Tracy comes face-to-face with Indy past, in search of 'first' victory

By Gary Graves, USA TODAY
May 14, 2009

INDIANAPOLIS — Paul Tracy's firm belief that he beat Helio Castroneves here seven years ago would almost sound bitter if not for the twist that has him back and hopeful in this year's Indianapolis 500.

The Canadian was left on the outside looking in when open-wheel racing merged last year, an 11th-hour deal that led Forsythe Racing to shut down rather than join fellow Champ Car World Series teams in the IRL.

As a result, Tracy sat idle in 2008 save for the series finale in April at Long Beach and a race in Edmonton driving for Tony George, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway president whose 1994 creation of the IRL sparked the bitter split; he also oversaw the process that denied Tracy's appeal and cast a shadow over that 2002 finish.

Tracy's desire to race outweighed the hard feelings, and his fourth-place finish for George's Vision Racing team served notice that he wasn't done and wanted back in. That it's happening at Indy is coincidental — seriously.

"It was tough being out, y'know?" Tracy said in his motor coach on one of Indy's frequent rainy days. "I'm at a point where I want to finish off my career and want to have a couple more years at it. To put in 18 years and have it come to a screeching halt before you're ready, I felt I deserved the opportunity to have a farewell year. We're working to make that happen."

By we Tracy means himself and fellow former Champ Car titleist Jimmy Vasser, co-owner of KV Racing Technology with Kevin Kalkhoven. Tracy, Mario Moraes and Townsend Bell make up KVRT's three-Honda entry at Indy that Saturday yielded a seventh-place start for Moraes and 13th for Tracy on Sunday. Bell will attempt to qualify this Saturday.

Tracy, the 2003 CART champion, is looking beyond the 500, preparing for July stops in Toronto and Edmonton. Vasser is hopeful for a three-car operation in 2010, as much for competitive reasons as granting the wishes of his good buddy Tracy.

"I've told the Canadian papers that if any Canadian businesses are interested we'd love to have them," said Vasser, the 1996 CART champ. "I believe (Tracy) has a few good years left in him, and he deserves to go out in the style and manner he wants."

Right now, Tracy wants to create a better Indy memory than he had in 2002, which continues to spark debate because of the politics involved. Then competing for CART's Team Green, he contends he passed Team Penske's Castroneves in Turn 3 under green before an accident behind them brought the yellow caution light, an assertion seemingly backed up by fuzzy television replays available on YouTube.

Timing and scoring indicated otherwise, the IRL said, leading to an appeal and arbitration that held up the official outcome for several weeks. Ultimately, the protest was denied, Castroneves had back-to-back Indy wins and Tracy became a more fervent supporter of CART, which was denied its third consecutive 500 win. (Team Green eventually became Andretti Green Racing in the IRL.)

"I feel the deck was kind of stacked," Tracy said. "They were looking after an IRL-based team because (CART) teams were coming over and winning and they didn't want it to happen again. There's no doubt there was a crash before I got past (Castroneves). ... The racing doesn't stop until the yellow light comes on, and when it came on I was ahead of Castroneves."

Tracy went on to win the next CART race at Milwaukee, amassing 31 victories to tie with Sebastien Bourdais for the most all time, and the 2003 championship. That racing résumé, he says, defines his career more than the 500 ever will.

And in being at Indy, that there are no hard feelings.

"I feel I won the race. ... So I've got that in my heart," he said. "I don't have the trophy, I don't have the monetary spoils, but I know that I won and did what it took to win.

"Time heals all wounds."