Jim Guthrie (racing driver)

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, but he returned later in the season for two different teams. He attempted the 1999 Indianapolis 500 but failed to qualify his Coulson Racing entry.

Jim Guthrie
Nationality	American
Born	September 13, 1961 Gadsden, Alabama
Retired	2001
Indy Racing League IndyCar Series
Years active	1996-2001
Teams	Blueprint Racing ISM Racing Cobb Racing Riley & Scott Coulson Racing
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

Jim was later an owner of Guthrie Meyer Racing in the Firestone Indy Lights Series that fielded a car for his son Sean, who raced in the Star Mazda Series in 2005. The team began with 2005 IPS driver 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 had 3 cars with Logan Gomez filling the second seat and the third was run by Tom Wieringa and Robbie Pecorari. Franck Perera joined the team for the second half of the season and captured a win at Infineon Raceway.

Guthrie later started competing in Formula Drift with a Chevrolet powered Mazda RX7 sponsored by Car Crafters of Albuquerque.

On Sept 25th 2012, Jim under-steered, crashed and flipped his 2011 Ford Mustang into a tire wall at Formula Drift/Pro Am Round 4 (After Dark); the result of a driver error.

Today, Guthrie is actively involved in the local community in Albuquerque. His business, Car Crafters, has recently expanded to 5 locations around the Albuquerque area. One of his latest interests is triathlons, as he completed his first Half-Ironman in April 2016 in Monterrey, Mexico.[1]

Racing record

American Open Wheel Racing results

(key)

Indy Racing League

Year	Team	Chassis	Engine	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	Rank	Points
1996	Blueprint Racing	Lola T93/00	Menard Indy V6t	WDW	PHX 15	INDY 18											20th	74
1996-97	Blueprint Racing	Lola T93/00	Menard Indy V6t	NHM 23													12th	186
			Buick 3300 V6t		LVS 13
		Dallara IR7	Oldsmobile Aurora V8			WDW 6	PHX 1	INDY 26	TXS 21	PPIR DNQ	CLT 12	NH2 24	LV2 4
1998	ISM Racing	G-Force GF01B	Oldsmobile Aurora V8	WDW DNQ	PHX DNQ	INDY 29	TXS	NHM									33rd	41
	CBR Cobb Racing	G-Force GF01B	Infiniti VRH35ADE V8						DOV 7
			Oldsmobile Aurora V8							CLT 22	PPIR	ATL	TX2
	Riley & Scott Cars	Riley & Scott Mk V	Oldsmobile Aurora V8											LVS 24
1999	Coulson Racing	Dallara IR9	Oldsmobile Aurora V8	WDW	PHX	CLT	INDY DNQ	TXS	PPIR	ATL	DOV	PPI2	LVS	TX2			NC	-
2001	Blueprint Racing	G-Force GF05B	Oldsmobile Aurora V8	PHX	HMS	ATL	INDY DNQ	TXS	PPIR	RIR	KAN	NSH	KTY	STL	CHI	TX2	NC	-

Indianapolis 500

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 Qualify
2001	G-Force	Oldsmobile	Practice Crash

References

1. Writer, Jessica Dyer | Journal Staff. "One-on-one with Jim Guthrie". www.abqjournal.com. Retrieved 2016-05-10.