- Jimmy Vasser
Former Champ Car driver
Name = Jimmy Vasser
Nationality = flagicon|USA American
Years = 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)
Races = 232
Championships = 1 (1996)
Wins = 10
Podiums = 33
Poles = 9
First race = 1992 Dailkyo IndyCar Grand Prix (Surfer's Paradise )
First win = 1996 MarlboroGrand Prix of Miami (Homestead)
Last win = 2002The 500 Presented by Toyota (Fontana)
Last race =2008 Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach Jimmy Vasser (born
November 20 1965 inCanoga Park ,California ) is an American racing driver and current race team owner. Vasser won the1996 Champ Car champion withChip Ganassi Racing , and scored ten victories in the series. Vasser was the last American to win theChamp Car championship.Driving career
Indy Car/ChampCar
Vasser made his
Champ Car debut in 1992 and looked set to become a successor to legends such asA.J. Foyt andRick Mears . Although he did become a top driver, his rise to prominence coincided with the infamous CART-IRL (Indy Racing League ) 'split' so Vasser's best years were spent away from the importantIndianapolis 500 , although he has raced in the event on a one-off basis a few times since, finishing as high as 4th in the 2001 race.1996 season/Ganassi
Vasser won 4 of the first 5 races in 1996 and did enough to maintain a lead in the standings, although rookie teammate
Alex Zanardi outperformed him in the second half of the season, and over the next 2 years. He had a poor 1999 season teamed withJuan Pablo Montoya , and left the team at the end of 2000.PKV Racing
In 2004 he became part owner of
PKV Racing along withDan Pettit andKevin Kalkhoven where he became one of the drivers for the two-car operation. Vasser retired from open wheel racing in 2006, but still has an ownership stake. He temporarily came out of retirement to drive the 3rdKV Racing Technology car in the final Champ Car World Series event at the2008 Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach .ports car racing
Also in 2006, Vasser competed in three
Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series races, including the24 Hours of Daytona , driving forGAINSCO/Blackhawk Racing . In 2007, he again drove for the renamedGAINSCO/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 1000km. Vasser will again drive for Stallings' team beginning at Laguna Seca in May 2008, pairing with fellowChamp Car championCristiano da Matta .Motorsports Career Results
American Open-Wheel
() (Races in bold indicate pole position, races in "italics" indicate fastest race lap)
Champ Car
*
* New points system implemented in 2004Indianapolis 500 results
Notes
Winner of fastest
Champ Car race: Fontana 2002, Average Speed: 197.995mphCo-owner of
PKV Racing External links
* [http://pkvracing.homestead.com/AboutPKV_Vasser.html Official bio] at PKVRacing.com
* [http://www.gainscoracing.com/race_team/bio_jvasser.html Bob Stallings Racing bio]
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