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Paul Tracy Returns To INDYCAR

 
851 views Apr 6, 2011

Paul Tracy at Indianapolis in 2010 - he failed to make the field. Photo: Anne Proffit

Paul Tracy at Indianapolis in 2010 - he failed to make the field. Photo: Anne Proffit



Mr Excitement is about to return to Indy car racing.  Yes, Paul Tracy, the unstoppable Canadian whose chrome horn has been one of the most famous noses in the sport, should be on the grid at the 37th Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach in two weekends' time.

Tracy, 42, admitted he'd been talking with Jay Penske ever since Penske's team affiliation with Gil de Ferran went kaput in February.  The de Ferran Dragon team had intended to race the full season with Tony Kanaan; when the money never came, Kanaan found a last-minute deal with KV Racing Technology.  

Tracy and Penske, who have known each other since Paul drove for Jay's father Roger, just announced the Dragon Racing team will race at Long Beach, in the Texas double in June, at Toronto, Edmonton and Sonoma, a track where PT has zero experience.  All of these circuits are either road or street tracks.

Before his deal with Dragon Racing came together, Tracy signed for Wix Filters and Dreyer & Reinbold to race in the 100th Indianapolis 500 this May, leaving Dragon Racing looking for a driver at The Brickyard.

So we'll get to see PT in at six events, so far and that's good news for the series.  

Love him or hate him, Paul Tracy is tied for victories in Indy cars than any other active driver, with 31.  He's tied with Sebastien Bourdais, a familiar nemesis in the Champ Car World Series and a driver he'll race against at Long Beach - and likely more often.

Tracy and Bourdais' battles on the track have resulted in bad vibes and the occasional shoving match between them.  We don't expect that to stop anytime soon!

As for PT, he's been one of the most exciting drivers in American open wheel racing since he first came on the scene as a chubby, be-spectacled kid in a Dale Coyne car at Long Beach 20 years ago.  Even with all of his victories, Tracy's got the reputation for trashing cars, but as he's matured, so has this propensity, which hasn't been as much in evidence in his later years.

Never afraid to poke the nose of his car underneath anyone (that chrome horn), Tracy has driven for some of the best teams in the sport, including Team Penske, Newman/Haas Racing and Forsythe Championship Racing.  His engineer from the latter team, Eric Zeto, joins him at Dragon Racing; the team is managed by John Cummiskey, who previously worked with Team Penske and NHR.

While PT might be a bit rusty in comparison to his peers, the familiar Long Beach circuit should ease his passage back into the Indy cars.  

© 2011  Anne Proffit 



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