Tracy, Speed and Allmendinger

Paul Tracy is a dominant force in Champ Car World Series and ranks near the top in all categories including most wins and most poles of any active driver. He has inhereted the reigns of the Series' horses and he whips them to the checkered flag on race day.Sunday July 31 is Champ Car World Series' 8th of 14 televised races, The San Jose Grand Prix, a street race new to the schedule this year. Check the stats for most street wins...Tracy's favorite street course, by far is if you count where his most wins occured is Long Beach, a few miles up the coast line from San Jose...do you know the way? Paul Tracy leads the way with the determination of a champion but speaks of an after-life: After Champ Car.
He already owns partnerships in several endeavors including a line of racing karts and sponsorship of driver programs and competitive series. But Paul talks about driving with his eyes on the horizon: there's a challenge out there and he's still seeking it out.
But for now, Tracy hasn't lost any fire, and he drives with the desire of a man on fire. During a recent street race in Toronto he tangled with his nearest rival Sebastien Bourdais and his front wing was damaged. Half was knocked completely off, only the right side was still there. Paul Tracy made the initial call to at least try to run laps with it the way it was and not waste time in the pits, but when his crew chief told him he was almost as fast as his previous laps, he stayed out for the remainder of the stint, and was not only fast, set his best lap time!! Tracy was burned later by not going into a closed pits, a seemingly good idea unless you run out of gas at the next corner and are out of the race.



Scott Speed is the latest American to drive Formula One, test drive that is. Speed is an up-and comer from the States, the winner of a head to head driver search sponsored by RedBull, the main sponsor of the F-1 team. Drivers for RedBull are veteran David Coulthard, Christian Klien, a third year driver, and Vitantonio Liuzzi as reserve. Scott came of-age in the Formula 3000 and newly renamed GP 2 this year. Third in the points in GP2 driving for Red Bull, Scott has had several chances in the team's third Formula-1 RedBull Cosworth. Above, at Indy, Scott impressed his team by out lapping Klien.
Scott is the first American to drive in Formula 1 since Michael Andretti, and if his instincts continue to guide him, keep his nose clean and finish as many laps as possible, when and if an opening forms at Red Bull or at other teams, Scott Speed plays into the mix.

AJ Allmendinger another American in foreign dominated open wheel racing, here in his RuSport Champ Car at the Milwaukee Mile. Allmendinger impressed team members and owners by stepping up his game this year, and the team has responded by fielding a reliable, competitive car. Several off's this year are attributable to AJ's relative newness to the series. Last year was Rookie of the Year in Champ Car, before that he was Toyota Atlantic's Champ. Allmendinger's story begins as humble walk-on at Barber Racing Series. With only cab fare, Allmendger began the season with little else, and posted his first win. From there it was a runaway-several more victories and consistency. Heads turned to this unknown, shy kid with the crew-cut. When the season ended, and AJ took the points championship, doors opened, and now, in his second year in Champ Car, he's notching podium finishes, pole position in qualifying, and that first, elusive win might be right around the next corner.

A shout to my bud, Griff, who sent me these pics, knowing there was a story behind each one.