Jim Guthrie (driver)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jim Guthrie
Nationality	United States
Date of Birth	September 12, 1961 (1961-09-12) (age 46)
Place of Birth	Gadsden, Alabama
Retired	2001
Indy Racing League IndyCar Series
Years active	1996-2001
Teams	Blueprint Racing ISM Racing Cobb Racing Riley & Scott
Starts	15
Wins	1
Poles	0
Fastest laps	0
Best finish	12th in 1996-1997
Previous series
1995	Toyota Atlantic
Awards
1997	Indy Racing League Rookie of the Year

This article is about the racecar driver, for the singer-songwriter, see Jim Guthrie.

Jim Guthrie (born September 13, 1961 in Gadsden, Alabama) is a former driver in the Indy Racing League. He debuted in the Indy Racing League in 1996 with moderately successful results. When the IRL moved to purpose-built chassis in 1997, Guthrie was forced to take out a second mortgage to purchase a new chassis. With no sponsorship and the prospects of losing his house if his venture was unsuccessful, he won the second race in the new chassis at Phoenix International Raceway. He got sponsorship from Jacuzzi for the Indianapolis 500 and was able to finish the season (placing 12th in season points) winning Rookie of the Year honors and kept his house. Jim contested four races in 1998, but then during the Indianapolis 500, he was seriously injured in a multi-car crash and has not contested an IRL race since.

Jim is now an owner of Guthrie Racing in the Firestone Indy Lights Series and fields a car for his son Sean, who raced in the Star Mazda Series in 2005. The team began with 2005 IPS star Travis Gregg at Homestead, and 2005 Star Mazda champion Raphael Matos scoring the team's first two wins at St. Petersburg (there were two races on that weekend). For the 2008 season, the team has 3 cars with Logan Gomez filling the second seat and the third car has been run by Tom Wieringa and Robbie Pecorari. The team has already achieved 2nd and 3rd place finishes at Kansas and St. Petersburg.

[edit] Indy 500 results

Year	Chassis	Engine	Start	Finish
1996	Lola	Menard-Buick	19th	18th
1997	Dallara	Oldsmobile	6th	26th
1998	G-Force	Oldsmobile	20th	29th
1999	Dallara	Oldsmobile	Failed to Qualiy
2001	G-Force	Oldsmobile	Practice Crash