Roger Yasukawa

Roger Yasukawa (born October 10, 1977) is a Japanese-American auto racing driver.

Roger Yasukawa
Yasukawa in 2008
Nationality American/ Japanese
Born (1977-10-10) October 10, 1977
Los Angeles, California
Related toMinoru Yasukawa, worked for McLaren and Leyton House F1 teams.[1][2]
IRL IndyCar Series career
Debut season2003
Current teamConquest Racing
Car number36
Former teamsSuper Aguri Fernandez Racing
Rahal Letterman Racing
Playa Del Racing
Dreyer & Reinbold Racing
CURB/Agajanian/Beck Motorsports
Starts40
Wins0
Poles0
Best finish12th in 2003
Previous series
2002
2000-2001
1999
1998
1997
Toyota Atlantic Championship
Barber Dodge Pro Series
Formula Palmer Audi
Skip Barber Formula Dodge
Formula Vauxhall Junior

He was born in Los Angeles, California. He is of Japanese-American descent. He holds dual nationality of Japan and United States of America.

Yasukawa started karting in Southern California, winning the California State Championship in 1991 in Junior Sportsman. He then moved to Italy to compete in JICA. He moved to car racing in 1997 in the Formula Vauxhall Junior Championship in England, before winning the West Coast Skip Barber Formula Dodge 2-Liter Championship in 1998. He moved back to the UK to compete in the inaugural Formula Palmer Audi Championship, before driving several years in the Barber Dodge Pro Series before moving up to the Toyota Atlantic championship in 2002 as a teammate to Ryan Hunter-Reay. He finished 10th in points.

Yasukawa signed to drive for former Formula One driver Aguri Suzuki's new Indy Racing League team in 2003. He was second to future series champion Dan Wheldon in the rookie-of-the-year standings and 12th overall, with 8 top-10 finishes. He ran only two races for Rahal Letterman Racing in 2004 but finished 10th both times. He struggled on a return to a full-time seat in 2005 for the underfunded Dreyer & Reinbold Racing.

Yaskuawa has only made occasional IRL appearances since 2006. He drove in the 2006 Indianapolis 500 for Playa Del Racing and finished 16th. He was a late entry for the 2007 event, running in Dreyer and Reinbold's third car, alongside 2004 Indianapolis 500 champion Buddy Rice and Sarah Fisher. In 2008 he contested the Motegi round as well as the 2008 Indianapolis 500, for Beck Motorsports, however he failed to qualify for Indy.

In 2007, Yasukawa drove the #11 SAMAX Motorsport Daytona Prototype at Infineon Raceway, finishing 17th.

Motorsports Career Results

American open–wheel racing results

(key)

Barber Dodge Pro Series

Year 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Rank Points
1999 SEB
10
NAZ
11
LRP
15
POR
11
CLE
10
ROA
11
DET
6
MDO
7
GRA
6
LS
6
HMS
6
WGI
6
9th 81
2000 SEB
4
MIA
25
NAZ
5
LRP
11
DET
5
CLE
5
MDO
8
ROA
4
VAN
11
LS
25
RAT
5
HMS
8
7th 94
2001 SEB
4
PIR
7
LRP1
3
LRP2
10
DET
2
CLE
6
TOR
4
CHI
8
MDO
5
ROA
2
VAN
1
LS 4th 128

Atlantic Championship

Year Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Rank Points
2002 Hylton Motorsports MTY LBH
7
MIL
1
LS
3
POR
8
CHI
2
TOR
Ret
CLE
21
TRR
Ret
ROA
10
MTL DEN 10th 73

IndyCar Series

Year Team Chassis Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 Rank Points
2003 Fernandez Racing Super Aguri Dallara IR-03 Honda HI3R V8 HMS
14
PHX
17
MOT
21
INDY
10
TXS
9
PPI
17
RIR
11
KAN
7
NSH
15
MIS
8
STL
18
KTY
12
NZR
8
CHI
8
CAL
7
TX2
10
12th 301
2004 Rahal Letterman Racing G-Force GF09B Honda HI4R V8 HMS
PHX
MOT
11
INDY
10
TXS
RIR
KAN NSH MIL MIS KTY PPI NZR CHI CAL TX2 26th 39
2005 Dreyer & Reinbold Racing Dallara IR-05 Honda HI5R V8 HMS
17
PHX
18
STP
11
MOT
18
INDY
18
TXS
15
RIR
16
KAN
22
NSH
11
MIL
15
MIS
18
KTY
17
PPI
15
SNM
11
CHI
15
WGL
15
CAL
16
17th 246
2006 Playa Del Racing Panoz GF09C Honda HI6R V8 HMS STP MOT INDY
16
WGL TXS RIR KAN NSH MIL MIS KTY SNM CHI 28th 14
2007 Dreyer & Reinbold Racing Dallara IR-05 Honda HI7R V8 HMS STP MOT KAN INDY
21
MIL TXS IOW RIR WGL NSH MDO MIS KTY SNM DET CHI 30th 12
2008 CURB/Agajanian/Beck Motorsports Dallara IR-05 Honda HI7R V8 HMS STP MOT1
14
LBH1
DNP
KAN INDY
DNQ
MIL TXS IOW RIR WGL NSH MDO EDM KTY SNM DET CHI 35th 16
2009 Dreyer & Reinbold Racing Dallara IR-05 Honda HI7R V8 STP
LBH
KAN
INDY
MIL
TXS
IOW
RIR
WGL
TOR
EDM
KTY
MDO
SNM
CHI
MOT
20
HMS
39th 12
2010 Conquest Racing Dallara IR-05 Honda HI7R V8 SAO
STP
ALA
LBH
KAN
INDY
TXS
IOW
WGL
TOR
EDM
MDO
SNM
CHI
KTY
MOT
20
HMS
40th 12
1 Run on same day.
Years Teams Races Poles Wins Podiums
(Non-win)
Top 10s
(Non-podium)
Indianapolis 500
Wins
Championships
8 6 41 0 0 0 9 0 0

Indy 500 results

Practicing for the 2007 Indianapolis 500.
Year Chassis Engine Start Finish Team
2003 Dallara Honda 11th 10th Fernández
2004 G-Force Honda 12th 10th Rahal Letterman
2005 Dallara Honda 17th 18th Dreyer & Reinbold
2006 Panoz Honda 28th 16th Playa Del
2007 Dallara Honda 23rd 21st Dreyer & Reinbold
2008 Dallara Honda Failed to Qualify Beck

References

  1. "Champ Car Atlantic Drivers: Roger Yasukawa". Champ Car Atlantic official website. Retrieved 2008-08-21.
  2. "Success at home and a world of experience - Rising Star: Roger Yasukawa". BNET. Archived from the original on 2013-06-27. Retrieved 2008-08-21.
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