Paul Tracy to drive in Edmonton
07/14/08 Tracy confirmed to Crash.net that he will indeed be driving in Edmonton for Walker Racing.
07/11/08 According to this SPEEDtv.com article, the details have been worked out between Tony George and Derrick Walker for Tracy to drive a third Vision Racing entry at the IndyCar race at Edmonton. This deal is contingent on Paul Tracy's acceptance of the terms of the offer.
07/10/08 As we have stated, and now as his advisors are telling him in this article, by running just one race in a car made up of a hodgepodge of used parts, Tracy is setting himself to fail in Edmonton should he accept the ride. It is, however, an opportunity to get his foot in the door with the IRL and Tony George.
07/08/08 It appears Paul Tracy has secured a car and is close to signing a deal and securing a sponsor to compete in Edmonton's inaugural IndyCar open-wheel race on July 26.
"We're just down to the wire here and getting things locked down," Derrick Walker, owner of Walker Racing, said Tuesday in an interview from Indianapolis.
"We're through the worst. Now it's just getting all the details down and everybody agreeing, and off we go."
Walker, who has been brokering the deal with Vision Racing owner Tony George, said he expects a decision within days and pegged the chances of a deal at "80 per cent."
"I don't foresee any major issues and it's never done 'til it's done, but I think the likelihood is very, very strong," he said.
Walker said the deal would see the team borrow a car from Vision Racing, which already has Ed Carpenter and A.J. Foyt IV driving for it. Vision would add a third car for Tracy that would run under the Vision umbrella but be maintained by Walker crews.
Carpenter and Foyt are primarily oval racers, and Walker said Tracy's team would bring a lot of road experience. Edmonton's 1.96-mile road circuit is at the downtown City Centre Airport.
Tracy and Walker Racing competed in the now-defunct Champ Car series. Tracy was the career Champ Car leader in wins at 31 and raced at all three Edmonton events.
Walker said Vision would help them master the Dallara car and Honda engine while they would deliver the engineering data and experience on the Edmonton course.
"They saw the benefit of Champ Car involvement," he said.
Edmonton organizers are also looking for a publicity boost.
Organizers were not able to advertise in earnest until late spring as legal difficulties arising from the merger kept the Edmonton race from being formally announced. Early forecasts had the race projected to run about $1 million in the red.
After Nashville, four of the next five IndyCar races are on street/road courses, but that doesn't mean Tracy will be on board.
Walker said it would be a one-race deal for now, but the door is open for more.
"We want to get back in the IRL and if Tony has the sponsorship interest and all of those things come together, I see no reason why it wouldn't go more races," he said.
"But right now it's not planned for that." Canadian Press
07/03/08 In this original rumor below we mentioned that Tracy was rumored to be doing Goodwood this year. That is confirmed in this Hot News article.
06/30/08 Robin Miller reported on Wind Tunnel that Paul Tracy and Vision Racing will most likely run the last four non oval events with Walker Racing prepping and running the cars. Tony George is negotiating with Paul Tracy and has some sponsorship lined up for him. The last four non oval events would be Edmonton, Sonoma, Detroit and Surfers Paradise.
06/23/08 Paul Tracy might soon be an IndyCar Series driver, at least for one race. Tony George, who owns Vision Racing, said team officials might put the former Champ Car World Series champion in a third entry for the series' July 26 street course race in Edmonton, Alberta.
Tracy is one of Canada's most popular athletes and widely regarded as the best open-wheel driver — certainly the most experienced — left out of the unification process.
George said the ideal program would be to field the car through Vision but use Derrick Walker's Indianapolis-based organization to run it. Walker, who has owned teams in Champ Car and the Indy Racing League, has not been able to assemble a program to participate in the series this season but has been soliciting companies to sponsor a return.
Walker said Sunday that he has been in active discussions with Canadian companies over the past three weeks to field either Tracy or former Champ Car veteran Alex Tagliani, another Canadian.
"Alex is very passionate about it and Paul is like, 'Yeah, I'm interested and I need this and that and I'm driving a pickup truck (in NASCAR's Craftsman Truck Series race in Joliet, Ill., next month),' " Walker said. "Nevertheless, Paul said he'd do it, too, so now I just have to get with Tony and get this (sponsorship) signed."
Walker said George has not given him the green light to proceed, but George told The Star that it makes sense given the start-up equipment costs Walker would have to pay just for one race.
Tracy and Tagliani could not be reached for comment Sunday. Vision fields two cars in the series on a regular basis, for drivers Ed Carpenter and A.J. Foyt IV. Indy Star
06/19/08 Paul Tracy is set to make his NASCAR Craftsman Truck debut later this year.
His agent, Doug Barnette, confirmed that Tracy is scheduled to compete for Germain Racing at the September 20th race in Las Vegas.
The former Champ Car champion has been on the sidelines following the merger earlier this year between the Indy Racing League and the Champ Car World Series. He was under contract to Gerald Forsythe, who elected not to field a team in the IRL this year, however, its believed he was granted his release following the Long Beach Grand Prix.
The 39 year old Tracy tested a truck for Germain Racing last month in Chicago. Germain Racing is one of the premier teams in the Craftsman Truck Series, fielding entries for Todd Bodine, Justin Marks and Chrissy Wallace. Bodine currently sits second in the championship.
Tracy, however, could be back racing even sooner if plans to field a car for him for next month's IndyCar race in Edmonton get finalized.
Derrick Walker, who attempted to filed an entry for Tracy at the Indianapolis 500, is working on finalizing a sponsorship package within the next week or so to get the Canadian back on track. TSN.ca
06/19/08 See related SPEEDTV.com article. Sounds like Tracy may do a one race deal for Edmonton. How dumb is that?…..Putting Canada's favorite son in an unfamiliar car for just one race so he can fail in front of his fans. Dumb and dumber. He should be in a full-time ride, but that would take common sense that Indy Car management often lacks, hence why TV ratings are below 1.0.
06/19/08 Paul Tracy will be a guest on NASCAR Now on Thursday night, June 19, to discuss his future plans. See related article.
06/18/08 With IndyCar set to visit Canada once this year (Edmonton) and twice in 2009 (Edmonton and Toronto), there is a real need to have Canada's most popular driver on the starting grid. However, according to AutoRacing1.com sources, there has been no interest from Tony George to get Tracy in an IndyCar. From what we hear, Tracy got tired of waiting and we hear he will be announcing a deal tomorrow that has been given to him for NASCAR, which will help NASCAR expand in Canada.
Talk about helping you #1 enemy defeat you.
The only way that Tracy can get into an IndyCar is if he pays for the ride and we know Paul will never do that.
From our European sources we also hear that Tracy has been invited to drive a 96 Penske, a 66 Graham Hill Lola and Sebastian Bourdais' Newman/Haas Lola Champ Car in the Goodwood Festival.