wilson89
Team Owner
From: Marshall Pruett http://auto-racing.speedtv.com/article/indycar-open-wheel-chapter-closed-for-paul-tracy
His Indy car career started here at Long Beach 21 years ago driving for Dale Coyne, making it somewhat fitting that just hours before the running of the 2012 Long Beach event, 43-year-old Paul Tracy confirmed to SPEED.com that he’s likely reached end of the road as an open-wheel driver.
“It’s just a fact of life,” he said. “We had a couple of opportunities that popped up here and there, and they went to people who had more money. Cash is king right now. It’s not about your history or what you’ve done in this sport; it’s about how much money you can bring to the table.”
After 281 open-wheel starts in CART, Champ Car and the IZOD IndyCar Series, the 2003 Champ Car champion believes that unless a team owner comes out of the blue to put him in a car, the prospects of driving an Indy car again are slim.
“I’ve pretty much resigned myself that if we don’t do anything this year, that’s the end of it,” he confirmed. “At least every year from The Split, I’ve done something, but if I don’t do any open-wheel stuff this year, I’m not waiting for the phone to ring. If someone wants to hire me, I’m open to that, but I’m not getting my hopes up to be disappointed.”
With 31 wins, 102 top 5s and more than $14 Million in earnings during his illustrious career, the Canadian says this wasn’t the way he envisioned closing the chapter on open-wheel, but admits he has little to complain about.
“It’s not the ending that I wanted for my career, but it is what it is,” he continued. “But I’ve accomplished everything I’ve ever wanted to accomplish. I wanted to have a final proper year where I could drive and meet and greet the fans, but it looks like it’s not going to happen. But at the end of the day, if you look at the record books, I’m pretty much in the top 10 in everything and I’m proud where my career started and ended. But it’s a little bit of a sour note that when the merger happened, I was left dangling out in the wind.”
PT’s legions of fans won’t be left out in the cold entirely this year thanks to an expanded relationship with the Doran Racing GRAND-AM Rolex Series Daytona Prototype team. Tracy contested the Rolex 24 At Daytona in January, and is scheduled to make a few more starts for them this year, including the inaugural Super Weekend at The Brickyard GRAND-AM race at Indianapolis July 27-29.
“I’m going to run the endurance race there, and we’ve got on the schedule New Jersey right now," he remarked. "We’ve got four more races we’re doing, but nothing in open-wheel. Bottom line is that I hope my fans come out and enjoy the next phase of my career because that's what I have going at the moment.”
His Indy car career started here at Long Beach 21 years ago driving for Dale Coyne, making it somewhat fitting that just hours before the running of the 2012 Long Beach event, 43-year-old Paul Tracy confirmed to SPEED.com that he’s likely reached end of the road as an open-wheel driver.
“It’s just a fact of life,” he said. “We had a couple of opportunities that popped up here and there, and they went to people who had more money. Cash is king right now. It’s not about your history or what you’ve done in this sport; it’s about how much money you can bring to the table.”
After 281 open-wheel starts in CART, Champ Car and the IZOD IndyCar Series, the 2003 Champ Car champion believes that unless a team owner comes out of the blue to put him in a car, the prospects of driving an Indy car again are slim.
“I’ve pretty much resigned myself that if we don’t do anything this year, that’s the end of it,” he confirmed. “At least every year from The Split, I’ve done something, but if I don’t do any open-wheel stuff this year, I’m not waiting for the phone to ring. If someone wants to hire me, I’m open to that, but I’m not getting my hopes up to be disappointed.”
With 31 wins, 102 top 5s and more than $14 Million in earnings during his illustrious career, the Canadian says this wasn’t the way he envisioned closing the chapter on open-wheel, but admits he has little to complain about.
“It’s not the ending that I wanted for my career, but it is what it is,” he continued. “But I’ve accomplished everything I’ve ever wanted to accomplish. I wanted to have a final proper year where I could drive and meet and greet the fans, but it looks like it’s not going to happen. But at the end of the day, if you look at the record books, I’m pretty much in the top 10 in everything and I’m proud where my career started and ended. But it’s a little bit of a sour note that when the merger happened, I was left dangling out in the wind.”
PT’s legions of fans won’t be left out in the cold entirely this year thanks to an expanded relationship with the Doran Racing GRAND-AM Rolex Series Daytona Prototype team. Tracy contested the Rolex 24 At Daytona in January, and is scheduled to make a few more starts for them this year, including the inaugural Super Weekend at The Brickyard GRAND-AM race at Indianapolis July 27-29.
“I’m going to run the endurance race there, and we’ve got on the schedule New Jersey right now," he remarked. "We’ve got four more races we’re doing, but nothing in open-wheel. Bottom line is that I hope my fans come out and enjoy the next phase of my career because that's what I have going at the moment.”