The Portland event has always carried special feelings in the Champ Car paddock as the race is traditionally run on Father's Day
source: champcarworldseries.com This year we caught up with 1996 Champ Car World Series Champion and co-owner/driver of PKV Racing Jimmy Vasser and his dad, Jim Vasser Sr. How did Jimmy get involved in racing? Jim Vasser Sr. : I was into drag racing throughout the state of Washington, but I could never compete with the high budget teams. I mean, I did OK, but without any serious financial backing I couldn't make it to the next step. Did Jimmy help you out? Sr.: My drag racing was Jimmy's first experiences into racing. He was about 5 or 6 and would follow me around and be my "wrench man." It was a great experience for both of us. I also built a trophy-winning roadster that Jimmy helped me on. That was a pivotal part in Jimmy's "technical" learning and he was still about 6 years old. So did Jimmy say: "I want to go racing Dad?" Sr.: Well, I kind of pushed it on him I guess. We started him off in quarter midgets and he started winning immediately. Then I asked him ultimately where he wanted to be and he said Indy, so we took him to the Jim Russell School and he started turning left and right and that was that.
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