Paul Tracy still believes he passed Helio Castroneves before the late caution at the 2002 Indianapolis 500, still thinks he won the race despite what the record books show.
Now, he gets another shot to win it for real.
A part-time driver in the Indy Racing League, Tracy will pilot the No. 15 Geico car for KV Racing Technology for the second straight year. It will be KV Racing's fourth entry at Indy, joining E.J. Viso, Takuma Sato and Mario Moraes for the May 30 race.
``I feel like I've got unfinished business at Indianapolis,'' Tracy said Saturday at the Grand Prix of Long Beach. ``I'm going there really focused on getting the job done, all the way to the checkered flag.''
The feisty Canadian nearly won the race in 2002, appearing to take the lead from Castroneves just before a late caution. Track officials said video replays were inconclusive and the IRL upheld the decision on appeal from Tracy, who still claims he won the race, not Castroneves.
Of course, controversy has been nothing new throughout Tracy's 19-year open-wheel career.
In 1998 alone, he was placed on probation for contact in Detroit, fined $20,000 and excluded from final qualifying for contact in Portland, and was hit for $5,000 more for an in-pit altercation with owner Barry Green in Houston. An on-track incident with Michael Andretti in Australia led to his suspension for the 1999 CART season opener.
The 2003 Champ Car champion also had infamous on-track-into-the-pits incidents with Alex Tagliani and Sebastien Bourdais at races in San Jose and Denver in 2006, leading to fines and the loss of 10 championship points.
``The great thing about Paul is there's always excitement around him,'' KV Racing co-owner Kevin Kalkhoven said. ``He will be one of the story lines for the 500 I am sure, as Paul always is.''
Tracy was a contender at last year's race despite pulling together his program in a relatively short time. He started 13th, moved up to fourth and eventually ended up ninth, holding his own after debris from the track kicked up and damaged a wing under the car late in the race.
Tracy drove for A.J. Foyt Racing in Milwaukee after Indy and four more races for KV Racing after that, though he went into this season without a full-time ride.
The 41-year-old is trying to pull together sponsorship deals to drive in the IRL's two Canadian races in July and hopes he can hitch on for more races, possibly a tuneup for Indy.
``Kevin and I really believe Paul should be in the series full time and I don't think we're the Lone Rangers in that respect,'' KV Racing co-owner Jimmy Vasser said. ``It's difficult to put these things together these days, but rest assured we are working on that.''
