Jimmy Vasser

Jimmy Vasser
Vasser at Long Beach, 2008
Born	(1965-11-20) November 20, 1965 (age 59) Canoga Park, California, U.S.
Championship titles
1996 PPG Indy Car World Series Champion
Champ Car career 233 races run over 16 years Years active 1992–2006, 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 finish 1st (1996) First race 1992 Dailkyo IndyCar Grand Prix (Surfers Paradise) Last race 2008 Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach (Long Beach) First win 1996 Marlboro Grand Prix of Miami (Homestead) Last win 2002 The 500 Presented by Toyota (California) Wins Podiums Poles 10 33 8
NASCAR Xfinity Series career 2 races run over 1 year Best finish 97th (2003) First race 2003 Koolerz 300 (Daytona) Last race 2003 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 was co-owner of KV Racing Technology, winning the 2013 Indianapolis 500 with driver Tony Kanaan. He currently co-owns Vasser Sullivan Racing, claiming the GTD Pro teams title at the 2023 IMSA SportsCar Championship.

Driving career

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

• Won the 1986 Formula Ford National Championship, SCCA.^[17]
• Competed in the 1988 Corvette Challenge.
• Competed in the 1989 and 1990 Pro F-2000 Canadian Championship. Vasser and his teammate Ken Murillo were sponsored by Lucasfilm.
• Competed in Atlantic Championship in 1990 and 1991 for Genoa Racing / Della Penna Motorsports.
• Won the Formula Atlantic East/West Challenge in 1990.
• Finished Runner-up (by 4 points Jovy Marcelo) in the 1991 season, six wins and seven pole positions.

Motorsports career results

SCCA National Championship Runoffs

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

(key)

Indy Lights

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

Year	Team	No.	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	17	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	18	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	12	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	1	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	12	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	40	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	8	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	12	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	12	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

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	MOT^1 DNP	LBH^1 10	KAN	INDY	MIL	TXS	IOW	RIR	WGL	NSH	MDO	EDM	KTY	SNM	DET	CHI	SRF^2	42nd	0	[37]

¹ Run on same day.

² Non-points-paying, exhibition race.

Indianapolis 500 results

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

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

NASCAR

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

Busch Series

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

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.
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.
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.
6. "Unser's disqualification upheld by IndyCar panel". The Indianapolis Star. August 2, 1995. p. 16. Retrieved February 7, 2018 – via Newspapers.com.
7. "Still no decision on Portland". The Indianapolis Star. September 20, 1995. p. 59. Retrieved February 7, 2018 – via Newspapers.com.
8. "Better late than never for Al Unser Jr". The Indianapolis Star. September 23, 1995. p. 48. Retrieved February 7, 2018 – via Newspapers.com.
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.

External links

• Official bio at PKVRacing.com
• Jimmy Vasser driver statistics at Racing-Reference
• Jimmy Vasser now savors taste of Indy milk - The Indianapolis Star, 23 May 2014

Sporting positions
Preceded by Jacques Villeneuve	CART Series Champion 1996	Succeeded by Alex Zanardi