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Tracy Gets IRL Ride For Edmonton

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The Associated Press

The Tampa Tribune

Published: July 16, 2008

Paul Tracy will finally get his chance to race in the IndyCar Series - for at least one race.

The former CART champion will drive in the July 26 Rexall Edmonton Indy in a car fielded by Walker Racing, supported by Vision Racing and sponsored by Subway.

"It's going to be good to be back in a race car and see how we can do," Tracy told The Associated Press in a Tuesday phone call. "A lot of these IndyCar teams are pretty tired right now. They've had a bunch of races in a short time and there have been a lot of crashes, so people are kind of run into the ground.

"We're coming in fresh, with a fresh outlook and a lot of motivation."

Tracy, 39, winner of 31 races in CART and its later iteration as Champ Car, found himself out of a ride when Champ Car was absorbed into the IRL's IndyCar Series in February. Forsythe Championship Racing, for whom the Canadian raced in recent years, closed down rather than joining teams moving to the IRL for the 2008 season.

Tracy then found himself in a dispute with team owner Gerald Forsythe over the settlement of his contract and was unable to sign with another team before the start of the season.

Meanwhile, longtime open-wheel team owner Derrick Walker did not have the money to make the move to the IndyCar Series and was concentrating on running cars in the developmental Atlantic Series.

Tony George, founder of the IRL and owner of Vision Racing, wanted to sign Tracy to a run a third car for his team, but couldn't find the additional sponsorship dollars. But he was able to eventually broker the deal with Tracy, Walker, Subway and associated sponsor Rexall.

OBITUARY: Steve Peterson, NASCAR's technical director who spent 13 years helping make the circuit safer for drivers, was found dead in his home in Concord, N.C., on Tuesday. He was 58.

The cause of death was not disclosed, but NASCAR said in a statement it appeared to be of natural causes.

Peterson joined NASCAR in 1995 and spearheaded several safety initiatives, including installation of the SAFER Barriers and the implementation of safety features in the Car of Tomorrow. He also helped the circuit get approval for head and neck restraints and improved seat belts.

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