Written by:
Kevin Krefting
03/28/2007
Wheeling, Ill.
Forgiven: Dominguez (R) will again drive for Jerry Forsythe (L)... (LAT Photo)
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The wheels of the world go round and round, and Mario Dominguez is back to Forsythe Championship Racing to partner Paul Tracy only nine months after crashing the Canadian out on the first lap of the 2006 race at the Milwaukee Mile and being fired by a furious Jerry Forsythe.
Dominguez's addition partially fulfills Forsythe's promise of not running a second car unless proper funding could be secured. The Mexican's car will have backing from Telmex, Mexico's largest phone company, but the conglomerate owned by Carlos Slim, Latin America's richest man, is apparently not footing all the bills as Dominguez has been named to drive the No.7 "Telmex/Indeck" Panoz DP01 – Indeck being the energy company owned by Forsythe himself.
The veteran Mexican counts two wins and one pole in 78 career Champ Car starts. The current deal with Telmex covers only the Vegas season opener, Long Beach and Houston.
"I am extremely happy to be given this opportunity to come back to race for the Forsythe team, I feel like I have unfinished business here and I would like to thank Mr. Forsythe from the bottom of my heart for giving me this opportunity to go chase victories for him again," Dominguez stated.
"We are going to give it all we've got for the first three races and we'll all keep working on sponsorship which will hopefully come through so we can race for the rest of the year. I am 100% percent committed to this program and I will give Jerry the results that he wants, both on and off the track.
...just nine months after being fired for crashing himself and teammate Tracy out of the 2006 Milwaukee round. (LAT Photo)
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"I had a chance to drive the DP01 in Sebring at the beginning of the year [with the squad formerly known as RuSPORT] and I have no doubt that it will improve the racing this year. It is very fast and it should make the field a lot more competitive and more exciting for the fans to watch. It is quite stable and you can be aggressive with it, it really matches my driving style so I have no doubt that we will be very strong."
FCR's VP of operations Neil Micklewright added: "When we were searching for a driver for the No.7 car we knew we needed someone with experience that would help us develop the new car and who could be quick right out of the box. Even though we've been strong during testing with only one car, having two cars with two quick drivers will definitely speed up our understanding and development of the car, particularly as we visit these first three street circuits which have a lot of characteristics that we haven't really been able to test with the DP01 yet. Mario has always been fast on temporary street circuits, and with the new chassis and his knowledge of the team we'll be in the best shape possible."
Jerry Forsythe, who besides dubbing as a Champ Car co-owner holds several business interests in Mexico – such as promotion of Champ Car's Mexico City race – concluded: "In considering a second driver for the team, Mario was always an obvious choice; he not only has a lot of experience and success with the team, but also has a huge following in Mexico and among the Latin fans in the United States.
"These are two key targets groups for Champ Car and it is important to give these fans a hero to cheer for and to provide Latin American companies a motorsports platform through which to promote their products, services and brands."
