Paul Tracy Quotes (45 Quotes)

The first year we raced at Denver, the track had some teething problems and was bumpy and slippery, but it has gotten a lot better since then, ... Last year, I was leading the race and (Sebastien) Bourdais caught me and won the event and we finished second. So I am very excited to come back to see if we can win this time.

Richard is planning to do a 500-mile engine reliability test and I'd hope to do that for him. Then, we're hoping I can drive a race later this year at either Atlanta or Homestead, which are both tracks that should suit me pretty well.

Whether I stay here or not, another championship would mean a lot. I'm going to do everything I can to make it happen.

It wasn't really our plan. Obviously, I was in the car ready to go and when we saw Sebastien went, we just decided let's go out and go head-to-head, you know one-to-one, see if we can beat him. Sebastien did a great lap this morning on fresh tires, so we knew that we needed to step it up and the time to do it was while he was on the track.

I want to see what this is all about. I just don't know. I have to go out there and try to race and see what its all about. We'll see - I can go out there and love it or hate it.

I'd like to go Cup racing and Busch racing full time, but I've got to start somewhere and get my feet wet. The biggest question mark people have for me is, can I drive one of these cars I'm doing one of each type of venue, hopefully try to do the best I can and maybe open up some doors.

I think I've got a good opportunity in these five races ... Maybe some doors open up. My focus is to gain experience in this and try to win the Champ Car World Series title again this year.

We are playing some catch-up with the car because we lost track time yesterday. We just haven't found the balance we need to be fast here yet. We have another warm-up session in the morning, so hopefully we can keep improving tomorrow and be strong in the race.

My championship aspirations are the same as they've been every year. Our goal is to win races. I think that our team, we have the ability (and) we have the speed, we just need to cut out the mistakes and some of the bad luck ... This year we're going to be a factor.

The bottom line is that I have to win races to have a chance to win the championship. Sebastien says he has to be conservative from here on out and not make any mistakes, so we have to be on maximum attack all the time to capitalize on that.

I'm very excited about this opportunity, especially at Michigan where I have a lot of experience. Driving a NASCAR Nextel Cup car will be totally new to me but my focus is to develop a package that will help Kevin (Harvick), Jeff (Burton) and Dave (Blaney) and their teams for the race weekend. I want to do whatever I can to help.

I'm really looking forward to the 2006 Champ Car season, we had some unfinished business last year when we led more laps than anybody but had a lot of bad luck. I've been in a few other types of race cars recently and can say that there's nothing more enjoyable and challenging to drive than a Champ Car.

It's going to be hard. We have to win and Sebastien has to have some trouble. That didn't happen today. But we're not going to give up. We're just going to try to do our job and win every race.

I think we are definitely getting there with the car. We still have some progress to make with our race set-up, but there is no question we are right in the ballpark with the car as far as overall speed. I am really happy working with this team, and so far everything has gelled together really well.

It was very frustrating to watch him because I know he can do better than what he did. But in NASCAR it's so, so competitive. You've got to be in a good car, you've got to do it at the right time and I think the timing was off for him.

Eighth isn't what we were looking for today, but at least Sebastien had some bad luck, too, so there's still hope for the championship,

I'm very excited about my first opportunity to race in NASCAR, especially in the biggest race of the year at Daytona. Then moving on to race at Las Vegas, which is my former home, and then on to Mexico City, where I am a former winner in the Champ Car Series.

It's simple math - we have to win and Sebastien has to have some trouble, ... It didn't go like that today but we have to keep on pushing.

I wouldn't say that driving the car is any different. Once you get out there and start racing, your mentality, your thought process of what you do is the same as it's always been.

I guess you can't call this single-car qualifying if there are two cars on the track at the same time. It's frustrating.

We had a great car and I was able to make passes pretty much anywhere around the track. I got a couple guys right off the bat but the car was so good that I was able to make up ground through the infield section as well as the oval. I was making easy laps and it looked good.

It seemed like the right thing to do at the time.

I really enjoyed having Nathan and his family as our guests. We got to spend some time together and chat for a while. Nathan had a huge smile on his face the whole time, he is a great kid and a huge Champ Car fan I would really like to thank The Dream Mak

He only made one mistake in the hairpin and we weren't close enough to take advantage.

I would really like to tie Little Al, that is something I am shooting for, ... Plus, any time I can move up the chart for another record is neat.

Last year, the race was pretty action-packed and I expect this year to be the same. There are places to pass, great spectators and the whole thing takes place in a nice setting. Last year, we had a good run but Sebastien took the win. I'm planning on returning the favor this year and putting the No. 3 car up front.

I am totally happy being in the Champ Car World Series, ... I get to race in Canada three times a year, which is very important to me and I just love to road race.

I've made another year commitment to Forsythe Racing in Champ Car. I plan to be in NASCAR full-time in 2007.

I have the greatest respect for the guys that drive Cup cars week in and week out. It takes a lot of preparation to be ready for a highly competitive event like the Nextel Cup Series and we just didn't have the time to do the job right. I want to thank Richard for giving me this opportunity and the crew guys at the test for all of their effort.

This season has gone great, other than two races, ... I got in an accident with Bourdais in Mexico, which put me out of the race, and then I was leading in Toronto and ran out of gas. We had those two races where we had bad luck and Bourdais hasn't had any bad luck at all this season. We just need to try and continue to get top-three finishes at every race and do what we can to catch Bourdais.

I feel I've got a better car than in previous years here, but we still have to close the gap,

We've generally been pretty quick here but today for some reason we've been lost. It's a little frustrating. It doesn't feel like the same car I've been driving for the last three years. We're going to have to go over the data and see what changes we can make.

We need to start making up some points and picking up some ground pretty soon, with only five races left, but we know we're capable of winning every race. Now, we just have to go out and do it, win some races and put some pressure on Sebastien.

That (the lack of sponsors) is leaving the teams unhealthy. You're leaving the drivers hanging by a thread. About 50 per cent of the drivers have to bring money.

It has been a long time since Mexico City and we had a group of drivers together. We did a lot of work today and it was pretty exhausting but when you visit three cities in a day you have to know you're going to work hard.

We need to be in front of him to capitalize on it. It seems that every time either myself or someone from another team seem to give it to him. We can't afford to do that any more.

Absolutely it had a lot to do with my decision. I am Canadian and I love racing in Canada and racing in the 24 for a team with a Canadian sponsor was really appealing to me. This event is one of the crown jewels of racing, and I really want to add a win here it to my resume.

It makes for a great equalizer, so we'll see what happens with the weather. I wouldn't be disappointed if it rained.

I figure, at my age, I still have three, four, maybe five years in (Champ Car) left in me, but it could be the right time to make a change and I want to take a good look at it. I've talked with some other teams over there (in NASCAR), but Richard Childress is the only one who has stepped up and made something happen at this point.

I don't go out and tell people what I have done in my career, ... I'm aware of how long I have been in the sport and how many races I have won, but it is nothing for me to show off about. People either love me or hate me. I just want to be remembered as a tough racer who has been consistent year in and year out for 15 years, which isn't easy to do.

This is our first time at this track and let me tell you, it's one of the most fun tracks I've ever driven. It's got a nice combination of slow-, medium- and high-speed corners, with one of the quickest road course corners anywhere.

The team that wins this race is the one that doesn't have any unscheduled pit stops. Some of these guys, they might be tempted to make this into a sprint race and try to show how fast (they) are against all the all-stars. But, really, that's not going to be what wins this race.

I think my championship aspirations are the same as they've been every year. Our goal is to win races, and I think the last season we really had the speed and we had the ability to win a lot of races, but bad luck and some mistakes really cost us.

I've been afforded the opportunity to do this from Forsythe. He said to me to 'If you want to go NASCAR, you better go try it first before you commit to a 38-race schedule.' So here I am.

If we're leading and he's second, I don't think he'll try anything crazy to win, but if he becomes too conservative and other guys are pushing hard, anything can happen,