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Burzy Photo, Indy 2009

May 26th 2009 - Paul Tracy Returns To The Milwaukee Mile This Weekend as A.J. Foyt’s Driver of Famous #14 ABC Supply IndyCar Series Entry

Four-Time Milwaukee Winner Has Enjoyed Great Success at The Mile

West Allis, Wis. (May 26, 2009) – With regular IndyCar Series driver Vitor Meira sidelined due to injury, veteran Paul Tracy was announced today as the driver of A.J. Foyt’s #14 ABC Supply-sponsored IndyCar Series entry for this weekend’s ABC Supply / A.J. Foyt 225 IndyCar Series events at The Milwaukee Mile.

“For me I’m excited to get an opportunity to drive albeit as a fill-in for Vitor as I know it’s a short-term thing,” said Tracy, who has won 31 Indy car races as well as the 2003 Championship Auto Racing Teams (CART) Driver’s title. “When I started my career [1991], I competed against A.J. He was one of my idols growing up. I haven’t told too many people this, but he was one of the guys I modeled myself after. I’m a little rough around the edges like him and I say what I feel, there’s no b.s. and that’s one of the things I’ve always admired about him.”

Foyt said, “Paul Tracy is a hard charger and our type of driver, much like Vitor. I believe we can put the right equipment under Paul, and we’ve both had success there, so I think we can put our heads together and have a good race. It’s a very important race for us because it’s sponsored by our team sponsor ABC Supply, which is based in Wisconsin, so Milwaukee is their home track,” adding, “and it is the AJ Foyt 225.”

“I think the team is competing at a much higher level these days,” said Tracy. “I had a long conversation with Larry [Foyt, team director] and they’re working hard. That’s all I expect from people is to do their best. I think I’m the kind of driver who could make the difference at Milwaukee, being a four-time winner there, and teaming up with A.J., a guy who’s won as many times as he has at the historic Mile, is not only a great story but a winning recipe.”

Foyt, who as a driver made the #14 famous on his poppy red Indy cars beginning with the 1967 season, won four Indy car races at the Mile (1962, 1964, 1975 and 1979), and six USAC stock car races.

To further support this development, what follows is a compilation of Paul Tracy performance statistics at The Milwaukee Mile.

Has four victories (1995, 1999, 2002, 2005), with three different teams in open wheel championship competition in CART then Champ Car, which unified with the IndyCar Series in time for the 2008 season.
In his 14 career IndyCar Series starts at America’s Legendary Oval, he qualified within the top-10 spots all but once - in 1998 when he started 14th, led 26 laps, and finished 7th.
He has led a stout 23-percent of possible laps, 723 of 3,050 laps to be exact, in open wheel championship competition, including a race-high 192 of 225 laps in his 2005 victory.
In his 1995 triumph driving for Newman-Haas Racing, Tracy and second place finisher Al Unser, Jr. were the only lead lap finishers after 200 miles of competition.
After making his IndyCar Series debut at Long Beach in April, 1991 for Dale Coyne Racing, The Milwaukee Mile was the sight of where the then-22 year old was introduced in a June, 1991 press conference as the newest member of Roger Penske’s CART team as a test driver and third team driver. He raced in three events for Team Penske later that season.
In his first Mile IndyCar Series start in June, 1993 driving for Team Penske, he started 4th, led 55 laps and finished 20th (accident).
He led laps in each of his first seven IndyCar Series starts at The Mile.
He finished ten of his 14 IndyCar Series starts.
One week after the 1994 Indianapolis 500, he finished third behind his teammates, winner Al Unser, Jr. and runner-up Emerson Fittipaldi in the rare Penske Sweep of the podium.
He won the 1990 Firestone Indy Lights event at The Mile, one of his nine victories in 15 races that season

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