Alexander Rossi’s shocking win at the 100th Running of the Indianapolis 500 presented by PennGrade Motor Oil was the first by a Californian since Bob Sweikert in 1955. It marks the peak of the 24-year old’s career, which includes stints in several forms of open-wheel racing, a runner-up finish in the 2015 GP2 standings and five starts in Formula One.
Like most drivers in the Verizon IndyCar Series, Rossi’s career started in karting. In the epitome of irony, the beginning came 16 years ago at a facility co-owned by Bryan Herta – the same Bryan Herta who is now co-owner of Rossi’s Indy car ride.
Rossi’s first instructions in 2000 came from Matt Jaskol, who would go on to see limited success in the open-wheel ranks and join Rossi in Victory Circle on Sunday (Jaskol is second from the right in the photo above).
Rossi’s father, Pieter, brought Alexander to the Las Vegas Karting Center when his son was 8 to see how he would fare at the prospect of competitive racing. Even then, Jaskol – himself not even 16 at the time – saw something in young Alexander.
“I’ll be honest,” Jaskol said today, “I’ve been lucky enough to do a lot of things in my life, and there are some things I just don’t remember. But with Alex, I vividly remember – I don’t know why – how he did the three-day school.
“At that time, I would be honest with parents and I would tell them all the time, ‘Look, I don’t think your kid has what it takes.’ I don’t know what it was, but with Alex, when his dad asked me what I thought, I was like ‘Yeah, your kid is sharp.’”
Jaskol admired the youngster’s drive and cool demeanor, still evident today.
“I’ll never forget, even as a kid, Alex just stood there and absorbed it all. He wanted to learn, he was quick, and he was passionate,” Jaskol said. “Very poised, very calm, just like he is now, and he’d apply every little detail you’d tell him to do, and I’ll never forget that.”
Jaskol, from Thousand Oaks, California, won karting championships as early as 1997. His broad career includes experience in Barber Dodge, Formula BMW, Pro Mazda, stock car racing and a limited Indy Lights schedule in 2007. His career highlight was a Formula BMW win on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course as a support race for the 2004 Formula One U.S. Grand Prix.
In early 2000, Jaskol was in the midst of building his own career when he crossed paths with the Rossis at the Las Vegas Karting Center owned by Herta and Hollis Brown.
“During that time, because all I was doing was living, breathing, eating all things racing, to pay bills I worked at the local karting track as a driving instructor,” said Jaskol. “I knew Bryan through Hollis. I was about 16 years old and I was the lead instructor for the school, and one day Alex and his dad came through.”
While Jaskol saw potential in the young Rossi that day, he never thought he would be teaching a future Indianapolis 500 champion.
“I knew that if he stuck with it and his parents stuck behind him, that he could make it, wherever he was going,” Jaskol said. “But I never imagined, ‘This kid is going to be an Indy 500 winner.’”
Jaskol spent Indianapolis 500 race weekend with a former roommate who works for Andretti Autosport. After reconnecting with Alex and Pieter, he joined in the jubilation of Rossi’s improbable triumph Sunday, when his fuel-saving ability allowed him to complete the final 36 laps on one tank of ethanol and coast across the finish line on fumes in the No. 98 NAPA Auto Parts/Curb Honda for Andretti Herta Autosport with Curb-Agajanian.
The feelings of the moment caught up with Jaskol as well.
“From the bottom of my heart, as a driver and a competitor, I’ve truly never felt emotion like I did,” he said. “When I stood there with Alex’s dad, we were both standing there with our hands on our heads freaking out over what was about to happen.
“I cried. I shed tears in Victory Lane and I couldn’t have been more happy. I couldn’t believe I had seen everything that just happened, and to play just a small part in his career, I couldn’t be more grateful.”