Paul TracyRobert Laberge/Getty Images
Two old friends are together again hoping to get the Indianapolis 500 win that eluded them last time they teamed up at the famed Brickyard.
Canadian driver Paul Tracy and his former team owner turned race strategist, Barry Green, are back together eight years after seeing an Indy 500 win snatched from their hands.
Tracy won the 2002 Indy 500 for Team Green on the track, only to have the victory taken away by a questionable decision by the Indy Racing League (IRL) officials that many chalked up to politics. In that race, Tracy passed eventual winner Helio Castroneves on the penultimate lap a split second before a yellow flag flew.
That should have made Tracy the winner, but the IRL claimed the "Thrill from West Hill" overtook after the yellow came out despite clear video evidence to the contrary.
A vocal and often disrespectful critic of the IRL and the disastrous spilt it created in North American open wheel racing, having Tracy win the crown jewel would have been too hard to take.
"Deep down we know what happened there," Tracy said. "You know, this is a topic that I think will probably go down in history as one of the most fiercely debated topics over many, many years."
Tracy announced last month that he reached a deal to drive the No. 15 car for KV Racing Technology in the 500. It will be the second consecutive year he will join the team at the "Greatest Spectacle in Racing."
Green comes to the table with impressive credentials, leading Canadian Jacques Villeneuve to the Indy 500 crown and the series championship in 1995. He also served as Indy 500 strategist for Michael Andretti.
For Green, the opportunity allowed him to get a foot back into the sport.
"It's just the Indy 500. It's such a challenge, such a great challenge," he said. "To be honest, I missed IndyCar racing dearly. I'm not very involved at the moment."
Tracy more than held his own in the 2009 Indy 500, running as high as fourth before some debris damaged his car and slowed his pace slightly.
He ended the day ninth.
But this year, it's a leaner, and more focused Tracy who will slip into the KV car at the Brickyard. The 41-year-old began an intensive training regime about two months ago and the hard work has paid off in a more fit and streamlined driver.
While getting in race shape is always important, Tracy had a bit more incentive this year after seeing some raw footage of a television show he's filming for SPEED Channel.
"I saw myself on TV and I said; 'I got to lose some weight.' You know, I just started riding my bike, going to the gym. I hooked up with the trainer that I had in 2003 when I won the championship," he said.
"Really just been putting in about two, two and a half hours on the bike in the morning, training with a trainer in the afternoon for an hour and a half. Really just watching what I eat."
Tracy is down to 188 pounds after arriving at last year's 500 at 240, although he told team co-owner Jimmy Vasser that he was 215. In addition to having improved stamina after his gruelling workouts, the slimmer Tracy will be quicker on track.
"The actual science is factual - I can get the engineers to work out an actual lap time," Vasser said. "I think at Indianapolis, that kind of weight could be as much as a 10th and a half a lap. You just can't get that back."
Although Tracy will have a busy May with practice and qualifying for the 500 taking up most of the month, he's not forgotten that his home race is quickly approaching and he still does not have a confirmed ride.
But he's working on deals for July's Honda Toronto Indy and Honda Edmonton Indy, both of which he ran in 2009. Tracy finished a disappointing 19th on the streets of Exhibition Place last year after looking to be in contention for the win until he tangled with Castroneves in Turn 4 and retired with 19 laps to go. He finished sixth two weeks later at Edmonton's city centre airport circuit.
While Tracy is certain a deal will happen for the two Canadian stops, nothing is finalized yet.
"Toronto and Edmonton are the big events of the year really for me.
We're buttoning up the details with our Edmonton and Toronto program. We hope to have that announced here in the next couple weeks," he said.
"Obviously, it's going to be exciting. I think, again, what we've got put together coming for that I think is going to be exciting for the fans and a real good opportunity for what we're trying to do."