News out of the Indy Racing League is that veteran open wheel driver Paul Tracy will replace Vitor Meira for the Milwaukee race on May 31st, and possibly the rest of the season. The news should come as no surprise as Meira was injured in a crash in turn one of last week’s Indy 500. Paul Tracy finished 9th in his one-race deal for KV Racing in the blue and red Geico-sponsored car at Indy. Tracy has made it no secret he still has the competitive bug to return to racing, in particular open wheel where he has had the most success. A CART/Champ Car force prior to the merger, Tracy has raced just two races since open wheel reunited in February of 2008. In those two races he has made the most of what he had. In the 2008 season, his one race deal with Vision Racing landed him a fourth place finish in Edmonton. In 2009 he was confirmed with KV Racing for the Indy 500 and rewarded them with ninth place finish. The uncertainty surrounding Tracy is that prior to the Indy 500, it was announced that he would race in Edmonton and Toronto for KV Racing. It’s unclear on how the Foyt/Tracy relationship will exist for those two races.
Prior to 2008, Tracy was the 2003 Champ Car Champion and voted the most popular driver in the same year. In 2002 he finished runner-up to Helio Castroneves in the Indy 500, while sparking the controversy that he passed Castroneves before the yellow came out. To this day, Tracy still claims he won the race. Tracy has a wealth of experience in open wheel racing, as his career began in the early 1990’s. He has raced for or been involved with the following race teams: Dale Coyle Racing, Team Penske, Newman/Haas, Team Green, Forsythe Racing, Vision Racing, and most recently KV Racing. More news to come as it develops.
