P. J. Chesson

P. J. Chesson
P. J. Chesson at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in 2007.
Nationality	American
Born	December 9, 1978 (1978-12-09) (age 32) Far Hills, New Jersey
Related to	James Chesson (brother)
IRL IndyCar Series
Years active	2006–2007
Teams	Roth Racing Hemelgarn Racing
Starts	5
Wins	0
Poles	0
Best finish	22nd in 2006
Previous series
2000–2003 2004–2005	World of Outlaws Indy Pro Series

Peter Lawrence Chesson, Jr (born December 9, 1978 in Far Hills, New Jersey) is an American race car driver who most recently competed in the Indy Racing League IndyCar Series.

Career

P. J. driving in IPS on the Streets of St. Petersburg in 2005

He made his professional debut in sprint cars in 1998 and from 2000 to 2003 was one of the top drivers in the World of Outlaws winged sprint car series. In 2004 he suddenly decided to change his career path and drove in the IRL's Infiniti Pro Series winning his first three races and finishing fourth in series points despite missing three races. He was announced as the driver for Hemelgarn Racing's car in the IndyCar Series in 2006 with new backing from NBA star Carmelo Anthony. The partnership was dubbed "Carmelo Hemelgarn Racing". The deal was brokered through the IRL's new marketing partner, Simmons-Abramson Marketing, made up of rock legend Gene Simmons and entertainment industry vet Richard Abramson. Chesson started the first 4 races of the season, the last being the Indianapolis 500, where he and teammate Jeff Bucknum tangled on the second lap and finished in the last two positions. Chesson has numerous tattoos, including one of the 2006 Indianapolis 500 logo that he had applied in public at the Speedway during the final day of qualifying. Since the demise of his deal with Hemelgarn, Chesson did not return to the Indycar Series until the end of the 2007 season when, in another Simmons/Abramson brokered deal, Chesson was announced as the second driver for Roth Racing alongside team owner Marty Roth with both cars sponsored by fashion label Dussault Apparel. He made his 2007 debut at the final race of the season at Chicagoland Speedway and finished 19th after mechanical gremlins sidelined him for over 100 laps. Chesson resides in NJ with his wife, Jamie and his Rottweiler Rex. PJ and Jamie are expecting a baby boy due in July 2010.

Racing record

American open–wheel racing results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position)

Indy Lights

Year	Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	Rank	Points
2004	Mo Nunn Racing	HMS	PHX	INDY	KAN 8	NSH 6	MIL 2	MIS 1	KTY 1	PPIR 1	CHI 5	FON 2	TXS 5			4th	317
2005	Genoa Racing	HMS 11	PHX 14	STP 7	INDY	TXS	IMS	NSH	MIL	KTY	PPIR	SNM	CHI	WGL	FON	17th	61

IndyCar

Year	Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	Rank	Points
2006	Hemelgarn Racing	HMS 12	STP 17	MOT 17	INDY 33	WGL	TXS	RIR	KAN	NSH	MIL	MIS	KTY	SNM	CHI				22nd	54
2007	Roth Racing	HMS	STP	MOT	KAN	INDY	MIL	TXS	IOW	RIR	WGL	NSH	MDO	MIS	KTY	SNM	DET	CHI 19	29th	12

Indianapolis 500

Year	Chassis	Engine	Start	Finish	Team
2006	Dallara	Honda	20	33	Hemelgarn

External links

• P. J. Chesson's MySpace page
• P. J. Chesson open wheel racing statistics at ChampCarStats.com

Persondata
Name	Chesson, PJ
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	December 9, 1978
Place of birth	Far Hills, New Jersey
Date of death
Place of death