Houston, Texas—Sunday, May 14, 2006—The Forsythe Championship Racing duo of Paul Tracy and Mario Dominguez proved today that they will be a force to be reckoned with for the remainder of the Bridgestone Presents the Champ Car World Series Powered by Ford. “Super Mario” Dominguez scored the Bridgestone Pole Position on Friday and led for 63 laps from the start on Saturday (a career high) and it seemed he was going to be unbeatable at this new temporary facility around the grounds of Reliant Stadium and the Astrodome, but a small mistake cost him the lead and once Sebastien Bourdais stole it from him he never gave it back. Mario battled on to finish third, his second podium with the Forsythe Team, which puts him second in the standings. Paul Tracy ran a strong race and pressured the leader every step of the way; his second-place finish puts him back on track in the chase for the Vanderbilt Cup.
Paul Tracy
#3 INDECK
Ford-Cosworth/Bridgestone/Lola
Finished Second, Seventh in Point Standings
“Obviously we weren't the fastest car on
the track, but it was a steady night for us. The
car was balanced pretty well, just a tick off of Mario
and a tick off of Sebastien. You know, the middle
part of the race was probably the most interesting for
me when Sebastien was on reds (the softer-compound red-sidewall
Bridgestone Potenzas), Mario was on blacks, I was on blacks. It
seemed that Mario and I, we were both quicker in that stint. I
was able to stay a lot closer to Sebastien on blacks, and
the car felt better on the blacks than it did on the reds. The
times had picked up from the first stint. Then when we
switched over to the reds for the end of the race, Sebastien
was on blacks, it just seems like his car became more consistent
and my car became harder to drive, a little bit more oversteer.”
“I just kind of settled into knowing that we needed to
get points and come away with a second. It was a tough
race physically for me. My hips and pelvis took a big
bashing. I'm sitting on the floor of my car since I'm
bigger than most of these guys. The track just beat
the hell out of me tonight. My hips go from carbon to
carbon sitting in the tub, there's no cushion in between. But
now we head to Monterrey and I’m looking forward to moving
up in the standings.”