Everett, Wash.
Published: Saturday, April 19, 2008

Champ Car notebook: Vasser getting rid of the rust

Also, Carl Skerlong of Mukilteo qualified 3rd for Atlantic race

 LONG BEACH, Calif. -- The only goal longtime open-wheel star Jimmy Vasser had this week at the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach was not to embarrass himself.

Vasser, coming out of a two-year open-wheel retirement to run the last-ever Champ Car World Series race in a car he co-owns, will start Sunday's event a respectable 13th in the 20-car field.

"I had a good time driving the car today," Vasser said. "I am finally starting to knock the rust off a bit, starting to actually be able to give some feedback back to the team and starting to do some driving.

"Today was a chance to get some driving points back. I think six-tenths (of a second) off of (teammate Will) Power is a reasonable progression and I am pretty happy with that. I wish I could have squeezed another couple of tenths out of it, but everyone has the same story. I think as the race progresses tomorrow the car could become more and more competitive."

Vasser, co-owner of the KV Racing Technology team, last raced a Champ Car at Long Beach in April 2006. He has driven in a couple of sports car races since, including the Daytona 24-Hours in February.

The 1996 champion of the series then called CART will be make his 233rd career start. In his previous 15 races at Long Beach, the 42-year-old Californian has finished in the top 10 a total of 10 times, including five top-five showings with three podiums and a victory in 1996.

IN HARNESS, TEMPORARILY: Long Beach is a special place for Nelson Philippe.

The Frenchman became the youngest driver in Champ Car World Series history when he first raced in the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach in 2004. Now, 21, Philippe is back in the driver's seat of an HVM-Minardi Champ Car for the Long Beach race, although it could be his only drive of the season.

Philippe, who won in Australia in 2006 at the age of 20, making him the youngest winner in Champ Car's history, began the season without a ride and, now that only a handful of Champ Car teams are transitioning to the unified IRL IndyCar Series, he may not be able to find one.

"It's great to be back in Champ Car, and great to be back at Long Beach for this last race," said Philippe, who remains hopeful of an offer if he performs well this weekend. "It's a great atmosphere and I'm really looking forward to the race."

The young driver is a walking billboard for Champ Car this weekend. His driver's suit displays every Champ Car logo since 1994 and is inscribed on the back: "Thank you Champ Car staff and fans."

Philippe missed Friday's qualifying due to a gearbox problem, but got back on track Saturday and wound up seventh on the grid.

ALL-STAR FINISH: ESPN/ABC pit reporter Jamie Little won the Toyota Pro/Celebrity Race, taking the lead on the final lap and holding off NASCAR driver Mike Skinner.

Hollywood producer/director Brad Lewis started from the pole and led the first nine laps of the 10-lap event through the streets of downtown Long Beach. But he veered into a tire barrier midway through the final lap, giving up the lead to Little.

There was some confusion at the end as the flagman apparently forgot to wave the checkered flag for the finish and Skinner and Little continued to race for an additional lap, with Skinner driving past.

"I saw the one-to-go and was celebrating in the car," Little said. "Then Mike went by me and put out his hand and waved, like, 'Let's go, let's keep racing.' I thought I had really embarrassed myself, but the race was over after the 10th lap."

In a salute to friend Helio Castroneves, a two-time Indianapolis 500 winner, Little stopped her car on track and climbed the fence in celebration.

The race pits celebrities against pros in identically prepared Toyota Scions. The Pros start 30 seconds behind the celebrities and have to get through all the traffic to get to the front.

Skinner finished the race with a piece of his front bumper dragging on the ground from a collision with one of the cars he passed.

ATLANTIC QUALIFYING: American driver Jonathan Bomarito took the pole position for Sunday's Atlantic Championship season-opener. The Monterey, Calif., driver, who began the day on the provisional pole, turned a fast lap at 93.286 mph to grab his second career pole.

Starting second will be the lone woman in the field, Simona De Silvestro, who qualified at 93.112. The Swiss driver is starting her second season in Atlantics.

Mukilteo's Carl Skerlong took third on the 23-car grid with a lap at 93.066, followed by Alan Sciuto at 92.928. The top 16 drivers in the field were separated by less than one second.

HE SAID IT: "A couple days ago PT (Paul Tracy) was helping me installing stone in my house, now I'm a race car driver, so (there's) a lot more to adapt to than (tires) and IRL cars. It's a fun weekend, I'm just enjoying it. I'm driving a great car, and it's been a long time."

Alex Tagliani, hired to drive for Walker Racing just three days before the first on-track session, after qualifying for Sunday's race.
© 2009The Daily Herald Co., Everett, WA