Tagliani to race at Champ Car finale, Tracy not sure

UPDATE Paul Tracy may be back banging on garage doors in NASCAR soon. Without a ride in the newly united Indy Racing League, the Toronto native has put out feelers that he would be happy to test for a solid Cup or Nationwide team for this season

04/10/08 Alex Tagliani will be at the Champ Car finale in Long Beach next week but his friend and sometimes rival Paul Tracy isn't so sure.

Tagliani will drive for Walker Racing in the April 20th race, which will also double as an IndyCar series points race for those teams who made the switch to the IRL following open-wheel unification earlier this year.

While Tracy's name is on the entry list beside the No. 3 car for Forsythe Racing, the Toronto racer has been embroiled in a contract dispute with the Chicago businessman following his decision not to field a team in the IndyCar series. The Indianapolis Star reported that Tracy's manager had recently contacted Tony George and he could be racing in a third Vision Racing entry in Japan that same weekend.

"I've had a lot of great years with Gerry and I'm still hoping to be in his car next week at Long Beach," Tracy tells SpeedTV.com. "I expect we can resolve our differences in a way that makes us both happy. I'm looking forward to that result and being at Long Beach."

As many as 20 cars are expected to line up for the Long Beach finale, the most on the starting grid for a Champ Car race since 2002. tsn.ca