Jimmy Vasser
Vasser at Long Beach, 2008
NationalityAmerican
Born (1965-11-20) November 20, 1965
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 Vasser Jr. (born November 20, 1965) is an American former racing driver. Vasser won the 1996 CART IndyCar championship with Chip Ganassi Racing, and scored ten victories in the series.[1] Vasser was the last American to win the CART championship.

Driving career

Vasser made his CART debut in 1992 and qualified for the Indianapolis 500, setting a record for the fastest qualifying run by a first-year driver.[2] Although he did become a top driver, his rise to prominence coincided with the CART–IRL split, so Vasser's best years were spent away from the Indianapolis 500. He has raced in the event on a one-off basis a few times since, finishing as high as fourth (in the 2001 race.)

Vasser won four races in 1996 and did enough to maintain a lead in the standings for most of the season, clinching the championship at the season's final race.[3] Teammate Alex Zanardi outperformed him over the next two years, winning the points championship both years.[4] Vasser teamed with Juan Pablo Montoya in 1999. He was once again outperformed by his teammate and Montoya won the championship on his rookie season.[5] In 2000, his last year with Chip Ganassi Racing, Vasser won the Houston Grand Prix for his first victory since 1998.[6]

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.[7] 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.[8]

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.[9] However, he was injured prior to the race and was replaced by Davey Hamilton.[10]

Early career

  • Won the 1986 Formula Ford National Championship, SCCA.[11]
  • 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

YearTrackCarEngineClassFinishStartStatus
1985Road AtlantaSwift DB1FordFormula Ford255Running
1986Road AtlantaSwift DB1FordFormula Ford12Running

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 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 [12]
1993 Hayhoe-Cole Racing Lola T92/00 Chevrolet 265A SRF
24		 PHX
3		 LBH
22		 MIL
8		 DET
16		 POR
11		 CLE 16th 30 [13]
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 [14]
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 [15]
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 [16]
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 [17]
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 [18]
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 [19]
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 [20]
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 [21]
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 [22]
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 [23]
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^ [24]
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 [25]
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 [26]
  • ^ 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 [27]
2001 G-Force GF05B 44 PHX HMS ATL INDY
4		 TXS PPIR RIR KAN NSH KTY GAT CHI TX2 36th 32 [28]
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 [29]
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 [30]
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 [31]
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 [32]

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 (September 9, 1996). "Zanardi wins race, but Vasser takes title". The Modesto Bee. Associated Press. Retrieved January 23, 2010.
  4. ↑ "Ganassi changes drivers". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Associated Press. Archived from the original on July 15, 2012. Retrieved January 23, 2010.
  5. ↑ "Ganassi changes drivers". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Associated Press. Archived from the original on July 15, 2012. Retrieved January 23, 2010.
  6. ↑ "Vasser ends drought on streets of Houston". ESPN. Associated Press. October 2, 2000. Retrieved January 23, 2010.
  7. ↑ Graves, Gary (August 26, 2004). "Champ Car's Vasser revved up to break record". USA Today. Retrieved January 23, 2010.
  8. ↑ Lawley, Erin (April 17, 2008). "Vasser getting behind wheel at LBC". Napa Valley Register. Retrieved January 23, 2010.
  9. ↑ "Paul Tracy, Jimmy Vasser join Robby Gordon's Stadium SUPER Trucks series for Toronto". Racer. July 11, 2013. Retrieved December 12, 2013.
  10. ↑ "Lofton wins Stadium Truck Race 1 in Toronto". Racer. July 13, 2013. Archived from the original on July 1, 2014. Retrieved December 12, 2013.
  11. ↑ Taylor, Michael (January 7, 2007). "A Fascination For Fine Machines". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved January 23, 2010.
  12. ↑ "Jimmy Vasser – 1992 CART Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved August 15, 2023.
  13. ↑ "Jimmy Vasser – 1993 CART Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved August 15, 2023.
  14. ↑ "Jimmy Vasser – 1994 CART Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved August 15, 2023.
  15. ↑ "Jimmy Vasser – 1995 CART Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved August 15, 2023.
  16. ↑ "Jimmy Vasser – 1996 CART Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved August 15, 2023.
  17. ↑ "Jimmy Vasser – 1997 CART Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved August 15, 2023.
  18. ↑ "Jimmy Vasser – 1998 CART Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved August 15, 2023.
  19. ↑ "Jimmy Vasser – 1999 CART Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved August 15, 2023.
  20. ↑ "Jimmy Vasser – 2000 CART Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved August 15, 2023.
  21. ↑ "Jimmy Vasser – 2001 CART Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved August 15, 2023.
  22. ↑ "Jimmy Vasser – 2002 CART Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved August 15, 2023.
  23. ↑ "Jimmy Vasser – 2003 CART Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved August 15, 2023.
  24. ↑ "Jimmy Vasser – 2004 Champ Car World Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved August 15, 2023.
  25. ↑ "Jimmy Vasser – 2005 Champ Car World Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved August 15, 2023.
  26. ↑ "Jimmy Vasser – 2006 Champ Car World Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved August 15, 2023.
  27. ↑ "Jimmy Vasser – 2000 Indy Racing Northern Lights Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved August 1, 2023.
  28. ↑ "Jimmy Vasser – 2001 Indy Racing Northern Lights Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved August 1, 2023.
  29. ↑ "Jimmy Vasser – 2002 Indy Racing League Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved August 1, 2023.
  30. ↑ "Jimmy Vasser – 2003 IndyCar Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved August 1, 2023.
  31. ↑ "Jimmy Vasser – 2008 IndyCar Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved August 1, 2023.
  32. ↑ "Jimmy Vasser – 2003 NASCAR Busch Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved April 13, 2023.
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