy Vasser – 1994 CART Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved August 15, 2023.
  21. ^ "Jimmy Vasser – 1995 CART Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved August 15, 2023.
  22. ^ "Jimmy Vasser – 1996 CART Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved August 15, 2023.
  23. ^ "Jimmy Vasser – 1997 CART Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved August 15, 2023.
  24. ^ "Jimmy Vasser – 1998 CART Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved August 15, 2023.
  25. ^ "Jimmy Vasser – 1999 CART Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved August 15, 2023.
  26. ^ "Jimmy Vasser – 2000 CART Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved August 15, 2023.
  27. ^ "Jimmy Vasser – 2001 CART Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved August 15, 2023.
  28. ^ "Jimmy Vasser – 2002 CART Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved August 15, 2023.
  29. ^ "Jimmy Vasser – 2003 CART Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved August 15, 2023.
  30. ^ "Jimmy Vasser – 2004 Champ Car World Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved August 15, 2023.
  31. ^ "Jimmy Vasser – 2005 Champ Car World Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved August 15, 2023.
  32. ^ "Jimmy Vasser – 2006 Champ Car World Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved August 15, 2023.
  33. ^ "Jimmy Vasser – 2000 Indy Racing Northern Lights Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved August 1, 2023.
  34. ^ "Jimmy Vasser – 2001 Indy Racing Northern Lights Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved August 1, 2023.
  35. ^ "Jimmy Vasser – 2002 Indy Racing League Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved August 1, 2023.
  36. ^ "Jimmy Vasser – 2003 IndyCar Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved August 1, 2023.
  37. ^ "Jimmy Vasser – 2008 IndyCar Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved August 1, 2023.
  38. ^ "Jimmy Vasser – 2003 NASCAR Busch Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved April 13, 2023.
[edit]
Sporting positions
Preceded by CART Series
Champion

1996
Succeeded by