Jim Guthrie (born September 13, 1961 in

Gadsden, Alabama Gadsden is the county seat of Etowah County in the U.S. state of Alabama. It is located on the Coosa River about northeast of Birmingham and southwest of Chattanooga, Tennessee. It is the primary city of the Gadsden Metropolitan Statist ...

) is a former driver in the

Indy Racing League IndyCar, LLC (stylized as INDYCAR), is an auto racing Governing body, sanctioning body for American open-wheel car racing headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana. The organization sanctions two Auto racing, racing series: the premier IndyCar Serie ...

. 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 Phoenix Raceway (formerly known as ISM Raceway from 2018–2020, Phoenix International Raceway from 1964–1973 and 1976–2017, and FasTrack International Speedway from 1973–1976) is a dogleg oval track in Avondale, Arizona. The track has ...

. He got sponsorship from

Jacuzzi Jacuzzi is an American private company that manufactures and markets hot tubs, pools, and other bath products. It is best known for the Jacuzzi hydrotherapy products. The company is headquartered in Irvine, California. It is the largest hot tu ...

for the

Indianapolis 500 The Indianapolis 500, formally known as the Indianapolis 500-Mile Race, and commonly shortened to Indy 500, is an annual automobile race held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana, United States, an enclave suburb of Indian ...

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 The 83rd Indianapolis 500 was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana, on Sunday, May 30, 1999. The race was sanctioned by the Indy Racing League, and was part of the 1999 Pep Boys Indy Racing League season. Defending IRL ...

but failed to qualify his Coulson Racing entry. Jim was later an owner of Guthrie Meyer Racing in the

Firestone Indy Lights Series Indy NXT (pronounced "Indy Next"), previously Indy Lights, is an American developmental automobile racing series sanctioned by IndyCar, currently known as INDY NXT by Firestone for sponsorship reasons. Indy NXT is the highest step on the Road ...

that fielded a car for his son

Sean Sean, also spelled Seán or Séan in Hiberno-English, is a male given name of Irish origin. It comes from the Irish versions of the Biblical Hebrew name '' Yohanan'' (), Seán ( anglicized as '' Shaun/ Shawn/ Shon'') and Séan (Ulster variant; a ...

, who raced in the

Star Mazda Series The USF Pro 2000 Championship Presented by Cooper Tires, formerly known as the Star Mazda Championship, Pro Mazda Championship, and later Indy Pro 2000 Championship, is an open-wheel racing series serving as the third step on the Road to Indy l ...

in 2005. The team began with 2005 IPS driver

Travis Gregg Travis Gregg (born March 28, 1978) is an American racing driver from Camden, Ohio. After karting, Gregg began in cars in amateur SCCA Formula Atlantic in 1998 and 1999 while attending Miami University. He graduated in 2000 and ventured into spri ...

at Homestead, and 2005 Star Mazda champion

Raphael Matos Raphael Matos (born August 28, 1981) is a Brazilian professional racing driver. He was the 2008 Firestone Indy Lights Series champion and the 2007 Champ Car Atlantic Series champion. He lives in Miami. He is sometimes also called Rafa Matos. Ca ...

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 Roberto "Robbie" Pecorari (born May 12, 1987) is an American racing driver from Aston, Pennsylvania. Career One of America's most successful young karting, karters, he won numerous regional and national World Karting Association and Stars of Kar ...

Franck Perera Franck Perera (born 21 March 1984 in Montpellier, France) is a professional race car driving, driver and a Lamborghini, Lamborghini Squadra Corse factory driver. Career In 2006, Perera drove in the GP2 Series for the DAMS team, after four years o ...

joined the team for the second half of the season and captured a win at

Infineon Raceway Sonoma Raceway (originally known as Sears Point Raceway, Golden State International Raceway and Infineon Technologies, Infineon Raceway) is a road course and dragstrip located at Sears Point in the southern Sonoma Mountains of Sonoma County, Cal ...

. Guthrie later started competing in

Formula Drift Formula DRIFT (also known as Formula D or FD) is an American drifting series, and was co-founded by Jim Liaw and Ryan Sage in 2003 as a sister company to Slipstream Global Marketing, the same partnership that introduced D1 Grand Prix to the ...

with a

Chevrolet Chevrolet ( ) is an American automobile division of the manufacturer General Motors (GM). In North America, Chevrolet produces and sells a wide range of vehicles, from subcompact automobiles to medium-duty commercial trucks. Due to the promi ...

powered

Mazda RX7 The Mazda RX-7 is a front mid engine, rear-wheel-drive, rotary engine-powered sports car, manufactured and marketed by Mazda from 1978 through 2002 across three generations, all of which incorporated the use of a compact, lightweight Wankel ro ...

sponsored by Car Crafters of Albuquerque. On Sept 25th 2012, Jim under-steered, crashed and flipped his 2011

Ford Mustang The Ford Mustang is a series of American Car, automobiles manufactured by Ford Motor Company, Ford. In continuous production since 1964, the Mustang is currently the longest-produced Ford car nameplate. Currently in its Ford Mustang (seventh ...

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.

Racing record

American Open Wheel Racing results

( key)

Indy Racing League

Indianapolis 500

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Guthrie, Jim 1961 births Atlantic Championship drivers Indianapolis 500 drivers IndyCar Series drivers Living people Sportspeople from Gadsden, Alabama Racing drivers from Alabama Trans-Am Series drivers U.S. F2000 National Championship drivers