SPEED CITY

If one of his stated reasons for founding the Indy Racing League was to develop young American drivers, Tony George need have looked no further than Jimmy Vasser.

Vasser, 30, is the quintessential Californian who worked his way to the top of the PPG Indy Car World Series standings by racing in purely American series. Born in Canoga Park and now living in San Francisco, he didn’t run off to Europe to hone his skills, he progressed from quarter-midgets to Formula Ford to Formula Atlantic to Indy cars--winning at each level.

In his second year with Chip Ganassi’s Target racing team, Vasser grabbed the PPG Cup points lead by winning two of the first three races--the opener at Homestead, Fla., and again two weeks ago on a street circuit in Australia.

Today, in the 22nd Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach, Vasser will start his Reynard-Honda from the second row of the 28-car field after failing to improve Saturday on his earlier qualifying speed of 109.310 mph.

Brazilian Gil de Ferran broke his day-old track record around the 1.59-mile street circuit with a 109.639-mph lap in a Reynard-Honda to win the pole. Italian rookie Alex Zanardi, Vasser’s Target teammate, took the other front-row position at 109.535.

“I think we could have taken it away from Gil until Robby [Gordon] blew his engine and dumped oil all over the track,” Vasser said. “We opted not to even go out after that. Everybody is so close, though, that anyone might have had a fast lap. Unfortunately, it was a lost seven minutes that hurt.”

Only eight-tenths of a second separated the first 16 cars.

“Don’t count out Al Unser just because he’s ninth,” Vasser said. “Junior is King of the Beach and he’ll be coming at us.”

Unser Jr. has won the Grand Prix six times and is the defending two-time champion.

Vasser may be an American driver George would liked to have, but Indianapolis Motor Speedway is one place Vasser won’t be on May 26.

“There isn’t a person in this entire paddock who wouldn’t rather be at Indy, but not under the way Tony George wants it,” Vasser said. “The only alternative we have is run the U.S. 500 at Michigan and hope things change next year.”

Vasser was voted the most improved driver in Indy cars last year, his first with Ganassi, but it was nothing to the improvement he has shown this year.

“I can’t say I knew we’d win the first race, or two of the first three, but after the work the team did in the winter I knew we would be competitive,” Vasser said. “So I wasn’t all that surprised.

“We had two seconds last year and finished eighth in the points, but instead of sitting still, Chip looked at the performance of Honda’s engine and Firestone’s tires and made switches that helped. Then we went out and did about 2,000 miles of testing, a lot more than I’d ever done before.

“As a result, the team put a great race car on the track and with good strategy in the pits, we raised our performance to another level.”

Today’s 105-lap Grand Prix will be Vasser’s fifth appearance at Long Beach. He won the 1991 Formula Atlantic race, a preliminary to the Grand Prix.

“I love the atmosphere at Long Beach, all the people and the color, but I think the track has deteriorated in difficulty,” he said. “It was more exciting when it ran up the hill and down Ocean Boulevard, and when it ran through the Hyatt garage.

“There’s really not a lot to it now, a few wiggles between two long straightaways where we run flat out, about 185-190 mph, but it’s a great location and with all the atmosphere, a great race.”

Vasser was practically reared in a race car. His father, Jim Sr., raced AA gas dragsters at tracks such as Irwindale and San Fernando, and Jimmy tagged along until he was old enough to race himself. He was 6 when he drove his first quarter-midget and 9 when he won the first of three national championships.

After graduating from the Jim Russell Driving School in 1983, Vasser tried the Formula Ford series and won five of 11 races, the North American championship and rookie-of-the-year honors.

In 1986 he had seven victories and nine poles in Formula Fords and was named Motoring Press Assn.’s open wheel driver of the year.

That success called for a move up to Formula Atlantic with similar results. His win in the season finale at Laguna Seca earned him second place in the 1987 standings. In 1991, with the backing of Indy car owner Rick Galles, he had six victories and eight poles and although he missed the championship, he received the prestigious Gilles Villeneuve Trophy.

“Rick Galles was very important to my career because he introduced me to Jimmy Hayhoe, who gave me my first opportunity in an Indy car,” Vasser said.

Vasser and Hayhoe, a Palm Springs resort developer, competed in as many races as the underfinanced team could afford for three years before Hayhoe decided to call it quits. Before he closed up shop, however, Hayhoe talked with Ganassi and ended up moving with his driver to the Target team, where Vasser replaced Mauricio Gugelmin.

When Vasser was voted most-improved driver last year, it had a special meaning for Ganassi. He had received the same award in 1983.

“I’d say Jimmy would be a strong choice to win the award again, if things keep going the way they have,” Ganassi said.

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Long Beach Grand Prix Lineup

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Driver Home Car 1. Gil de Ferran Brazil Reynard-Honda 2. Alex Zanardi Italy Reynard-Honda 3. Jimmy Vasser Discovery Bay, Calif. Reynard-Honda 4. Paul Tracy Canada Penske-Mercedes 5. Scott Pruett Crystal Bay, Nev. Lola-Ford 6. Parker Johnstone Redmond, Ore. Reynard-Honda 7. Robby Gordon Orange Reynard-Ford 8. Greg Moore Canada Reynard-Mercedes 9. Al Unser Jr. Albuquerque Penske-Mercedes 10. Christian Fittipaldi Brazil Lola-Ford 11. Mauricio Gugelmin Brazil Reynard-Ford 12. Michael Andretti Nazareth, Pa. Lola-Ford 13. Adrian Fernandez Mexico Lola-Honda 14. Emerson Fittipaldi Brazil Penske-Mercedes 15. Andre Ribeiro Brazil Reynard-Honda 16. Raul Boesel Brazil Reynard-Ford 17. Bryan Herta Valencia Reynard-Mercedes 18. Roberto Moreno Brazil Lola-Ford 19. Teo Fabi Italy Reynard-Ford 20. Stefan Johansson Sweden Reynard-Mercedes 21. Bobby Rahal Dublin, Ohio Reynard-Mercedes 22. Richie Hearn Canyon Country 1995 Reynard-Ford 23. Jeff Krosnoff La Canada Reynard-Toyota 24. Eddie Lawson Lake Havasu, Ariz. Lola-Mercedes 25. Hiro Matsushita Japan Lola-Ford 26. Juan Fangio II Argentina Eagle-Toyota 27. Michel Jourdain Jr. Mexico Lola-Ford 28. Dennis Vitolo Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. 1995 Reynard-Ford

Driver Speed 1. Gil de Ferran *109.639 2. Alex Zanardi 109.535 3. Jimmy Vasser 109.310 4. Paul Tracy 108.985 5. Scott Pruett 108.910 6. Parker Johnstone 108.715 7. Robby Gordon 108.504 8. Greg Moore 108.409 9. Al Unser Jr. 108.407 10. Christian Fittipaldi 108.396 11. Mauricio Gugelmin 108.278 12. Michael Andretti 108.264 13. Adrian Fernandez 108.214 14. Emerson Fittipaldi 108.168 15. Andre Ribeiro 108.100 16. Raul Boesel 107.947 17. Bryan Herta 107.620 18. Roberto Moreno 107.555 19. Teo Fabi 107.551 20. Stefan Johansson 107.306 21. Bobby Rahal 107.268 22. Richie Hearn 107.125 23. Jeff Krosnoff 106.151 24. Eddie Lawson 105.822 25. Hiro Matsushita 105.332 26. Juan Fangio II 104.934 27. Michel Jourdain Jr. 102.566 28. Dennis Vitolo 102.489

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* track qualifying record; previous record 109.482 by De Ferran on Friday.