IndyCar notes: Tracy trying for win that escaped him at Indy
Published 5:09 pm Friday, April 17, 2009
LONG BEACH, Calif. — Paul Tracy is returning to the Indianapolis 500 for the first time since 2002, and this time he wants to leave no doubt about being the winner.
KV Racing Technology, co-owned by former open-wheel champion Jimmy Vasser and Kevin Kalkhoven, announced Friday that the 40-year-old Tracy will be teamed next month at Indy with full-time driver Mario Moraes.
The last time the longtime open-wheel start raced at Indy, he lost to Helio Castroneves in one of the most controversial finishes in the history of the famed Brickyard.
The race ended under caution and the dispute was over whether Tracy had passed Castroneves before or after the yellow flag came out. Tony George, who founded the Indy Racing League and whose family owns the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, eventually made the decision in favor of Castroneves, leaving Tracy, then driving in the rival CART series, angry and frustrated.
Asked if he was going to get any extra track time before practice opens for the May 24 race, Tracy quipped: “We’re not going to take the rookie orientation program. I don’t think they let past winners do that.”
Later, he said, “I feel and I know that I won the race, but I have nothing to show for it other than a second-place finish.
“For me, I divide race drivers up into groups. There’s a group of guys like Dario (Franchitti), myself and (Scott) Dixon, (Tony) Kanaan and the top guys. They’re going there to win. They’re not going there just to qualify and run and hope they finish well. I consider myself one of those.”
Tracy raced for 17 years in the series that began as CART and then became Champ Car. He won the championship in 2003 and his 31 victories make him the leading active driver in the open-wheel sport.
Champ Car was absorbed into the IndyCar Series at the beginning of 2008 and Tracy lost his ride when team owner Gerald Forsythe decided not to field an IndyCar team. Tracy did run two races last year, finishing 11th at Long Beach in what was the final Champ Car event, and a very impressive fourth at Edmonton in a last-minute deal with Walker Racing.
“It’s a great thing, not only for KV, but for IndyCar racing,” Vasser said of Tracy’s at least temporary return. “Hopefully, it’s going to lead into some other things for the future as well. He’s a great champion and has so many great achievements. Look at his numbers, they’re phenomenal.
“Paul’s going to get right up to speed, I’m confident of that,” added Vasser, also a former CART champion. “You saw what he did at Edmonton last year, although it was on a road course. Paul has showed himself to be one of the toughest competitors on ovals. I think he’s going to be a great addition to our lineup and will help Mario, as well.”
JAGUAR COMING:
The longtime racer, a five-time Trans-Am champion and winner of the 1994 Daytona 24-hour sports car race, said Friday he and his team will enter an all-new Jaguar XKR in the ALMS’s GT2 class. The 59-year-old Gentilozzi will co-drive the car with a driver yet to be chosen. He said the new car would begin on-track testing in June and enter its first race at Lime Rock on June 18 or Mid-Ohio on Aug. 8. Gentilozzi was a co-owner of the now-defunct Champ Car series and a team owner. His team has been off the track since running a two-car entry at Long Beach last April in the final race for Champ Car. “It’s been difficult to be out of competitive racing for nearly a year,” Gentilozzi said. “We are most fortunate to be able to return to what we know, winning sports car championships and, in particular, winning them in Jaguars. “We haven’t spent our time idly. We’ve focused on engineering and construction of the Jaguar. The luxury of time that we traditionally don’t have in this process has been a great asset. We’ve built three of the new cars.” The new car is a welcome addition for the ALMS, which has only 21 entries on track for this week’s Long Beach race. INDY CHAMP: With the merged open-wheel series making its first appearance at Long Beach, Scott Dixon becomes the first reigning Indy 500 winner to race in the streets here since Kenny Brack in 2000. “Turn one still turns left and things like that,” said Dixon, who last race here in 2002. “These cars seem to be much more aggressive on the bumps and (they) don’t really glide over the track as nice as the Champ Car did. It’s definitely a lot of work out there chasing your car.” Dixon, also the 2008 series champion, trailed only Will Power in Friday’s opening practice sessions.
