For 1986, Lazier competed in the SCCA Canadian-American Challenge Cup, driving the No. 43 car for the Texas American Racing Team in a Watson 82. In 1987 he remained with the Texas American Racing Team in the No. 19 March 85C car. At the season-opening race at Willow Springs International Raceway, Lazier qualified on pole position, led 22 of 48 laps and won the race. He finished fourth in the final championship standings with 62 points.
Lazier began competing in the American Indycar Series in 1988 after his car owner and teammate Bill Tempero purchased Can-Am. Lazier drove a March 85C for Tempero's Texas American Racing Team. At Willow Springs he qualified on pole and won the opening race. He also won the Illinois Grand Prix at St. Louis International Raceway from pole, the race at Tioga Motorsports Park, and both races at the season-ending Bud Light 100 at Willow Springs. The only race he did not win was the AMG Eurospeed Grand Prix of Colorado, where he finished second to Robby Unser. Lazier won the inaugural season championship with 152 points.
In 1989, Lazier competed in the IMSA GT Championship at the season-opening SunBank 24 at Daytona, driving the No. 43 Motorsports Marketing Fabcar-Porsche with John Higgens, Lorenzo Lamas and Justus Reid in the Lights class. The car was classified fourth in its class and 31st overall. In 1993 he returned to the Rolex 24 at Daytona, finishing 25th overall and seventh in class.
In 1989, Lazier attempted to qualify for his first CART race, the Indianapolis 500, in the No. 35 Lazier Racing March 87C-Cosworth DFX. He crashed in practice and failed to qualify. In 1990, Lazier drove for Hemelgarn Racing in the No. 91 Lola T88/00-Buick at Indianapolis but was bumped from the field by John Paul Jr. on Bump Day. He qualified for his first 500-mile race at the Marlboro 500 at Michigan International Speedway in the No. 24 Penske PC17-Buick for Arciero Racing, starting and finishing 26th.
Lazier drove for various teams in 1991. He qualified for the Indianapolis 500 for the first time, starting 23rd, but was involved in a first-lap incident and retired. His best result of the season was a ninth-place finish at the Texaco/Havoline Grand Prix of Denver. He finished 22nd in the final championship standings with 6 points.
In 1992, Lazier drove for Leader Card Racing. His best finish of the season was seventh at the Marlboro 500 at Michigan International Speedway. He finished a career-best nineteenth in the championship with ten points.
Lazier continued with Leader Card Racing through 1993 and 1994, often struggling with sponsorship and reliability. He failed to qualify for the Indianapolis 500 in 1993 after his car blew an engine during qualifying. In 1994, he was replaced by pay drivers during several events. For 1995, Lazier drove for various teams including Project Indy and Payton/Coyne Racing. At the Indianapolis 500 he drove for Team Menard, qualifying 23rd but retiring after 45 laps due to fuel system problems.
Lazier moved to the Indy Racing League for its inaugural season in 1996, driving for Hemelgarn Racing in the No. 91 Reynard 95i-Ford Cosworth XB. At the season-opening Indy 200 at Walt Disney World Speedway, Lazier recorded the series' inaugural pole position. During practice for the Dura Lube 200 at Phoenix International Raceway, Lazier was involved in a crash with Lyn St. James and suffered a fractured vertebra.
Still in pain and walking with a cane, Lazier returned two months later for the season-ending race, the Indianapolis 500. His car was fitted with a special shock-absorbing seat to reduce the risk of re-injuring his back. Lazier initially qualified in seventh place but was promoted to fifth after Arie Luyendyk's time was disallowed and pole sitter Scott Brayton was fatally injured during practice. Lazier battled with Tony Stewart, Davy Jones, Roberto Guerrero and Luyendyk throughout the day. During caution periods Lazier raised his hands out of the cockpit to stretch his fingers; many fans, thinking he was waving, waved back. Lazier's team brought him in for his final pit stop several laps later than the rest of the leaders, allowing him to turn up his turbo boost pressure and run faster to the finish. With ten laps to go he was running third behind Jones and Alessandro Zampedri, then easily passed both to win, leading a total of 43 laps. He finished fourteenth in the championship with 159 points.
Lazier returned with Hemelgarn Racing. At the True Value 200 at New Hampshire International Speedway, while running second behind race leader Tony Stewart, the two cars made contact on lap 67 and Lazier spun into the wall. Unaware he was on an open mic, Lazier made remarks about Stewart that were broadcast live on ABC; he quickly apologised after being released from the infield care center. For the 1997 portion of the season, Lazier drove the No. 91 Dallara IR7-Infiniti. He achieved his first win of the 1997 season at the VisionAire 500 at Charlotte Motor Speedway, starting in 5th place and leading for 58 laps. He finished eighth in the final standings with 209 points.
In 1998, Lazier drove the No. 91 Dallara IR8-Oldsmobile for Hemelgarn Racing. At the Indianapolis 500 he qualified eleventh and ran in the top five, battling with Billy Boat, Kenny Bräck, Luyendyk, Greg Ray, John Paul Jr. and Eddie Cheever. In the final twenty laps, Cheever and Lazier were the main contenders; Lazier closed to within 1.1 seconds of Cheever, but Cheever led Lazier home at the finish. He finished the season in a then-career best fifth place with 262 points.
In 1999, driving the No. 91 Dallara IR9-Oldsmobile for Hemelgarn Racing, Lazier was involved in a crash with Cheever at Phoenix. At Lowe's Motor Speedway, Lazier was leading when a suspension failure on Stan Wattles's car sent debris into seating areas and three spectators were killed; the race was abandoned with no points awarded. Lazier finished the season in sixth place with 224 points.
In 2000, Lazier first drove the No. 91 Riley & Scott Mk VII-Oldsmobile for Hemelgarn Racing. At the MCI WorldCom Indy 200 at Phoenix, starting in 26th place having missed qualifying, Lazier took the lead on lap 161 and led the remaining forty laps to win. He became the first driver to win an IRL race after starting in last place, and the third to win an Indycar race from last place at Phoenix, after Mike Mosley in 1974 and Roberto Guerrero in 1987. Following the race, Lazier led the point standings for the first time in his career.
At the Indianapolis 500, using the Dallara IR00 for the remainder of the season, Lazier set the fastest lap of the race on lap 198 at a speed of 218.494 mph (351.632 km/h) but was unable to catch race leader Juan Pablo Montoya, who won by 7.1839 seconds. Going into the season-ending Excite 500 at Texas, Lazier led Goodyear by 38 points and Cheever by 41 points. Goodyear won the race ahead of Cheever, but fourth place was good enough for Lazier to win the championship with 290 points, eighteen ahead of Goodyear and 33 ahead of Cheever. Lazier is the last driver born in the 1960s to win an IndyCar championship.
For 2001, driving the No. 91 Dallara IR01-Oldsmobile for Hemelgarn Racing, Lazier won four races in the season: at Pikes Peak International Raceway, Richmond International Raceway (leading 224 of 250 laps), Nashville Superspeedway, and Kentucky Speedway. With the Nashville win, Lazier set the record for the most wins in the IRL with six. Despite winning a season-high four races, Lazier finished runner-up to Sam Hornish Jr. in the final championship standings with 398 points. Lazier was also nominated for the Best Driver ESPY Award in 2001 against Bobby Labonte, John Force and Gil de Ferran.
In 2002, Lazier returned with Hemelgarn Racing in the No. 91 Dallara IR02-Chevrolet. He finished eighth in the championship with 305 points. In 2003, still with Hemelgarn in the No. 91 Dallara IR03-Chevrolet, he retired from the race at Indianapolis after 171 laps due to engine failure and finished nineteenth in the championship with 201 points. In 2004, Hemelgarn Racing was unable to acquire sponsorship for the full season; Lazier competed only at Indianapolis, starting 28th and retiring after 164 laps with a fuel system failure.
In 2005, Lazier drove for Panther Racing at the Indianapolis 500 in the No. 95 Dallara IR03-Chevrolet, qualifying ninth. He ran in the top ten for most of the race. Panther fielded an additional car for Lazier in four further races that season. In 2006, Lazier returned to Dreyer & Reinbold Racing in the No. 5 Dallara IR03-Honda; the season was overshadowed by the death of Paul Dana in final practice. Lazier's best result of the season was twelfth place at the Indianapolis 500.
For 2007, Lazier drove for Sam Schmidt Motorsports at the Indianapolis 500 in the No. 99 Dallara IR05-Honda, qualifying 22nd and finishing nineteenth in the rain-shortened race. In 2008, Lazier drove for Hemelgarn-Johnson Racing and qualified for the race in 32nd place at a speed of 219.015 mph (352.470 km/h), receiving set-up assistance from Dan Wheldon and his Chip Ganassi Racing team. He finished seventeenth. In 2009, Lazier failed to qualify for his first Indianapolis 500 since 1994. In 2010, Hemelgarn Racing closed in April, leaving Lazier without a car; he did not contest any part of the Indianapolis 500 for the first time since 1988. In 2011, Lazier was reported to be in line for a drive at Indianapolis for Dragon Racing, but the team opted for other drivers.
Lazier returned to the IndyCar Series after a three-year absence in 2013 when, on May 8, his father Bob Lazier formed a team called Lazier Partners Racing with Corbet Krause, Chris Nielsen and Jason Peters. The team purchased a Dallara DW12 chassis from Fan Force United for $250,000. On Bump Day, Lazier qualified in 32nd place with a speed of 223.442 mph (359.595 km/h). The car ran as the No. 91 entry with "Spirit of Oklahoma" added as a sign of respect for victims of the tornadoes in Moore, Oklahoma on May 20. Lazier retired after 44 laps due to mechanical problems. He returned with Lazier Partners Racing in 2014, 2015, 2016, and — for the final time — in 2017. In 2014, Lazier joined Tom Sneva and Roger McCluskey in a tie for tenth place for the most Indianapolis 500 starts with eighteen. In 2015, the team suffered gearbox issues prior to qualifying; Lazier's first qualifying attempt recorded 219.438 mph (353.151 km/h) but he ran out of time and failed to qualify.
In 2001, Lazier competed in the Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series at the Rolex 24 at Daytona, driving the No. 74 Riley & Scott Mk III-Judd for Robinson Racing. The car started second overall and led ten laps before retiring with engine failure after 563 laps.
Lazier competed in the International Race of Champions in 2001 and 2002. In 2002, he qualified on pole position and won flag-to-flag at Chicagoland Speedway, finishing second in the final standings with 49 points, five behind champion Kevin Harvick.
In 2007, Lazier competed in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series for Billy Ballew Motorsports in the No. 15 Chevrolet Silverado at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, starting 21st and finishing 24th.
Lazier was born on Halloween night at Loveland Pass after his father's 1963 Corvette broke down on the way to the hospital. He is married to Kara, and the couple have two children: a son, Flinn, and a daughter, Jacqueline. His father Bob Lazier was a former racing driver who won the CART Rookie of the Year Award in 1981. His brother Jaques Lazier competed in the Indy Racing League from 1998 to 2010, winning the 2001 Delphi Indy 200 at Chicagoland Speedway; with both drivers having won races, they are the only brothers to have both won races in that series. Lazier and his relatives operate the Tivoli Lodge in Vail, Colorado, which his father opened in 1968. After winning the Indianapolis 500, Lazier made a guest appearance on Late Night with Conan O'Brien on May 29, 1996.
This article is based solely on the supplied corpus. No external sources were consulted; claims that could not be substantiated against the corpus were omitted under the drop-the-claim rule.
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