Jaques Lazier Explained

Jaques Lazier
Birth Date:25 January 1971
Birth Place:Denver, Colorado, U.S.
Related To:Bob Lazier (father)
Buddy Lazier (brother)
Current Series:IRL IndyCar Series
First Year:1999
Current Team:Team 3G
Car Number:98
Former Teams:Truscelli Team Racing
Mid-America Motorsports
Team XTreme
Team Menard
Sam Schmidt Motorsports
Patrick Racing
Chip Ganassi Racing
Playa Del Racing
Starts:56
Wins:1
Poles:2
Best Finish:17th
Year:2001
Prev Series:U.S. Formula Ford
Indy Lights
Prev Series Years:1989-1997
1997

Jaques Lazier (born January 25, 1971) is an American former race car driver. He is the younger brother of 1996 Indianapolis 500 champion Buddy Lazier and son of former Indy racer Bob Lazier.

Racing career

The younger Lazier ran in U.S. Formula Ford competition from 1989 to 1997 and also drove part-time in Indy Lights in 1997. In 1998, he was entered for the Indianapolis 500 in a car owned by Price Cobb, but neither Lazier nor the car took part in any session. He planned to join the IRL IndyCar Series full-time in 1999 for his own team but he couldn't take the start at Phoenix International Raceway and failed to qualify for the Indy 500. He moved to the new Truscelli Team Racing the week after the Indy 500 and made his first start at Texas Motor Speedway. He finished 7th three times late in the season. He made his first Indy 500 start in 2000, although Truscelli shut down later that season, again leaving Lazier without a ride.

In 2001 Lazier drove for four different teams including TeamXtreme and Sam Schmidt Motorsports, he got his best chance with Team Menard, replacing Greg Ray. He won his second start for the team at Chicagoland Speedway. He drove for Menard for the first four races of the 2002 season until he was injured in a crash at Nazareth Speedway, just before the Indy 500, missing the rest of the season. In 2003 he returned to his seat but was let go by Team Menard, this time after the Indy 500. He signed on with A. J. Foyt Enterprises for the next four races, but funds failed to materialize for the remainder of the season and he was left on the sidelines.

Lazier entered the 2004 season without a ride, but was the relief driver for Robby Gordon in the Indy 500 as he had to leave for Charlotte to drive in the Coca-Cola 600. Later that season he made eight starts for Patrick Racing after Al Unser Jr. retired and posted several good results, but again was ride-less entering 2005. He struck a deal with the new Playa del Racing team to contest the Indy 500 but their funds were good only for that race.

When veteran owner Chip Ganassi fired British driver Darren Manning, he called on Lazier to replace him for the remaining oval races of the season. While with the team he was involved in an incident with rookie fan favorite Danica Patrick at the final race at California Speedway. The two touched and set off an accident, whereupon some reports claimed Patrick "gave Lazier a love tap". Rahal Letterman Racing, Patrick's team, put out a press release saying Patrick had only told Lazier to mind his business in the future.

Without a full-time ride in 2006, Lazier returned to the 2007 Indy 500 with Playa Del Racing. He led for the first time at Indy for two laps when he stayed out on the track when the leaders pitted. However, he crashed late in the race and finished 27th. Lazier, while actively seeking a ride in the series, was unable to find one until he stepped in for the struggling Stanton Barrett at Team 3G at Texas Motor Speedway in 2009. He drove in the next race as well and made four more oval starts for the team later in the year. His 13th place at Iowa Speedway was his best IndyCar finish since 2004. His last IndyCar appearance was in 2010, when he replaced A. J. Foyt IV at the Indy 500 during Bump Day. With very few laps in the car, Lazier fell short of the required speed and failed to qualify.

Motorsports career results

SCCA National Championship Runoffs

Year Track Car Engine Class Finish Start Status
1994 Mysterian M2 11 24 Running
1995 Mysterian M2 3 1 Running
1996 Mysterian M2 1 27 Running
1997 Mysterian M2 19 2 Running

American open–wheel racing results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position)

IndyCar Series

YearTeamChassisNo.Engine1234567891011121314151617RankPointsRef
1999DR MotorsportsG-Force GF01C33Infiniti VRH35ADE V8WDWPHX
CLT18th144[1]
Oldsmobile Aurora V8INDY
Truscelli Team RacingTXS
PPI
ATL
DOV
PP2
LVS
TX2
2000G-Force GF05WDW
PHXLVS
INDY
13
TXS
PPI
ATL20th112[2]
Mid-America MotorsportsDallara IR-0043KTY
Team XtremeG-Force GF0516TX2
2001G-Force GF05B77PHXHMSATLINDY
TXS
PPI
17th195[3]
Sam Schmidt MotorsportsDallara IR-0199RIR
KAN
NSH
KTY
Team Menard2STL
CHI
TX2
2002Dallara IR-02Chevrolet Indy V8HMS
PHX
FON
NZR
INDYTXSPPIRIRKANNSHMISKTYSTLCHITX226th90[4]
2003Dallara IR-03HMS
PHX
MOT
INDY
NZR
CHIFONTX223rd120[5]
A. J. Foyt Enterprises5Toyota Indy V8TXS
PPI
RIR
KAN
NSHMISSTLKTY
2004Robby Gordon MotorsportsDallara IR-0470Chevrolet Indy V8HMSPHXMOTINDY1
TXSRIRKAN22nd104[6]
Patrick Racing20NSH
MIL
MIS
KTY
PPI
NZR
CHI
FONTX2
2005Playa Del RacingPanoz GF09C21Toyota Indy V8HMSPHXSTPMOTINDY
TXSRIRKANNSHMIL24th81[7]
Chip Ganassi Racing10MIS
KTY
PPI
SNMCHI
WGLFON
2006Playa Del Racing21Honda HI6R V8HMSSTPMOTINDY
WGLTXSRIRKANNSHMILMISKTYSNMCHI29th13[8]
2007Honda HI7R V8HMSSTPMOTKANINDY
MILTXSIOWRIRWGLNSHMDOMISKTYSNMDETCHI33rd10[9]
2009Team 3GDallara IR-0598 Honda HI9R V8STPLBHKANINDYMILTXS
IOW
RIR
WGLTOREDMKTY
MDOSNMCHI
MOTHMS
26th77[10]
2010A. J. Foyt Enterprises41Honda HI10R V8SAOSTPALALBHKANINDY
TXSIOWWGLTOREDMMDOSNMCHIKTYMOTHMSNC[11]

1 Relieved Robby Gordon.

Indianapolis 500

YearChassisEngineStartFinishTeamNote
1999G-Force GF01COldsmobile Aurora V8DNQDR Motorsports
2000G-Force GF05Oldsmobile Aurora V8align=center 26align=center style="background:#CFCFFF;"13Truscelli Racing Team
2001G-Force GF05BOldsmobile Aurora V8align=center 17align=center style="background:#CFCFFF;"22Team Xtreme
2003Dallara IR-03Chevrolet Indy V8align=center 20align=center style="background:#EFCFFF;"29Team Menard
2004Dallara IR-04Chevrolet Indy V8align=center 18align=center style="background:#EFCFFF;"29Robby Gordon MotorsportsRelieved Robby Gordon
2005Panoz GF09CToyota Indy V8align=center 27align=center style="background:#CFCFFF;"16Playa Del Racing
2006Panoz GF09CHonda HI6R V8align=center 24align=center style="background:#CFCFFF;"17Playa Del Racing
2007Panoz GF09CHonda HI7R V8align=center 28align=center style="background:#EFCFFF;"27Playa Del Racing
2010Dallara IR-05Honda HI10R V8DNQA. J. Foyt Enterprises

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Jaques Lazier – 1999 Pep Boys Indy Racing League Results. Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. August 1, 2023.
  2. Web site: Jaques Lazier – 2000 Indy Racing Northern Lights Series Results. Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. August 1, 2023.
  3. Web site: Jaques Lazier – 2001 Indy Racing Northern Lights Series Results. Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. August 1, 2023.
  4. Web site: Jaques Lazier – 2002 Indy Racing League Results. Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. August 1, 2023.
  5. Web site: Jaques Lazier – 2003 IndyCar Series Results. Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. August 1, 2023.
  6. Web site: Jaques Lazier – 2004 IndyCar Series Results. Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. August 1, 2023.
  7. Web site: Jaques Lazier – 2005 IndyCar Series Results. Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. August 1, 2023.
  8. Web site: Jaques Lazier – 2006 IndyCar Series Results. Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. August 1, 2023.
  9. Web site: Jaques Lazier – 2007 IndyCar Series Results. Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. August 1, 2023.
  10. Web site: Jaques Lazier – 2009 IndyCar Series Results. Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. August 1, 2023.
  11. Web site: Jaques Lazier – 2010 IZOD IndyCar Series Results. Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. August 1, 2023.