MY RUNOFFS STORY: Jimmy Vasser

ABOVE: Vasser's Runoffs success propelled him to success in Atlantics and on to Indy.

10 years prior to his CART IndyCar championship with Target Chip Ganassi Racing, young Jimmy Vasser used his prodigious talent and a finely prepared Swift DB1 Formula Ford to earn a national championship at the 1986 SCCA Runoffs. Using a car built in Southern California, and run out of Pfeiffer Ridge Racing at Sears Point in Vasser's native Bay Area, the future star turned his victory at the Runoffs into a professional driving career that spanned three decades.

"When you're young and in the open-wheel ranks, the SCCA Runoffs mean everything," Vasser told RACER. "I was just looking at my Swift DB1 Formula Ford car I won the race with (LEFT, SCCA photo) this morning, and it was the biggest win of my career at the time. It was the springboard that got me into the Swift DB-4 Atlantic car in 1987, and from there I became kind of a Swift factory guy.

"From my Runoffs win I had to wait a little bit, but I got an opportunity to race and win in the DB4 at Laguna Seca in front of the Indy car crowd, and that was the beginning of everything for me. It all helped set me up to go from Formula Ford to each step up through the SCCA to eventually Indy car. Winning the Runoffs was huge for me."

From the time he won the Formula Ford crown at the Runoffs, Vasser would wait six years before making his debut at the Indianapolis 500.

"Our dream was always to race at Indy one day, and now, at the amateur level, these winners will be pulling into Victory Lane at Indianapolis in their SCCA cars," said Vasser (RIGHT, LAT photo) with a bit of envy. "They'll be able to say they won at Indianapolis, and I think it's great to see the Speedway open up those hallowed grounds for the best amateur drivers and it's important.

"It means a lot to a guy or a girl starting out in the SCCA and knowing they can get to Indianapolis in their cars, and then, if they have what it takes, to come back in a few years and maybe race in the Indy 500. That's an amazing story right there."

Open-wheel drivers and sports car drivers have a formal progression of series to follow on their rise to IndyCar or IMSA's WeatherTech Championship and, as Vasser sees it, finding success in the SCCA – and at the Runoffs – continues to serve as a primer for young talent.

"I really believe the Runoffs offers a great chance for the junior drivers, especially in the formula cars, to go onto the Mazda Road To Indy, or to IMSA and sports cars," he said. "It's that level right below the formal ladders that are already established, and by the time a kid gets to the next level, they've probably come from the SCCA and shown they have some real potential to develop. It's a great springboard to find out if you can make it to the top."

Vasser also wondered if the SCCA would consider adding a special class just so he can come and play at the Indianapolis Runoffs.

"I still have my Runoffs-winning Formula Ford, and I even have by DB4 Atlantic car I won in the SCCA Pro series (BELOW, Vasser after winning at Laguna Seca in '91, Marshall Pruett photo) back in the day, and I know of a lot of amazing cars from the SCCA's history that are racing today in vintage events," he said. "I don't know if they'd do it, but I'd love to bring my cars out and show the new generation what some of us older guys did and show the cars that launched a lot of careers like mine."