Paul Tracy

Paul Tracy, born 17 December 1968, is a Canadian former racing driver who competed in CART, ChampCar and IndyCar series. He won the 2003 CART/ChampCar Series.

Tracy’s CART career began in the 1991 season with Dale Coyne Racing. However, following one race, he drove three races for Penske Racing. He competed with Penske in eleven races during the 1992 season, finishing on the podium three times. In the 1993 season, Tracy finished third in the drivers’ standings after winning five races. The following year, Tracy won three more races. He moved to Newman/Haas Racing for the 1995 season, winning two races before returning to Penske for the 1996 championship. Tracy won another three races in the 1997 season before being fired for criticizing the car and joined Team Green the following year. He was third in the 1999 championship with two victories but fell to fifth in 2000 season despite three more wins. Tracy’s form declined over the next two seasons but won one race in 2002. He joined Forsythe Racing in the 2003 championship, winning his first (and only) series title with seven victories.

Tracy tested the Benetton Formula team’s B194 F1 car at the Circuito do Estoril in September 1994, at the invitation of F1 commercial rights owner Bernie Ecclestone, who sought to bring a CART driver to F1 as other F1 drivers had transferred to the highly popular CART championship. He did well in the test but declined Benetton’s three-year testing contract because there was no guarantee of racing or adequate pay.