PAUL TRACY’S BUSY WEEK NETS A RIDE AND TECH ADVANCES
Player Management International Media Release
Las Vegas, NV (June 18, 2009) – Open-wheel star Paul Tracy will once again be strapping into a racecar with GEICO as his partner. In his storied career, Tracy has never turned a lap at Watkins Glen International. That will all change when Tracy and his KV Racing Technology team arrive in upstate New York for the July 5th IndyCar race.
This spring found Tracy at Indianapolis Motor Speedway with KV Racing preparing to re-visit racing’s past in the #15 GEICO car. Tracy recorded an Indianapolis 500 win in 2002 before a controversial ruling by the Indy Racing League sent him home with runner-up honors. Race officials ruled that Tracy passed Helio Castroneves under caution on the final lap of the race even though videotape would indicate otherwise. Tracy took the decision in stride, but vowed to never again step foot in Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Tracy did, once again, step foot in Indianapolis Motor Speedway in May, but he focused only on winning. Tracy and his #15 GEICO car were on task to accomplish that feat until they collected debris from the crash of Tony Kanaan. With damage to the underside of his front wing, Tracy managed to drive the #15 GEICO car to a 9th place finish in the world’s biggest race, despite running as high as 4th during the event.
A longtime member of the GEICO Racing family, Tracy is looking forward to once again partnering with GEICO and taking the Gecko for a ride in the Finger Lakes region of New York.
“We had a great run at Indy and I appreciate GEICO’s continued support,” Tracy said. “We finished 9th in the Indianapolis 500 and I want to improve on that at The Glen. I have always enjoyed working with GEICO, so it is nice to have them partnered with my good friends at KV Racing. This will be fun.”
Tracy is one of the most colorful, charismatic racers in the business. He is also becoming one of the most technologically advanced. Along with securing a ride for Watkins Glen this week, Tracy also entered the world of Twitter. Good friend Jimmy Vasser persuaded him to give it a shot and just a few days later it seems to be more of a blessing than a curse. Tracy has shared photos of his family at the river water skiing, along with personal notes about his training regimen.
“Twitter has been great because it’s allowed me to connect directly with my fans and share personal information with them,” Tracy said. “It’s cool because they know what I’m doing all the time and it gives them a sense of what I do to train and also how important my family is to me. When you see @paultracy3 on Twitter, it’s really me. I do my own Twitter because it’s more authentic and I think people like hearing directly from me.”
The Camping World Grand Prix at The Glen is on July 5th at Watkins Glen International in New York. The race will be broadcast live on ABC at 1:00 PM (ET).
GEICO (Government Employees Insurance Company) is the third-largest private passenger auto insurer in the United States based on the latest 12 months written premium. It provides auto insurance coverage for 9 million policyholders and insures more than 15 million vehicles. In addition to auto insurance, GEICO offers customers insurance products for their motorcycles, all-terrain vehicles (ATV's), boats, homes, apartments and mobile homes. Commercial auto insurance and personal umbrella protection and life insurance are also available. As a member of the Berkshire Hathaway group of companies, GEICO is rated A++ for financial strength by A.M. Best Company and ranks at the top of several national customer satisfaction surveys. For more information, please visit www.geico.com .
For more information about GEICO Racing, please visit www.geicogarage.com.
For more information about Paul Tracy, please visit www.paultracy.com
You can follow Paul Tracy on Twitter at www.twitter.com/paultracy3
For more information about KV Racing Technology, please visit www.kvracingtechnology.com.
