Vasser, Tracy Returning to Brickyard Vintage Racing Invitational
April 11, 2018 | By Paul Kelly, Indianapolis Motor Speedway
1996 CART champion Jimmy Vasser and 2003 Champ Car champion Paul Tracy once again will compete in the “Indy Legends” Charity Pro-Am on Saturday, June 16 during the SVRA Brickyard Vintage Racing Invitational at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Tracy, who won the event in 2016, is returning for his third attempt at what is arguably the biggest prize in vintage racing. Vasser is coming back after making his debut last year. The Pro-Am is the feature event of the Sportscar Vintage Racing Assocation (SVRA) event.
Both Tracy and Vasser are among the major talents of modern Indy car racing. Tracy is a seven-time starter in the Indianapolis 500 presented by PennGrade Motor Oil, with a best finish of second in 2002 in a controversial result that still has bench-racers debating the outcome. Vasser competed in eight Indianapolis 500s, recording two fourths, in 1994 and 2001, for his best showings.
The Pro-Am feature is a 45-minute race of American muscle cars on the Speedway’s 2.43-mile Grand Prix road course. The cars are 1963 to 1972 vintage Corvettes, Camaros and Mustangs of the “Group 6” SVRA class. As in the previous three years, the professionals will be paired with amateur drivers, splitting stints at the wheel at their discretion. Additional Indy 500 drivers will be announced as they enter the Pro-Am in the coming weeks.
Vasser has been a force in Indy car racing for 25 years, scoring 10 victories as a driver and winning the 2013 Indianapolis 500 as a team owner with Tony Kanaan at the wheel. Driving for Jim Hayhoe, he burst on the scene at Indianapolis in 1992 by setting the speed record for rookies during qualifying at 222.313 mph. During his 15 seasons as an Indy car driver, Vasser drove for several top teams, including six years with Chip Ganassi. He also drove for Bobby Rahal, Pat Patrick and Stefan Johansson before joining forces with Kevin Kalkhoven and moving into a partnership to form KV Racing in 2004. He became a partner in Dale Coyne’s IndyCar team in 2018.
“Paul encouraged me to check out SVRA racing last year, and I came away really happy I did,” Vasser said. “It just felt great to be buckled into a race car again, get out on the track and race across those bricks. It’s fun competition in a relaxed, more informal atmosphere for the drivers and fans.”
Tracy, a 2014 inductee into the Canadian Motorsports Hall of Fame, enjoyed a 20-year career at the top level of North American open-wheel racing. During that time, he amassed an amazing 31 race wins and a 2003 series championship while driving for some of the premier teams in the sport, including Team Penske, Newman-Haas, Team Kool Green, Forsythe and A.J. Foyt. In 2006, 2007 and 2012, Tracy drove in several GRAND-AM sports car races, including the Rolex 24 At Daytona in each of those years. He also remains active in IndyCar racing as an analyst in the broadcast booth for NBC Sports’ coverage of the series. Most recently he competed in last month’s Road Atlanta round of the professional Trans Am series.
“I’ve said it before, and I will say it again – these SVRA guys are serious racers,” Tracy said. “Tony (Parella) has put together the marquee event in vintage sports car racing, and I look forward to being a part of it for years to come.”
In addition to the Pro-Am, there will be a festival of other activities at the Brickyard Invitational, including the Sunday, June 17 feature race by the professional Trans Am series headed by 2017 champion Ernie Francis Jr. The weekend also presents the Hagerty Insurance “shine and show” car corral, vintage motorcycle racing, and 500+ vintage racers ranging over 100 years of automotive history racing in SVRA Groups 1 through 12. An oval exhibition featuring a race car show of judged competition for the A.J. Watson and Sir Jack Brabham trophies led by track historian Donald Davidson also will take place.
Visit IMS.com to buy tickets or for more information about the Brickyard Vintage Racing Invitational. Children 15 and under are admitted free each day when accompanied by an adult.