microphone pict Paul Tracy: ...and Roger was real happy

©1997 SpeedCenter Internet Publishing, Inc.

CART Teleconference
April 29, 1997

Tracy Flying High

The April 29 CART Teleconference, with guest Paul Tracy, posed interesting questions about Tracy's ability as a driver, his perception of the people that surround him, and the quality of the machine he drives for Marlboro Team Penske. His new-found confidence could very well be related to a $25,000 fine he suffered for rule infractions at Long Beach, and of ending a 27-race winless stretch.

Moderator: T.E. McHale

McHale: "We would like to extend a special welcome to our guest, Marlboro Team Penske driver, Paul Tracy." "Paul succeeded in his eleventh career victory Sunday, in the Bosch Spark Plug Grand Prix, Sponsored by Toyota, at Nazareth Speedway. He won from the pole for the fourth time in his PPG CART World Series career, collecting $70,000 from the Marlboro Pole Award fund for doing so. That breaks down to $10,000 for winning the pole on Saturday, and another $60,000 for becoming the first driver in the 1997 PPG Cup season to win from the pole. Welcome Paul." Tracy: "Thank you."

"My relationship now with Roger is real strong, since I re-joined the team. Everybody on the whole team last year was a little bit on edge."
Paul Tracy

McHale: "We would like to extend a special welcome to our guest, Marlboro Team Penske driver, Paul Tracy."

"Paul succeeded in his eleventh career victory Sunday, in the Bosch Spark Plug Grand Prix, Sponsored by Toyota, at Nazareth Speedway. He won from the pole for the fourth time in his PPG CART World Series career, collecting $70,000 from the Marlboro Pole Award fund for doing so. That breaks down to $10,000 for winning the pole on Saturday, and another $60,000 for becoming the first driver in the 1997 PPG Cup season to win from the pole. Welcome Paul."

Tracy: "Thank you."

McHale: "Sunday was Paul's first victory in twenty-seven PPG CART World Series starts, dating back to a win at the Milwaukee Mile on June 4, 1995. It was the first win in twenty races for Marlboro Team Penske, dating back to Al Unser, Jr.'s victory at the Molson Indy Vancouver on September 3, 1995. Paul's pole position was the tenth in his PPG CART World Series career, and his pole winning speed of 191.174mph was a world record for a one-mile oval. With 45 points, he currently stands third in the PPG Cup standings, behind Michael Andretti with 51 points, and Scott Pruett, with 47. With that, we're going to open it up for questions."

John Sondervager - St. Louis Sports Dispatch: "Our race [Gateway] here at the Motorola 300 is coming up, and you guys aren't going to get to test on it, I think, until the Wednesday before the Saturday race. Can you talk about that a little bit. What kind of problems will that present and how are you going to attack it?"

Tracy: "Well, I guess we're just going to have to go off of what we do in Brazil [at the Hollywood Rio 400 on 5/11], and what we've done at Nazareth. The set-ups are fairly similar. I saw some film footage at the track from a handy-cam, and it looks fairly similar to Pheonix International Raceway in the way it's laid out, except maybe a little longer. We tested at Pheonix over the winter, so we'll just have to go with the same sort of set-up."

John: "Will it be a guessing game on tires, or how will you do that?"

Tracy: "Pretty much. It's tough not have the chance to test there and having to go in cold turkey, but it's going to be a big gamble, on both Goodyear and Firestone's part, on which tire we're going to use."

Robin Miller - Indianapolis Star News: "It seems like in the last four or five or whatever races, where Roger [Penske] wasn't going to take it any more if you kept crashing after you were leading the race. Talk a little bit about how your relationship is with him, and what it's been like in the last year or so. Has your situation ever been to where you thought you were out?"

Tracy: "I don't think so. There's always rumors. I guess I had to deal with that when I started. My relationship now with Roger is real strong, since I re-joined the team. Everybody on the whole team last year was a little bit on edge. Everybody was wrestling with the fact that we hadn't won a race. I guess winning the race this weekend in front of our home town crowd [meant a lot.] You know, our office is only twenty miles away, and Phillip Morris had 2000 guests, and Mercedes had 1000 guests there. Every crew member was there and had family there, so it was a big deal for everybody, and Roger was real happy."

Miller: "Is your contract such that you re-up every year? Could you talk a little bit about that?"

"I'm trying to finish every race. I've had one DNF, and that's all I'm going to try to have."
Paul Tracy

Tracy: "My contract is a three-year deal which started last year, so I've got this year and next in the three-year contract."

Dan Proudfoot - Toronto Sun: "What's more important, given the situation you had and the team had...the win, or your position in points?"

Tracy: "Well, I think both. Our position in the points is always critical to winning the championship, but I guess what was most important, finally, was to get a win. Everybody was looking for that. That's why we're out there is to win. Not only to win the championship, but to do the best we can in each race. I think the win there in front of everybody was a big deal."

Dan: "You've never had this many points after this many races."

Tracy: "No, and it's a good feeling. I was laying in bed last night when I got back, and thinking to myself 'wow, if I had some points from Australia and if I'd had a better finish in Long Beach, I'd be looking real good right now.' I guess there's no point in focusing on that. I'm trying to finish every race. I've had one DNF, and that's all I'm going to try to have."

Dan: "One other thing, prize money has never been talked about in CART. Obviously you collected the $60,000 [Pole Award], but in terms of the race, do you still collect your 45-50%."

Tracy: "Yeah, this month's going to be a good month for us, and covers the fine [from Long Beach] I guess. But that's not the most important part. Winning and getting that trophy...the prize money's always a nice bonus."

Dan: "How much prize money was there? Can you say?"

Tracy: "I don't even know yet. I won't know until I get my prize check."

Joe Sciano - New York Times: "I'd like you to talk about last year. Do you feel that sometimes, because of the struggles you had last year, that sometimes you were really over-driving the car? This year, are you just trying to get the results?"

"To try and win a race, everything has to go exactly perfect for you. When they're not, you're trying to force things to happen. Usually, when you're in that situation, things happen."
Paul Tracy

Tracy: "Sure. Everybody does that when things aren't going right. Al [Unser, Jr.] has been in situations where you're just trying to get the most out of the car. Nowadays, to try and win a race, everything has to go exactly perfect for you. When they're not, you're trying to force things to happen. Usually, when you're in that situation, things happen."

Mike Hollander - Racing Information Systems: "Tell us what you did Sunday night after the race, and what you've been doing since then."

Tracy: "Well, I hung around the track for a while and the crew guys came over to the coach. We just hung around and talked about the race and we kind of partied a little bit. Then I flew home and I've just been I've actually been just cleaning up and doing laundry, and figuring out what I need to take to Brazil. We've got a test coming up on the weekend, and I'm just getting ready for that."

Mike: "Will you be testing at Nazareth, or somewhere else?"

Tracy: "At Milwaukee."

Mike: "Is there some reason why you're testing at a non-Penske track?"

Tracy: "We race there two races from now, and there were some things that we learned from this weekend that we want to try at Milwaukee to see how it works there. We're working every single week to try to win the championship. Milwaukee's a real tough track, and we haven't had an opportunity to test there yet. With this break, and the weekend off, it's a good opportunity."

Mike: "Finally, the last time I think a driver actually publicly kissed a car owner, I think it was actually the other way around, was Mario Andretti and Andy Granitelli. Can you tell us whether you were thinking about that situation at the time, or was it just spontaneous?"

"We just kinda grabbed each other and it was a pretty special moment for him obviously. He had never ever come to Winners Circle, and I didn't expect to see him there."
Paul Tracy

Tracy: "It was just spontaneous. I could just see how happy he was and the look in his eye. We just kinda grabbed each other and it was a pretty special moment for him obviously. He had never ever come to Winners Circle, and I didn't expect to see him there. The only time he'd ever come to Winners Circle had been at Indianapolis. It was just seeing him there and seeing how happy he was."

Dave Wolford - Toledo Blade: "Paul, the race ended under a yellow, and sometimes, or most times, that's sort of disappointing for the fans, whether you're their favorite driver or not, or if whomever wins is their favorite driver. It's just sort of a let-down. Is their any way, from a driver's perspective, that you could come up with a reason for ending under green or a way that you could end up under green?"

Tracy: "Well, the race distance was only supposed to be 225 miles, and that's the way we were set up on fuel. So there's really no way that you could extend the race. I think the fans had a good show. Michael and I were going back and forth during the last 80 laps of the race, and were almost nose to tail. It was a little bit disappointing that we didn't run right to the checkered flag. Things just happen. [Fangio's] engine blew and there was oil all over the track beginning at turn two and all the way down the back straightaway. For safety, you really have to try to clean that up. If we were running at speed, there definitely could have been an accident."

John Hopkins - Performance Racing News: "Over the weekend you talked a bit about how well the Goodyear tires worked and how steady the new chassis is compared to last years'. With the Mercedes engine, has it changed much significantly over last year. Is it much better, and in what ways? Has the development really helped?"

"I think that we really have the best engine out there. We've had really good straight-line speeds everywhere. It's really competitive this year. Last year Ford wasn't really there, and they are this year. Then Honda really hasn't done all that much this year. The face of the engine wars has changed quite a bit from last year to this year."
Paul Tracy

Tracy: "Yeah it really has. With all that Mercedes has done, I mean, each year is a total re-design and not just a fix-up. They re-design every year. Going to forty inches [turbo boost] full time this year, they built another new engine for us. I think that we really have the best engine out there. We've had really good straight-line speeds everywhere. It's really competitive this year. Last year Ford wasn't really there, and they are this year. Then Honda really hasn't done all that much this year. The face of the engine wars has changed quite a bit from last year to this year. I think that right now the Mercedes package is probably the best out there. They've been second in the last six races, but have just missed out on the Winner's Circle. I was glad that I was able to do it for them."

Walt Glaughter - KMOS Radio: "Congratulations Paul on your win at Nazareth. I'd like to go back to last year though. About this time, or maybe a little bit earlier, you had an operation on your eyes. It has to have been successful. I don't see you wearing glasses."

Tracy: "Yeah it really was. I was near sighted and needed glasses to see far, so a [Doctor] in Pheonix who does that operation did it for me. It came out 20/20 in one eye, and 20/25 in the other, and that's good enough for me, and near on perfect. I'm pretty happy with it."

Mike Beamish: "Getting back to that incident in the Winner's Circle where you and Roger were sort of embracing. Roger always seems to us [the media] that he's a very tightly wound guy. I know that the team had gone 20 races without a victory. Was it getting to the point where the pressure was almost so much that...I think it's Roger's solution for everybody to just work a little harder. I just wondered if it was getting to that point where everybody was so intent on winning that it was actually working against you a little bit? You know what I mean. It gets to the point where you want it so badly that it's very difficult to win under any circumstances. Did it ever get to the point where you could kind of feel that everybody was maybe just losing it a little bit?"

"Roger's solution to fixing problems is obviously working harder and doing more testing. We've been testing everywhere we could possibly get on [a track.]"
Paul Tracy

Tracy: "Well I wouldn't say losing it. There were times when we'd get tired. The amount of testing that we've done...I mean I've only been home for probably...since January, I've only been home maybe seven to ten days. I got home Sunday, and I'm here 'til when I have to leave on Saturday. That's the longest I've been home since the turn of the year. Roger's solution to fixing problems is obviously working harder and doing more testing. We've been testing everywhere we could possibly get on [a track.] At times, it kind of runs the mechanics into the ground. I don't have to work at the shop every day. I know how much I have to travel, and those guys are working every day. It's definitely hard on the mechanics and the engineers and their families. We've just been really focused on what we had to do. We knew that a win was going to come sooner-or-later. We've definitely put a lot of effort into it."

Ron Martin - Focus on Racing Radio: "A couple of questions. Going back to everything you had to do before capturing your first victory, including the leg injury, and the period of the last victory until this eleventh one, which victory means the most to you?"

Tracy: "Every victory is pretty special in it's own right. The best victory I ever had was probably the one at Toronto, which is my home town, but this one is right there. I've been searching for a win for almost two years now, since the win at Milwaukee in '95. That race is coming up in about a month, so I haven't won since then. Definitely, this is a very satisfying victory, and also because of the amount of effort that everybody at Marlboro Team Penske had put into it. I don't think there's any other team out there that's worked harder than us to get back to the Winner's Circle. I think we've all put a lot of effort in, and it's paid off."

Ron: "You spoke earlier about, during this period, of maybe sometimes overdriving the car. There has been so much read and so much written about that period, and of course about the fine of the Long Beach race. If you were producing or writing a story about that period, and about the possibility of Paul Tracy overdriving the car, what would you say about it instead of what we normally say? We never know, we're not in the car."

Tracy: "It's hard to say. I'd really have to sit down and think about it. A lot of things in my personal life were going on at that time. I was wrestling with my racing career. It just took a couple of months over the season to sit down and focus and really think about what I wanted to do, and what I wanted to achieve. I really put that effort into everything...all the testing and everything we had to do to get the car back in the Winner's Circle. That's what we focused on from the day after the season ended last year. We started testing in Portland with Reynard and trying to learn and trying to figure out what direction we wanted to go with the car and the team. That's what has enabled us to get back."

Ron: "Do you feel that sometimes we, the media, have been too critical of you?"

Tracy: "It's hard to say. That's what you guys are paid to do. The racing community is in kind of a bubble and you guys have to look inside of it and try to put your finger on certain points. Myself not winning and the amount of time that I hadn't won, and seeing Roger's team...probably the most successful team in Indy-car racing not having won a race in twenty races, it's a big story. There's a lot of reasons why, and there were a lot of changes that were made to fix that problem."

Billy Edwards - Focus on Racing Radio: "Paul, I'm interested in clarification on comments you made before the race that were on a little vignette that ABC ran about the competitiveness and perhaps about the non-personal relationships amongst the drivers. Can you comment a little further on that?"

"I mean, I'm not best friends with any of the drivers out there, and I don't think that any of us are."
Paul Tracy

Tracy: "Well, I mean, I'm not best friends with any of the drivers out there, and I don't think that any of us are. Everybody has their personal friends from high school or growing up with them as kids. It's a competitive sport. It's racing. Everybody's out there to win. Nobody's out there to let a guy by, or to give up a position to anybody. That was just my feeling on that."

Ron: "Is it a conscious decision to not become too friendly with fellow drivers so that it won't effect your competitiveness?"

"If I'm real close with somebody, then I might be a little softer on trying to make a maneuver or put a pass on someone. That's not the situation I want to be in."
Paul Tracy

Tracy: "I think so. I mean, I'm friendly with everybody, but when it's time to go racing, it's time to go racing. I think that's the same it is in any sport, whether it's basketball or football or hockey. Like in hockey, if you're buddies with a guy, you're definitely not going to put him into the boards as hard going for the puck. In racing you're out there to win. I know I'm out there to win, and if I'm real close with somebody, then I might be a little softer on trying to make a maneuver or put a pass on someone. That's not the situation I want to be in."

Ron Farr - WNAS Penny Saver: "As a professional athlete, I know when you guys drive around the track there's a lot of G-forces involved. As a professional athlete, have you ever suffered from "Taco neck syndrome?"

Tracy: "Ahh, what's...no I don't think so."

Janet Barnstein - IRace: "You were just talking about when you're trying to get by somebody or keep somebody from getting by. In those situations where you've been leading and you've crashed, what is happening in your mind. Is it a really emotional situation when you're battling with someone? Or are you able to calculate what's going to happen if you do this, or if you do that?"

Tracy: "In a situation like that, you're usually struggling with the handling of the car and are pushing to try to stay in front, or you're pushing to try to get by someone. Usually when everything's right with the car it's good and you can go race. But when you're wrestling with the car, or you're trying to hold off the guy behind you, you're driving as long and as hard as you can. When you're having a problem with the car, it's hard to drive exactly on the limit all the time. Especially when you have somebody breathing down your neck. Sometimes things will happen when you're trying to get more out of the car than what's really there."

Janet: "What about when you're trying to get past somebody else...you're talking about when you're trying to hold somebody else...what about when you're trying to get past someone?"

Tracy: "Usually it's the opposite situation and the guy in front of you isn't handling as well as you are, and he keeps looking in his mirrors trying to figure out a way to keep you behind. That's part of racing though. It's kind of a give-take sport, and there's always going to be one winner and one loser. Sometimes it's tough for the guy who's in position [to win] to give up and to lose the race, and to let the guy go by."

Janet: "Is that what happens with you...it's just hard to give up?"

"I don't like to lose to anybody. I think that this year I've shown that I'm finishing races and I'm taking what I can get from each race."
Paul Tracy

Tracy: "Yeah, I mean I don't like to lose to anybody. I think that this year I've shown that I'm finishing races and I'm taking what I can get from each race. At Long Beach, all we were capable of was a seventh, and I took those points. Without those points right now, I wouldn't be as far up in the championship as I am. We have to take what we can get at every race, whether it's a win or a twelfth place finish."

Janet: "Is there ever a time when, if you let somebody go, you might be able to get them sometime later, like on the next corner or on anther lap, or something like that?"

Tracy: "Yeah, it just depends on the situation. If you're on a street course or a road course, you've really only got one opportunity and it's so hard to pass at the places where we race. On the ovals it's not so bad because you've got handling and yellows. Street courses are particularly tough to get by people. If an opportunity comes up, or if you miss on an opportunity, you might not get that opportunity again."

Robin Miller - Indianapolis Star: "Going back to the team and being friends with your fellow drivers and stuff...there's always been what I would call an 'uneasy peace' between you and [Al Unser] Jr. There was a story last year where you guys didn't even share information. Was that true or false? And how is your relationship now?"

"Al and I didn't get along super great. I think that's just the fact that he's so competitive and I'm so competitive. Over the last year, from about Detroit on, we've really gotten along a lot better and shared a lot more information."
Paul Tracy

Tracy at Long Beach Tracy: "The relationship is good. Sure, there were times when Al and I didn't get along super great. I think that's just the fact that he's so competitive and I'm so competitive. Over the last year, from about Detroit on, we've really gotten along a lot better and shared a lot more information.

"Having gone through this last winter and testing so much together, we've been around each other a lot because of the amount of testing we've been doing. So we've gotten to know each other a lot better. We didn't really know each other that well...just really as competitors. We're getting along a lot better and sharing a lot of information. I think it shows in his performance this weekend. I did the testing at Nazareth and he had the set up as well. We're just really getting along a lot better, but we definitely still want to beat each other. We both realize what the goal is, and the first goal was to get one of these [Penske] cars back in the Winner's Circle, regardless of who it was."

Robin: "Was that the sort of situation where RP [Roger Penske] stepped in and said 'hey, I'm paying you guys to win, and you're going to start talking to each other and getting along?'"

Tracy: "He really didn't have to say that. We both realized it. We're still very, very competitive, and we both have our own ideas on what we want to do on race set up. We really realize, and we feel, that to get the most out of this team and the most out of the crew guys, everybody's gotta be working together. It can't just be Al's team and Paul's team in two separate trucks with separate teams. I think we both realized that and both put our heads together, and it's helped a lot."

Mike Beamish - Vancouver Sun: "Paul, this is kind of a follow-up to this relationship that you have with the other drivers. Greg Moore, a fellow Canadian driver, criticized you quite a bit after the Long Beach race. The race where you were penalized for reckless driving. Just because the guy is from Canada...I mean, what's your relationship with him? And, just a second part to that question, you've always been a very confident individual. I wondered since the team had gone twenty races, and twenty-seven in your case, were you beginning to doubt yourself at all. I just wondered if, when you start to doubt yourself, do you lose that edge like the one you had when you were a fairly consistent winner."

"I definitely went through some lows last year, but over the winter I was really trying to re-build my confidence. I've been training all winter and testing."
Paul Tracy

Tracy: "Well, I think there are times in everybody's career that they go through...highs and lows. I definitely went through some lows last year, but over the winter I was really trying to re-build my confidence. I've been training all winter and testing. Pretty much, by the time the season started, I was ready to go myself. I was going to go and win a race. We showed that at Miami...we showed that at Australia...and we showed that we were strong at Long Beach, aside from the fact that we had some trouble there.

"As far as the question about Greg...he and I get along real well. When we come to Pheonix, or he comes to town, he'll usually give me a call and we'll go out to dinner or something. At the time when that happened, I went and looked for him after the race, but I couldn't find him. I just wanted to apologize. I wanted to say that it was a mistake and I didn't mean for it to happen. I didn't purposely try to bump into him. Having not found him, and then having opened up the paper, and I obviously heard from my father who lives up in Canada, I was a little disappointed at the reaction. It definitely wasn't on purpose or anything, and I just thought he should have given me an opportunity to talk to him first."

Mike Beamish: "Paul, one last thing. Did you find that, because it had been twenty-seven races without a win...you know, a lot of people have predicted that you were going to have a break-through year where you were going to win a championship, or were going to win a number of races. Did you ever get to the point where you started to think to yourself 'well I'm now twenty-eight years old. I'd better get my act in gear and get going here.' I mean, did you get to a point where the circumstances made you a better driver because your options were beginning to be limited?"

"I think the opportunity was really there back in '93 to win the championship, but I dropped the ball. I had five wins, and I should have won probably eight races. The opportunity was there."
Paul Tracy

Tracy: "I think a lot of it is circumstance. We didn't have the best package for the last couple of years. I think the opportunity was really there back in '93 to win the championship, but I dropped the ball. I had five wins, and I should have won probably eight races. The opportunity was there. I guess everything comes when you aren't ready for it. I wasn't ready mentally, and I don't think the team was ready for it. We've had to do a lot of restructuring on the team, and had to really re-focus everybody.

"I think the opportunity is there now. We're doing everything we can. I think I'm doing everything I can to try to get myself in a position and driving a lot better, and I'm definitely a lot more focused."

Doug Wiloughby - High Tech Bulletin: "All four cars on the lead lap were running Goodyears. Are we seeing major changes in the tire wars? They seem to be working phenomenally."

"The tires are competitive everywhere and on all types of surfaces, which we couldn't say last year."
Paul Tracy

Tracy: "Goodyear has done a great job. Since the end of last year, they've put a lot of focus into tire testing. I know that I've done a lot of tire testing. Firestone was up at Nazareth a couple of days before we had a test there, and they didn't really capitalize on the opportunity. They thought it was too cold and that they weren't going to get productive results. I think that showed at Nazareth. We got out there in our test and ran and ran, and tried out different tires. I think there's just been a big focus on Goodyear's part to try to get back into the Winner's Circle.

"Obviously, with St. Louis coming up, and with Indianapolis, which they are also competing in, they're very focused. They put a lot of attention on detail of their products in the last six months, and I think it shows. Look at the start of the season. Michael [Andretti] won it at Miami, and we had the best tire there. I was also running very strong. Then at Australia, we had a really good opportunity for Goodyear to win there. Then Gil [de Ferran] was on the pole by a long way at Long Beach, and there was an opportunity to win there as well. Then we showed again this weekend how strong the Goodyear tires are. The tires are competitive everywhere and on all types of surfaces, which we couldn't say last year."