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CHAMP CAR: Tracy to Stay with Forsythe
Paul Tracy and Gerry Forsythe have agreed to stay the course, stay together and stay in Champ Car – at least for 2008.
Robin Miller  |  Posted January 06, 2008   Indianapolis, Ind.
Forsythe (left) and Tracy: all squared away for 2008. (LAT photo)

Paul Tracy and Gerry Forsythe have agreed to stay the course, stay together and stay in Champ Car – at least for 2008.

During the past few weeks, Tracy had been talking indirectly with Tony George about coming to the Indy Racing League because he believed his ride at Forsythe Racing was in serious jeopardy.

The 39-year-old Canadian said he received an email from Forsythe Racing vice president Neil Mickelwright several weeks ago informing him that his contract had to be renegotiated or he would be terminated. That missive had to come from either Forsythe or new partner Dan Pettit and Tracy flew to Chicago to meet Forsythe the day after Christmas.

"I went into that meeting expecting the worst, that Gerry was going to low-ball me and I would be forced to leave, but Gerry never mentioned my contract situation," said Tracy, who signed a five-year contract in 2006 thought to be in the neighborhood of $13 million. "It was a very good meeting, we cleared the air on some things and we're both committed to trying to win another championship."

The 2003 CART champion only has one win in the past two years and his team has gone through massive personnel changes trying to find the right chemistry.

"When I first joined this team, Gerry gave me everything I needed and I asked for and we won the title," continued Tracy, who suffered a broken back last season at Long Beach and missed two races. "Since then, it's gone downhill and I don't feel like I've had any input. It's no secret than Neil and I haven't been on the same page."

Veteran Tom Brown became Tracy's engineer near the end of '07 and they seemed to click. Kenny Siwieck, an 18-year employee at Newman/Haas/Lanigan, has been brought on board to manage Tracy's team.

"I've got a lot of confidence in Kenny and Tom," said Tracy, who owns 31 career victories. "And Gerry made it clear he's serious about winning so I'm looking forward to this season."

George had some informal dialogue with a third party about the availability of Tracy but nothing ever materialized in the form of an offer.
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Robin Miller

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