Chester man to spot at Indy 500
Jesse Vaughan, a Chester native and Thomas Dale Class of 2003 graduate, is a UPS employee by day.
At night, he is a father to Caleb, 7, and Wyatt, 3, as well as a husband to Mindy (Thomas Dale Class of 2004).
On paper, Vaughan may seem ordinary, but it’s how he spends his weekends that could rev your engines.
In a little more than a week, Vaughan will serve as a spotter for James Hinchcliffe of Andretti Racing at the Indianapolis 500.
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- Jesse Vaughan
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- Jesse and family
“I’m a huge history fan and a huge racing fan,” Vaughan said. “It was one of those races you watched as a kid and as you grew older, you appreciated the enormity of it,” he continued. “Names like Andretti, Unser and Foyt, all those racing greats raced and won there.”
“It’s so surreal,” he continued. “Walking into that place, you can feel the history. It’s like Yankee Stadium, Fenway Park, and Lambeau Field.”
The history of the Indy 500 is rich. It dates back to 1911, with Ray Harroun winning the first rendition of the race.
The track, called “The Brickyard” was paved in brick back in 1909, and a yard of brick is exposed at the finish line. The event celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2011, and the 100th running of the race occurred in 2016.
The missing years were due to World War I and World War II. IndyCar and NASCAR run a race each here, but the Indycar race is the famed one.
Vaughan’s racing beginnings were on the local stage, as racing is a family affair. His father, Wayne, worked for local teams at Southside, Langley, and South Boston.
The teams eventually moved up to the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, Busch Series, and Winston Cup Series in the ’90s and early 2000s.
As a child, Vaughan started by sweeping the garage, but he quickly moved on to helping work on the cars and doing tire maintenance.
In 2010 at a race in Martinsville, the team was short-handed, so his father handed him a radio and headset and gave him the task of spotting in practice. From there, things took off.
Vaughan spotted for driver Sam Hunt in the K&N Pro Series East, then was called to spot for a southern modified driver, George Brunnhoelzl.
With Vaughan as his spotter, Brunnhoelzl won seven races. During that time, he was invited to spot for Rev Racing in Nascar’s Drive for Diversity program and made some connections.
In 2016, he got the call to do his first Xfinity Series, formerly the Busch race. The next year, he got another Xfinity call. In the meantime, he spotted races for cars of all types – modified, late models, K&N and got his name out.
Last year, he did his first NASCAR Cup Sseries race at Watkins Glen for driver Daniel Hemric of Richard Childress Racing. That led to the call that landed him spotting in the elite Indy 500. There are 33 drivers in the race, and each has two spotters, so Vaughan has earned high marks and the respect of drivers and racing teams.
Of the 45 drivers and 34 tracks at which Vaughan has spotted, the Brickyard is the biggest. Due to COVID-19 restrictions, the race will be run this year without fans. The track, with infield capacity, houses up to 300,000 fans.
“Unfortunately I’ve done some races without fans already this year,” Vaughan said. “Watching the Indy 500 pre-race gives me a chill with all those people,” he continued. “I can’t imagine having 33 drivers driving towards you at 230 mph without anyone there to watch it.”
The spotter’s job is all-important. Once drivers are strapped in, it turns out they have very limited visibility and in most setups, have trouble turning their heads to see what’s around them- especially in an Indy car.
“We stand up top and let them know if there are any cars around them,” Vaughan explained. “We can tell our drive outside (driver to the right) and inside (driver on the left), but you also have to tell him what’s coming. The closing rate on these cars is unreal.”
After the Indy 500, what’s next? Vaughan says that he’d pursue a full-time career in spotting races, but family comes first.
“I would love to, but with the family now and a 16-year career at UPS, it would be tough to leave it,” Vaughan added. “If an opportunity presented itself where I could make the same money and my family would be OK with it, I’d love to do it.”
“It’s a lot on my wife when I’m working five days a week and then go away for an entire weekend,” Vaughan said. “My wife has been incredibly supportive.”
The 104th running of the Indy 500 will begin on Sunday, Aug. 23 at 1 p.m., with Vaughan in tow. Several practice sessions will be televised. For more information, go to the Indy 500’s official website.
