Danica Patrick and Paul Tracy are two of a kind and what the IndyCar Series needs in these difficult economic times. They attract attention - on the racetrack and off it.
There’s one big difference, though. The 27-year-old Patrick, whose contract with Andretti Green Racing is up after this season, has the luxury of knowing she can drive next year for any team she wants, while the 40-year-old Tracy wonders if he’ll have a regular ride in 2010.
“I wish I got the same attention from the league as I get from my fans,” said Tracy, who grew up in the West Hill neighbourhood of suburban Toronto. “I’m not going to get frustrated. I’m just happy to be in the car.”
Tracy, who lives in Las Vegas, lost his full-time ride before the start of the 2008 season when team owner Gerald Forsythe decided not to make the transition from Champ Car to the IndyCar Series as part of the long-awaited unification of the American open-wheel series.
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“It’s been extremely frustrating for him,” said former open-wheel champion Jimmy Vasser, who co-owns KV Racing Technology (KVRT) with Kevin Kalkhoven. “We had the merger and he wasn’t able to be involved. Last year he was tied up with a team that got out at the last minute.”
“I want to be in a car. The fans want me to be in a car, and I think, for the most part, most teams would like to see me in a car,” he said. “It’s just a question of sponsorship, of money. You have to have that to run.”
KVRT has given Tracy renewed hope, signing him to drive its No. 15 car in four races this year as the team searches for a full-time sponsor.
“People get excited when I drive,” Tracy said.
Yesterday, he wrote: “Sadly it’s not about how you drive, how many fans follow you or TV time you get . . . It’s all about (money).”
“He’s always good for a story, one way or another,” said team owner and former Champ Car star Michael Andretti, who had his fair share of run-ins with Tracy on the track. “Anything that can bring attention to the series is good. He always seems to be in the news, good or bad. It’s good to have guys like him.”
In Toronto, he had perhaps the finest moment of his career, leading all 115 laps in front of his hometown crowd on the tricky street course at Exhibition Place. That prompted the fans to proudly sing the Canadian national anthem after he took the checkered flag.
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Vasser also has an ulterior motive.
“He’s a legend and he’s not over the hill,” he said. “He’s still got a few good years left in him, and we’re committed to try to get him out there as much as we can next year. With his career, with his record, he deserves to go out the way he wants to go out, and that’s as a winner.”
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