Age hasn't slowed me down, optimistic Tracy insists

RICK MATSUMOTO, SPORTS REPORTER
THEstar.com
January 09, 2008

Paul Tracy recently celebrated his 39th birthday, but he feels there's no reason that should prevent him from winning the Champ Car championship this season.

The Scarborough native has signed a new contract with Gerald Forsythe, the principal owner of Forsythe Pettit Racing, ending speculation his five-year stint with the team was over and he might wind up in the rival IRL.

"I feel good, but I know it's not going to get easier to win championships," said Tracy yesterday from his home in Las Vegas.

"I have no illusions that I can do the same things that I could at 29 or 22. But I still feel that I have the speed. With the right people around me and everybody focused on the job at hand, we can win the championship."

Tracy said a meeting with Forsythe vice-resident Neil Micklewright following the 2007 season – when he managed just one win and finished 11th in the driver standings – cleared the air.

"Everybody involved was pretty frustrated over how last year went," he said. "I think everything came to a boiling point."

That meeting resulted in the hiring of Ken Siwieck, the former assistant manager of Newman-Haas/Lanigan Racing, who will be in charge of Tracy's car.

Siwieck said he feels Tracy has not lost his fearlessness, which some drivers lose as they approach the twilight of their careers

"There's a saying in motor racing that if you don't crash once in a while you're not trying," he said. "There are a lot of guys who will sit back and finish sixth or seventh. If that's the kind of car you've got that's one thing. But we intend to field a car that can win.''