Jimmy Vasser
In 1990 the young and very talented Jimmy Vasser joined forces with John Della Penna to team up for the rookie's first year in the Formula Atlantic series. Della Penna, a long time friend of Jim Vasser Sr. had his eye on the younger Jimmy for some time, watching him climb the ranks of amateur racing, Fresh out of the SCCA drivers school, Jimmy won the first race he ever entered in Formula Fords and went on to win the national championship. Vasser won in everything he drove. In 1990 when Della Penna started his team, his asked Vassar to come and race with him; it was one of the best decisions he ever made. That year, Jimmy won the Formula Atlantic East-West Shoot-Out in Elkhart Lake Wisconsin, a winner take all event with a lot of exposure. The following year, Vasser scored seven pole positions and six wins for the team and lost the championship by only 4 points. 1991 was Vasser’s last year in the Formula Atlantic Series before advancing to the ranks of CART, where he competed in the Fed-Ex World Series and became champion in 1996. Jimmy collected many wins in his career until he retired in 2004 and became part owner in PKV Racing.
Jamie Galles
Jamie Galles began his ride with Della Penna Motorsports (then operating under Pacific Motors) in 1991 in the Toyota Atlantic Series with teammate Jimmy Vasser. Galles won the pole at Phoenix that year. Two years later, in 1993, Della Penna Motorsports returned to racing under the new name after a year long sabbatical. Galles was front and center that season racing again in the SCCA Player’s/Toyota Atlantic Championship. He earned podium finishes at Montreal (third) and Vancouver (second) that year.
Clint Mears
Mears, son of four-time Indianapolis 500 winner and three-time CART champion Rick Mears, started with Della Penna Motorsports, racing along side Richie Hearn, in the 1994 SCCA Players/Toyota Atlantic Championship season. That year, Mears competed in four races starting all four events from the top-ten and scoring three top-ten finishes. He continued with team into 1995 to race a full season and scored seven top-ten finishes.
