Forsythe to scale back to one car?

Recall we reported awhile ago that Forsythe Racing had laid off a significant number of staff. At first it was thought to be just cleaning house of deadwood, but that now does not appear to be the case. In what is sure to send major negative shockwaves through the Champ Car paddock, Forsythe will only run one car for Paul Tracy unless a sponsor can be found for the 2nd car. In other words, one of the best seats in the paddock is open to a ride-buyer and we suspect that will get the attention of some funded drivers who want a chance at winning. However, bringing $5M to the table is no easy matter..

"We haven't had a sponsor since Player's was forced out by the tobacco legislation and Gerry has threatened to run only one car unless we found a sponsor for the past few years but always ran two to make sure we had enough cars," Neil Micklewright, the vice president of operations for Forsythe Racing, told SPEEDTV.com.

"But this time he's serious. We've let a bunch of people go and we only have enough crew to run one car.

"Losing AJ Allmendinger bothered him, as it should have since he felt like he saved A.J.'s career," Paul Tracy told SPEEDTV.com. "But he's been helping fund other teams in our series and his people haven't been able to find a sponsor in three years so I think he just said 'that's it, no sponsor, no second car.'"