Tuesday, Feb. 14, 2006 | 12:33 p.m.
With 30 victories and a series championship in 15 seasons, Paul Tracy certainly has made his mark in open-wheel racing in the Champ Car World Series.
Now, at age 37, Tracy is taking aim at the world of NASCAR as a way of prolonging his driving career. A part-time Las Vegas resident, Tracy will compete in at least five NASCAR Busch Series races this season - beginning with Saturday's season-opening race at Daytona International Speedway and including the March 11 race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway - for team owners Frank Cicci and former NFL quarterback Jim Kelly.
Tracy also will return for his fourth season with team owner Gerald Forsythe in the Champ Car World Series, where Tracy has developed a reputation as an aggressive driver who is just as likely to crash out of a race as win it.
That driving style caught the attention of NASCAR Nextel Cup team owner Richard Childress, who called Tracy "my kind of driver" and gave Tracy his first NASCAR test. Childress fielded cars for the late Dale Earnhardt for 17 years.
Tracy talked about making the move to stock-car racing during last week's NASCAR Busch Series test at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
What is your comfort level in stock cars now that you have done some testing?
Daytona went pretty well for us - we had a pretty good test there. We went and tested at (Virginia International Raceway), at the road course, and that went well. It was no problem for me; I picked it up real quick.
Obviously there are a lot of differences between a Champ car and a stock car. What has been the biggest adjustment you have had to make moving to stock cars?
This (stock car) is a big car with small tires and lots of power, and the Champ Car is a small car with big tires and lots of power, so they're kind of opposite from each other. But it's still a race car, you know? It's always the same thing: You're always looking for better balance, a car that will grip better. Understeer, oversteer, you're always fighting that no matter what car you're driving.
Jimmy Vasser, Adrian Fernandez and Christian Fittipaldi all have attempted the move from open-wheel racing to stock cars in the past few years. Have you talked to any of those drivers about what to expect in NASCAR?
I talk to Jimmy all the time. Jimmy didn't really have that difficult of a time adjusting to things. My first couple of times in the car, so far, I really haven't had too much of an issue. But this track (LVMS) and (Indianapolis Raceway Park) are going to be probably the two hardest ones for me. But as soon as you get out there racing with 42 other guys, you don't know what to expect (as far as) how hard do guys race.
The racing I've done, I know which guys I can run hard and which guys I can't.
How do you see yourself fitting in with the NASCAR crowd?
I think, so far, everybody has been pretty welcoming to me. For me, it's an opportunity to get my feet wet in this and see some opportunities open up. I've got a great deal with Forsythe and he's allowing me to do this. He knows that I would like to try to do this in my career, and he's allowing me to go and try it. But it's hard to walk away from a deal like that for an unknown in stock cars.
The bottom line is that if you run well, then you're going to get some attention and you're going to get noticed. If you don't run good, then you're not going to get noticed - that's really what it comes down to.
How did this deal with Frank Cicci Racing with Jim Kelly come about?
Doug Barnett, an agent, put it together for me. I was trying to put some deals together, but I'm not walking around the paddock all the time searching out the deals, so it's hard to get in when you're not there all the time. I ran into him in Miami and he said, 'Oh, I can get a deal together for you; I've got some spon-sors that want to do something different than the norm.' So, he was able to put together this deal with American Crew and Sport Clips and it worked out good for everybody.
Are you worried about tarnishing the reputation you've built in Champ Car if you go to NASCAR and don't succeed?
No, no. This is just opening another chapter in your career. I could probably continue in Champ Car if I wanted to, but I'm to the point now where I want to try something new. I'm trying all kinds of different things - Grand Am cars, these cars. I don't want to retire at 40 years old or 39 years old. When the door closes on one chapter, you've got to have a couple of doors open and other avenues to go down.
That's really what I'm doing now is trying to get some relationships going with people in NASCAR, team owners, and try to get as many races in here as I can and try to put together a top-flight deal for the future.
Brian Hilderbrand can be reached at 259-4089 or at [email protected].
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