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| Features |
| EKN Interview Series: Paul Tracy |
| Article by: - by Jeffrey Franz |
 | | Tracy at CART season finale in Fontana, 2000 |
When Paul Tracy decided to undertake the manufacture of his own kart racing chassis, there were some observers who suspected that his participation would consist of little more than lending his name to the project. After all, the demands placed upon professional drivers are well documented, and in the atmosphere of commercialism that reigns in modern day motorsports, top-flight racers aren't known for loitering around karting tents. But to make such assumptions about Tracy is to misunderstand the foundations of individualism that are at the root of his character. While he is a team player in the strictest sense of that overused term, Paul most certainly travels down the road of his own choosing, often foregoing convention in favor of personal opinion.
And so, Tracy offers much more than his famous reputation to the team that bears his name. He is fully dedicated to the success of the project, to the extent that when his schedule permits it, he attends events and works on the karts himself. And on such occasions, the image of Paul Tracy, Team KOOL Green driver, disappears amidst his baggy overalls and the beanie on his head. Transformed, he is just Paul, the guy with the rag wiping down a greasy axle or cleaning up a dusty sidepod.
During the weekend of the SKUSA SuperNationals, and in-between kart cleanings and chassis tweakings, Paul was gracious enough to take some time to talk to Ekartingnews. The aggressive, determined driving style that Tracy is renowned for is somewhat difficult to find away from the race track. Removed from the rigors of his professional career, Paul is rather low-key, speaks with a quiet intensity and confidence, and has a wry, playful sense of humor. As ever, his thoughts are filled with a honesty that might ruffle a feather or two, but were he to reply in any other way, he wouldn't be Paul Tracy.
Ekartingnews: One question we've put to people in the last few weeks, is the issue of the back-to-back weekends of the CART "Stars of Tomorrow" and the SKUSA SuperNationals. Your thoughts?
Paul Tracy: It'd be a little bit better if they were spread out, but I talked to Hollis Brown quite a lot about that, and the track was booked solid, so there really wasn't any other place to put the "Stars" event. Also, I think that many people were planning to be out here the whole week prior to the SuperNationals, so the majority of the fast West coast and Midwest guys were out here testing anyway. So, I think the "Stars" event came off really well.
EKN: There were a few people who were initially upset about the whole affair.
PT: That's the biggest problem with karting in this country. We've got all these different organizations and they all have a different opinion on how karting should be run. I think if WKA and IKF and SKUSA and everybody would get together, and get on the same page, do the same thing, it would be so much better. It's the same thing with the IRL and CART. The exact same thing.
EKN: Some folks seem reluctant to sacrifice a piece of their pie, to the detriment of the common good.
PT: Exactly.
EKN: There was a kart support race at the 1983 Long Beach Grand Prix, a race won by Scott Pruett. Of course, there are numerous safety issues involved, but might we ever see that again?
PT: I know that CART is looking at it, and I think it's good.
EKN: How did Paul Tracy Kart Racing come into existence?
PT: Last year I was here, trying to put together a program to build my own chassis with Sodikart, when I saw Marc Zartarian in the pits. We've known each other a long time, and he was having a bit of a falling out with his importer when he said that he'd like to be involved with our program. He had some good ideas about design, and he had a distribution network, something I didn't have. Marc and I worked together and went back to Sodikart, but we couldn't get together with them on some design issues. We then went to CRG, and they were interested, but Joe Ramos got involved and wanted a percentage of it, so that didn't work out. We talked to a bunch of people until we came across Mike Wilson, and he was very anxious to do something with us.
EKN: Marc has given a lot of praise to Mike Wilson's ability to respond promptly when changes are needed for the chassis.
PT: Mike reacts very quickly. He's been very cooperative and worked well with us. We started out with a design that worked well but had some understeer problems. It's evolved and evolved to the point that it's now become a serious threat and a serious contender. We also have to give a lot of credit to our drivers who've done all the original development.
EKN: Mike Wilson has been very complimentary of your efforts, in that you are not just lending the Paul Tracy name to this project. It's very clear that the team appreciates the fact that you're out here wrenching on the karts.
PT: Yes, I am out here with dirty hands. I don't know any other Indycar or Formula 1 driver who's going to be out here cleaning karts. But, we are all committed to this project. I am committed, Marc is committed, Mike is committed, and our drivers are committed. We don't want to build a kart that's bad, we want to produce the best stuff.
EKN: Tell us a bit about your drivers. Matt Jaskol has been having a terrific weekend thus far.
PT: Matt's doing an awesome job for us. He's been committed to our program, even when things weren't going well. For a while there, we were down on power, and the kart wasn't handling, but Matt kept working on it and working on it. He kept a positive attitude, even when things were looking a bit bleak around here. For us, we need the best guys in our karts, guys looking for a career in cars. Like A.J. (Allmendinger). He wants to go car racing.
EKN: Does Paul Tracy have any ownership plans beyond karting?
PT: Not really. I don't want to get involved with cars, but I do want to help our drivers move up to the car level. It's a big enough job trying to run this five kart team. At least at this point in my career, when I've got about five years of racing left myself, I've got to put as much as I can into that, because that's the breadwinner. I'm not going to be racing forever. But along the way, if I can help promote these guys, introduce them to the right people and give them an opportunity, then that's what a big part of our program is all about. |
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