At first glance it’s easy to believe A.J. Foyt hired Paul Tracy just for Sunday’s IndyCar Series race at the Milwaukee Mile.
Logic suggests this relationship could last beyond the ABC Supply/A.J. Foyt 225 because of circumstances that include sharing many common traits.
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Officially, Canadian Tracy is a one-race replacement in the No.14 Dallara-Honda for Vitor Meira, who fractured two vertebrae in his lower back in a wreck with rookie Raphael Matos late in Sunday’s Indianapolis 500. But with Meira, who was released Wednesday from the hospital, not expected back at least until September, an opportunity looms for two fiery kindred spirits to work together.
“I’m glad to have him (as) part of my team,” said Texan Foyt, the four-time Indy 500 winner turned team owner. “I think I’ve got the same reputation. That makes us get along real good that way.” USA Today
He still refers to today’s IndyCar drivers affectionately as “boys,” still prefers the good old days when sponsorship money was secondary to driver ingenuity and, yes, still likes the straight talkers.
Like 40-year-old Paul Tracy, Foyt’s replacement for the injured Vitor Meira.
Foyt hired Tracy, a native of West Hill, Ont., on Tuesday, giving the mouths of the IndyCar Series a chance to run together this weekend in Milwaukee.
“I think I’ve got the same reputation, so that makes us get along real good that way,” Foyt said during a conference call Wednesday.
Actually, it may take Foyt back in time.
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Tracy grew up idolizing the four-time Indy winner, hoping to match Foyt’s wit, success and even his penchant for talking. They raced against each other early in Tracy’s career, late in Foyt’s, and through the years, Tracy has done his best to live up to Foyt’s image.
Every word of it.
He has 31 career victories, a 2003 Champ Car points title and dabbled in stock cars.
Those outspoken comments are the result of a simple philosophy that Foyt understands well - don’t trade passion and honesty for persuasion and sensibility.
Perhaps that is why Tracy calls himself the 2002 Indianapolis 500 winner, though he wound up second in a disputed finish, and once called Roger Penske’s decision to fire him a career-ending move.
Time, though, has changed Tracy.
When Foyt offered him a chance to replace Meira in Milwaukee, Tracy took the one-race deal. That’s a long way from the time Tracy was seeking a full-time gig and said he wouldn’t race for hamburgers and hot dogs.
“I think I’ve calmed down a lot as a driver since ‘03 and I think I’m a little easier to work with,” he said. “Look at Sunday. Even though the car wasn’t too good, I didn’t try to take too much. It’s important to get the momentum up and spirits up for this team.”
Yes, Foyt’s team needs a boost after last weekend’s scare. The Canadian Press
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