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Written by:
Robin Miller
12/08/2007 - 07:00 PM
Indianapolis, Ind.
Tracy: "I'm committed to Gerry and Champ Car but right now I can't honestly say they're committed to me." (LAT Photo) ยป More Photos
Don't miss your chance to VOTE for the 2007 SPEED Performance Awards. Voting Ends December 14th. VOTE HERE
It's hard to imagine Champ Car or Forsythe Racing without Paul Tracy but there appears to be a very real possibility that could happen.
SPEEDtv.com has learned that Gerry Forsythe has given Tracy an ultimatum -- re-negotiate his contract or lose his ride. According to a source inside the Indianapolis-based team, the 2003 CART champion received this directive a few days ago.
"I haven't spoken to Gerry since I won the Cleveland race last July and all I know is that I've got an iron-clad contract to drive for him for the next four years," said Tracy on Saturday night.
"I've been trying to contact him for a couple weeks but he hasn't returned my calls so all I know is what I read on the Internet forums."
Neither Forsythe or team president Neil Mickelwright returned calls to SPEED but some strange things have been happening inside the team fielded by one of Champ Car's co-owners.
First off, Forsythe (who co-owns Champ Car with Kevin Kalkhoven) only attended the first three races of 2007 in April. After threatening to only field one car this season, he threw Mario Dominguez in for the first three races before replacing him with Oriol Servia, who was let go for the final two races for David Martinez.
Longtime team manager Phil LePan was abruptly let go late last month following 15 years of service and has been replaced by Kenny Sieweick of Newman/Haas. There also have been massive layoffs among mechanics.
Even
"I thought that was kind of strange," said Tracy, who signed a five-year contract with Forsythe last year. "I committed to Gerry and to Champ Car and promised him no more NASCAR and I would concentrate on trying to win another championship for him.
"You know, I struggled with my broken back and the new car this season but we got Tom Brown on board and we ran good the last two races so I think we're heading in the right direction.
"I know I'm committed to Gerry and Champ Car but right now I can't honestly say they're committed to me."
OPEN-WHEEL RACING BRIEFLY REUNITED
After 12 years and several failed attempts by different individuals, the two major open wheel racing series in this country finally got back together.
But it was only for a one-day tire test at Homestead, Fla.
Last Tuesday, the PKV team from Champ Car shared the track with the Indy Racing League's Andretti-Green stable for a Bridgestone/Firestone test.
Oriol Servia and AGR teammates Marco Andretti and Danica Patrick ran together on the 2.3-mile, 11-turn road course inside Homestead-Miami Speedway.
No official times were released but witnesses said Servia's Panoz-Cosworth was about three seconds a lap quicker than AGR's Dallara-Honda, mainly because of the long straightaway.
No media was allowed because, supposedly, neither sanctioning body wanted people to read too much into this brief unification.
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