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Roger Yasukawa

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Roger Yasukawa
Yasukawa in 2008
NationalityJapan Japanese (after 2003)
United States American (before 2003)
Born (1977-10-10) October 10, 1977 (age 47)
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
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

Roger Yasukawa (born October 10, 1977) is an American-born Japanese former auto racing driver. He was born in Los Angeles, California, but holds Japanese citizenship.

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.

Yasukawa 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.

Yasukawa currently works in driver management, representing drivers both in the United States and Japan. He was instrumental in bringing Spaniard Alex Palou to IndyCar from Japan and secured a deal between Team Goh and Dale Coyne Racing for Palou to debut in the IndyCar series. Yasukawa was then able to secure Palou a drive with Chip Ganassi Racing the following year, which helped Palou become a title contender and eventual champion of the 2021 IndyCar Series.[3]

Motorsports Career Results

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American open–wheel racing results

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(key)

Barber Dodge Pro Series

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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

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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

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Year Team Chassis No. Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 Rank Points Ref
2003 Fernandez Racing Super Aguri Dallara IR-03 55 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 [4]
2004 Rahal Letterman Racing G-Force GF09B 16 Honda HI4R V8 HMS
 PHX
 MOT
11 		INDY
10 		TXS
 RIR
 KAN NSH MIL MIS KTY PPI NZR CHI CAL TX2 26th 39 [5]
2005 Dreyer & Reinbold Racing Dallara IR-05 24 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 [6]
2006 Playa Del Racing Panoz GF09C 12 Honda HI6R V8 HMS STP MOT INDY
16 		WGL TXS RIR KAN NSH MIL MIS KTY SNM CHI 28th 14 [7]
2007 Dreyer & Reinbold Racing Dallara IR-05 24 Honda HI7R V8 HMS STP MOT KAN INDY
21 		MIL TXS IOW RIR WGL NSH MDO MIS KTY SNM DET CHI 30th 12 [8]
2008 CURB/Agajanian/Beck Motorsports 77 HMS STP MOT1
14 		LBH1
DNP 		KAN INDY
DNQ 		MIL TXS IOW RIR WGL NSH MDO EDM KTY SNM DET CHI 35th 16 [9]
2009 Dreyer & Reinbold Racing 43 STP
 LBH
 KAN
 INDY
 MIL
 TXS
 IOW
 RIR
 WGL
 TOR
 EDM
 KTY
 MDO
 SNM
 CHI
 MOT
20 		HMS
 39th 12 [10]
2010 Conquest Racing 36 SAO
 STP
 ALA
 LBH
 KAN
 INDY
 TXS
 IOW
 WGL
 TOR
 EDM
 MDO
 SNM
 CHI
 KTY
 MOT
20 		HMS
 40th 12 [11]
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

Indianapolis 500 results

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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

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  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.
  3. ^ Channel, GT. "Alex Palou Young Spanish IndyCar Driver Is "Natural Talent"". GT Channel. Retrieved 20 September 2021.
  4. ^ "Roger Yasukawa – 2003 IndyCar Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved August 1, 2023.
  5. ^ "Roger Yasukawa – 2004 IndyCar Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved August 1, 2023.
  6. ^ "Roger Yasukawa – 2005 IndyCar Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved August 1, 2023.
  7. ^ "Roger Yasukawa – 2006 IndyCar Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved August 1, 2023.
  8. ^ "Roger Yasukawa – 2007 IndyCar Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved August 1, 2023.
  9. ^ "Roger Yasukawa – 2008 IndyCar Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved August 1, 2023.
  10. ^ "Roger Yasukawa – 2009 IndyCar Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved August 1, 2023.
  11. ^ "Roger Yasukawa – 2010 IZOD IndyCar Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved August 1, 2023.
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