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| About Jimmy Vasser... |
Birthdate: November 20, 1965
Birth Place: Canoga Park, Calif
Team: American Spirit Team Johannson. |
Residence: Las Vegas, NV
Chassis: Reyanrd 91D
Engine: Ford-Cosworth XF-E |
Jimmy Vasser's Career Highlights
- 1996 CART FedEx Series Champion
- 1998 CART FedEx Championship Runner-up
- Ranks First Among Active Drivers, and Third Overall, with 165 Consecutive Starts
- Ranks Fourth Among Active Drivers with Nine Career Wins
Personal
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Enjoys golf, snowboarding, car restoration and travel.
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His extensive travel schedule allows him to follow one of his hobbies around the globe: collecting various types of antique luggage.
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First job was working in his father 'Jims wholesale used car business and it supported his racing in early years .
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Initial racing memories were watching his father's Southern California drag racing competitions.
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First race, at age six in quarter midgets, was against lifelong friends Mike and Robbie Groff.
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Was nicknamed Snake when he was competing as a youngster.
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Owner of a car dealership in Napa, Calif., which he operates with his father.
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| Jimmy's Target Chip Ganassi Honda/Reynard (1996) |
2003 Review
The former series champion moved into an elite group in 2003 as he became one of just six drivers to make 200 Champ Car starts. Jimmy started the year in strong fashion, starting eighth and finishing sixth in the season opener, and then showed his veteran skills in Long Beach, coming from 14th on the starting grid to finish fourth.
He would score top-10 finishes in five of the years first eight events, and made perhaps the season's biggest charge when he overcame qualifying woes to pass numerous cars at Mid-Ohio. He found himself in fourth spot with 10 laps to go but suffered a crash that left him 15th. He rebounded in style and saved the best for last, finishing fourth in Miami and earning the 30th podium finish of his career with a third-place run in Surfers Paradise. He placed 11th in the final standings with 72 points.
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| Overhead shot of the Shell Ford/Lola |
2002 Season Review
Team: Shell Team Rahal (Shell/Ford-Cosworth/Lola/Bridgestone)
Vasser earned his 10th career victory and his first since winning at Houston in 2000 (a span of 41 events) in The 500 Presented by Toyota. Led a race-high total of 148 laps, which also moved him into 18th place on the all-time CART Lap Leaders list. He has scored championship points in ten of his last 11 starts. His previous best result of the season was a second place run after qualifying on the pole position at Long Beach.
The Long Beach pole was his first since he took the Number One starting spot at Michigan in 1999. He also took a third place result in Miami, back-to-back fifth place finishes at Elkhart Lake and Montreal, back-to-back sixth place results at Toronto and Cleveland, eighth at Mid-Ohio, seventh at Rockingham, and 12th in Australia.
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| American Spirit Team Johannson Ford/Reynard (2003) |
2001 Season Review
Team: Patrick Racing (Visteon/Toyota/Reynard/Firestone)
The 1996 CART FedEx Championship Series champion moved from Target Chip Ganassi Racing to Patrick Racing and posted a 12th-place finish in the championship. The season was paced by a strong run late in the year when he scored in the final five events, giving him points-paying finishes in 10 of 20 events.
Posted a season-best finish of fourth at Nazareth and added four fifth-place efforts as well (Long Beach, Japan, Cleveland, Laguna Seca) during an up-and-down campaign. Top start was fourth at Mid-Ohio. Finished 12th in the FedEx Championship Series championship with 77 points.
2000 Season Review
Team: Target Chip Ganassi Racing (Target/Toyota/Lola/Firestone)
Final season with Target Chip Ganassi Racing marked the sixth consecutive top-10 finish in the CART FedEx Championship Series championship as he finished sixth in the title race. Strung together six points-paying results in his final seven events of the season, highlighted by a victory at Houston that was his first win since the 1998 season finale at California Speedway. Finished the year with four podium finishes, including a runner-up effort at Rio de Janeiro and third-place performances at Long Beach and Australia. Finished sixth in the FedEx Championship Series.
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| 2003 Indy 500 with Team Rahal |
1999 Season Review
Team: Target Chip Ganassi Racing (Target/Honda/Reynard/Goodyear)
Finished among the top 10 drivers in the FedEx Championship Series for the fifth consecutive season, a streak which began in 1995 and is highlighted by his series crown in 1996 . Scored points in 14 of 20 starts, topped by back-to-back podium finishes of third at Chicago and Vancouver. Won a pole at Michigan Speedway, one of 12 top-10 starts during the season. Moved into 14th place on the CART career starts list, with 127. Finished ninth in the FedEx Championship Series.
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| Leading at Long Beach for Team Rahal. |
1998 Season Review
Team: Target Chip Ganassi Racing (Target/Honda/Reynard/Goodyear)
Runner-up finish to teammate Alex Zanardi in the championship placed him among the top three drivers in the FedEx Championship Series for the third consecutive season and made Target Chip Ganassi the first team to finish one-two in the championship since Al Unser Jr. and Emerson Fittipaldi finished first and second, respectively, for Marlboro Team Penske in 1994. Earned victories at Nazareth, Milwaukee and in the season finale at Fontana. Victory at Fontana paid him $1 million, his second million-dollar payday in three years. Earned pole positions at Japan, where the starting grid was based on practice times due to a rainout of qualifying, and Cleveland. Made his 100th career start at Michigan and finished the season with 107.
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| 2001 Indy 500 with Target Chip Ganassi Racing |
1997 Season Review
Team: Target Chip Ganassi Racing (Target/Honda/Reynard/Goodyear)
Defending series champion did not repeat but enjoyed a solid season with a victory at Laguna Seca and nine top-five finishes, including podium performances at Vancouver and Fontana (seconds) and Homestead and Milwaukee (thirds), to finish third in the series championship. Tied Al Unser Jr's FedEx Championship Series record of 25 consecutive race finishes, compiled from Laguna Seca in 1995 through Detroit in 1997. Scored 54 of his 144 points in the final three events. Finished third in the championship.
1996 Season Review
Team: Target Chip Ganassi Racing (Target/Honda/Reynard/Goodyear)
Registered four victories and four poles en route to the first FedEx Championship Series championship of his caree. Second season with Target Chip Ganassi Racing was characterized by a torrid start and season-long run of consistency.
He Opened the season at Homestead with his first career victory en route to winning four of the first six events. Followed with his first career pole and road-course win at Australia. Made it two in a row with a victory at Long Beach, and then culminated the run with a lucrative $1 million payday and prestigious triumph in The Inaugural U.S. 500 at Michigan, run Memorial Day weekend. Biggest lead of the season was 36 points over Al Unser Jr. after taking the U.S. 500. Did not win again, but relied on consistency. Recorded points in 15 of 16 races.
Led the series in laps completed (1,990 of 2,005) and miles completed (3,637.606 of 3,662.839). Four victories ranked second to Andretti (5) and four poles second to rookie teammate, Alex Zanardi (6. Became the first series champion to complete every race in his championship season and lso the first driver to win the crown without recording a victory previously in his career.
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| 2002 Indy 500 with Team Rahal |
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