Tracy: Racing IndyCars is the coolest thing

Paul Tracy

Paul Tracy chatted with The Indianapolis Star's Phillip B. Wilson about a variety of off-the-wall topics, including his toys, his hair and the craziest thing he has done.

Question: Is it true you wanted to get back into racing full time because you're bored buying toys?

Answer: I'm bored out of my mind.

Q: Have a favorite toy?

A: These things, these race cars. Nothing else really does it for me. I've got a couple cars, a hot rod, a couple motorcycles.

Q: And a speed boat?

A: Yeah, but I just love racing. That stuff is cool, but not as cool as this. This is the best. It's what I've done my whole life. To have it come to a stop, all of a sudden, I didn't want that to happen. I want to do it a couple more years.

Q: You've had pretty cool hair in the past, haven't you?

A: I had pretty cool hair when I had some hair, but I don't have a lot now.

Q: No dye anymore?

A: No, because it would probably fall out if I did that.

Q: What was the coolest color you ever had it?

A: I had my hair green one time for Halloween when I drove for Team Kool Green at a race in Fontana (Calif.). It's thinning out now. I'm getting old.

Q: What's it like living in Las Vegas?

A: It's a lot of fun. I don't live right in Las Vegas. I'm about 20 minutes away. We live up in the suburbs, up on a golf course, up against the mountains. It's beautiful where we live. You wouldn't know it's Vegas. We're in the mountains and the red rocks. It's really pretty.

Q: Poker or craps?

A: I don't gamble. I spend a lot of money on other stuff, but I'm smart enough not to spend it on gambling.

Q: You're a video game junkie?

A: Yeah, I've got some games on my bus, but I don't play as much as I used to. The game I like right now is Baja 1000, an Xbox game. It's trophy trucks and buggies and stuff like that.

Q: Are you amused that the old-school guys pull for you as the rebel, as kind of the anti-establishment driver?

A: I've been around a long time. When I started here in 1992, my first race here, I was racing against Rick Mears, the Andrettis, Emerson Fittipaldi — the big, big names — and I was just a kid. I think I still appeal to the young fans. I guess I don't present myself as an old guy.

Q: What have your two kids taught you?

A: (Laughs). Learn new ways to tell stories. These kids get pretty creative nowadays.

Q: Any racing skill there with the kids?

A: My one son, C.J., I can't beat him in a go-kart anymore. We went to the go-kart track last summer. I get out there, thinking I was going to put it on him, and I couldn't even catch him.

Q: Anything you crave?

A: I like ice cream and cookies. That's probably why I'm more chubby than most drivers.

Q: What's the craziest thing you've ever done?

A: I've gone 190 mph in a boat. That's pretty crazy. That's not something I do regularly. That will make the hair stand up on your back doing that.

Q: Who's the coolest race car driver you've ever met?

A: (Team co-owner) Jimmy Vasser is pretty cool, but don't tell him that. I always tell him he's a butthead for not giving me a full-time ride.

Q: Any superstitions?

A: One of my quirks is I always get in the car from the left and I always put my left glove on first. I got in one time from the right, crashed and broke my leg. I never got in from the right side again. IndyStar