Did Milwaukee just become must-see TV?
Shawn Fenner
May 27, 2009
Yet another reason to watch the Milwaukee IndyCar Series race (and perhaps Richmond?)
With Vitor Meira out of action for about four months thanks to two broken vertebrae in his lower back after his Indianapolis 500 wreck, Scarborough, Ontario, native Paul Tracy will pilot the #14 this weekend in Milwaukee. In 14 starts at the track, Tracy has eight top-10s and four wins. The all-time ChampCar/CART leader in wins, Tracy is contracted to KV Racing for the series’ stops in Toronto and Edmonton later this season. Might we see him in Richmond at the end of June? The team says they didn’t know yet when contacted on Tuesday night. On a Wednesday league conference call, it sounded as if this weekend would be used as a get-to-know-you session before more races are added.
“He (Tracy) gives 110 percent. That’s the type of driver we need to beat Penske and all the rest of the guys,” said team owner A.J. Foyt. “You can’t go out there, lay dormant and think you’re going to beat them. You have to have somebody that wants to challenge them. I think he’s got the same idea I do. We want to get back in victory circle very bad. We’re going to work hard to do it, and he’s the guy that can do it for me…...Well, I’m going to talk to Paul and see what he really wants to do. Sure, we’d like to have him for all the races.”
Said Tracy: “You know, I’m just grateful for the opportunity. And obviously I want to race as much as I can. I’m a race driver that wants to race and wants to win. And A.J. is the same. So we’ll see how this weekend goes and then go from there…...Obviously I’ve got a commitment. We’ve already made an announcement for Toronto and Edmonton. We’ve got a sponsor signed, so I’m committed on that deal. But I would love to drive for A.J. some more. But the plan right now is to just get through this weekend and see what happens.”
Meira, meanwhile, was released from an Indianapolis hospital today. He says he’s shooting for a return in three months instead of four. He told the Associated Press today that he hopes to return to his Miami home this weekend.
In the interest of full disclosure…..
.....I entered the R&R Racing Indy 500 contest. Bad move. Out of over 256 entries, I finished 229th. Yikes. Can’t remember all my picks, which may be a good thing, but I know I had Tony Kanaan and Graham Rahal, one at the expense of winner Helio Castroneves. I’ll do better for the Richmond race. I hope.
With Meira out, Paul Tracy will team with A.J. Foyt Racing this weekend
Jun. 1, 2009 at 07:10 PM
Hey, Allisonfan. Thanks for the reply. I think RIR almost has to see more green-flag racing this year. In both 2006 and ‘07, there were only four caution periods. Last year we had nine. I asked Ryan Briscoe about that when I talked to him before the Long Beach race this year, and he said he thought it was just because there so many transition (read: first-time RIR) drivers there last year. I do remember talking to Buddy Rice about the lack of cautions (I can’t remember whether it was ‘06 or ‘07) and he seemed to think they had the place figured out. We’ll see at the end of the month, I guess!
May. 29, 2009 at 10:30 AM
Will RIR see more green-flag racing in this year’s IndyCar round? Watching those cars race on a 3/4-mile oval is a great spectacle, but I hope they’ve figured it out a little better. If Tracy races here, it’ll be interesting to see how he handles the track.