TRAGEDY AT LAS VEGAS
PT started today's race in his former hometown on the outside of Row 13. By lap 7 he was in P22. On lap 11 a serious multi-car collision occurred catching up Paul and numerous other drivers in it. After a very long red flag condition the race was officially canceled on word that driver Dan Wheldon had passed away due to injuries sustained in the crash.
PT FINISHES P25 AT EDMONTON
Starting from the last row PT would have had his work cut out for him on a good day. Today was not a good day. On the first lap of the race fellow Canadian Alex Tagliani made a deep braking move that punted Graham Rahal off track. When Rahal's car came back on course it took out Paul with race ending damage to PT's car.
TORONTO Photos - by Iain & Gail Shankland
PT FINISHES P16 AT TORONTO
In what became a race that saw more than its fair share of contact and yellow flags Paul brought himself a P16 finish. He got off to a great start and had moved up 9 spots by lap 11. An early pit stop for strategy on about lap 20 saw him moved back to P22. By lap 37 after pit stops had cycled PT had moved up to P7. However contact with fellow Cannuck James Hinchcliffe on lap 38 damaged PT's front wing forcing a stop. After what became a very long stop to check for damage Paul returned to the race on lap 41. Then on lap 48 an incident with Vitor Meira left PT temporarily stranded and having to pit again. Once back out on track he continued to run laps avoiding much of the late race carnage to pull himself up further in the finish order.
PT TO START P24 AT TORONTO
Paul ran his #8 Make-A-Wish car in the second qualifying group today and came back P12 in that session. He will start tomorrow's race from P24 and have his work cut out for him to try and move up through the field on what is considered his home track.
PT P12 & P13 AT TEXAS
After starting race 1 in P21 Paul moved up to finish in P12. Race 2 saw him draw a lottery starting position of P14 from which he moved up to finish the race in P13.
PT QUALIFIES P21 AT TEXAS
PT qualified P21 today for the first race tomorrow night of the Firestone Twin 275's @ Texas Motor Speedway. Paul ran a two lap average speed of 212.305 MPH.
PT FINISHES P25 AT INDY
PT started today's race from P24. After brushing the wall on Lap 19 Paul found himself on pit lane for a number of laps. He was eventually able to return to the track 20 laps down to the leaders. By race end he found himself in P25 25 laps down.
PT FASTEST ON BUMP DAY AT INDY
In a dramatic day at Indy PT ran the fastest time of the day placing him P25 in the field to start the 100th Anniversary Indianapolis 500 from the inside of Row 9. PT was on track with radar already showing showers in the track vicinity. With just the slightest drizzle showing up Paul was running fastest of the day and yet nobody knew if he would get in his fourth and final lap ahead of the rain. He did, and in doing so put himself solidly in the field for the race.
Paul: " I started lap 3 and I could see some misting on my visor and I was like 'are you kidding me?'. I'm like thinking to myself what else can happen to us? And then the last lap it was really starting to get some rain on the visor in one and two and the car was kind of sliding a little bit. It scrubbed off from 225's to 224.8s 'cause the car was starting to slide, you could feel the moisture. I was like what's going to happen to us next?, 'cause this track has dealt a pretty rough deck in my career."
PT P25 AT INDY
By the end of qualifying today PT found himself in P25 just one spot outside of the top 24. He ran his qualifying at an average speed of 224.353 MPH. He will have to bump his way into the field tomorrow.
Paul: “We're a little bit baffled. We went out with the exact same set up as Davey and he was in the 25's and we ran the same gear, the same set up, the same everything. And my car didn't want to go. It was sliding and slipping, it was all over the track. Frustrated for sure for the WIX crew and D&R. That's not going to hold up for top 22 to lock it in for today so we're going to have to think about it and try and figure out if we have to go again"”
RAINED OUT PRACTICE AT INDY
Paul: “It is what it is out there today; we can’t control Mother Nature. I’m just thankful that I’m with the team that I’m with in Dreyer & Reinbold Racing. We’ve got a solid car and a solid foundation, and we already know where we’re at. We know exactly what we want to do. In terms of not being on track, I would be more upset if we were struggling, but I think that we are in a pretty good position to put it in on the first day. I think our cars are strong, and I’m not overly upset about not being able to get out on track. We can’t control what the weather does, and like I said, I’m just glad that I’m with the team that I’m with because we have great cars under us.”
PT FINISHES P13 IN LONG BEACH
Starting from P25 in the Dragon Racing #8 car today PT came home in P16 despite an early drive-through penalty. He ran the entire 85 laps and earned 14 Championship Points in his first race in 2011. He ran the race in a time of 1:54:14.8578.
Anyone looking for Arizona Real Estate?
If so, check out my Arizona Realtor, Sherri Jay with Arizona Golf & Sun Properties. She's also Canadian and specializes in working with investors & second home buyers from out of state. Mention my name, and you'll receive a FREE 1 year home warranty plan(valued up to $399) when you close on your property.
PT P22 IN MOTEGI
Motegi Japan - PT made his third appearance with Dreyer & Reinbold Racing this weekend filling in for the injured Mike Conway. Making his sixth start at the Twin Ring Motegi circuit Paul started from P22 on the grid. Unfortunately just past half way in the race on lap 114 PT brushed the wall. After pitting, the team determined just enough damage had been done to the car to force PTs retirement from the race. He would be shown in the final results with a finish of P22.
read Paul's blog at Racer.com below
www.racer.com/paul-tracys-blog-motegi
PT FINISHES P12 IN KENTUCKY
After starting P23 Paul started moving forward at the drop of the green flag. Staying out during the first round of pit stops briefly put him in P1. He would run in or near the top 10 all race and finished P12.
Paul: “It’s been a long time since I did this style of racing. We started in the back, worked our way forward, and the Motegi/Dad’s car was great tonight. I got going and going better and better through the race. We kind of just got separated from the lead pack. We had just a little bit of imbalance in the car and to come home 12th was a pretty good result for the team. We’re happy with that and my first race on a mile and a half in six years. I felt pretty good with how I ran and how the team performed and no complaints.”
PT FINISHES P6 IN EDMONTON
Edmonton Alberta CA - PT started the race on the Edmonton City Centre Airport circuit today in P15. By the end of the first lap he had moved up to P11. Paul continued to run solid and late in the race found himself running in the top 10. He went on to finish in P6, the biggest mover of any driver in the race.
Photos from Toronto - by Dave Geall
PT FINISHES P13 ON HOME TURF
Toronto CA - PT returned to his home stomping grounds today much to the delight of the Toronto fans. Starting the race from P24 Paul quickly moved up a number of spots during the first handful of laps. On lap 17 the race saw its first yellow flag and while the majority of the field pitted PT stayed out and took over the lead of the race. He then lead the next 14 laps which were plagued with more cautions. He finally pit on lap 35 and fueling issues saw a 17+ second stop. He returned to the racetrack in P20. He ran without incident through to lap 57 when he made his final stop. Unfortunately shortly after he over ran a turn slightly and the car stalled. While PT gestured urgently for the corner workers to get him re fired he saw the majority of the field file past him leaving him the first car 1 lap down. That would be where he finished running in P13. A very good overall gain in positions on a day when things looked even more promising for a better finish in front of the home town fans.
Photos from Watkins Glen
PT FINISHES P14 AT THE GLEN
Watkins Glen NY - Today PT started the race in P12 on the outside of Row 6. Substituting for Indy injured Mike Conway Paul moved up 3 positions in the first few laps. At lap 30 and halfway through the race his team switched strategy and pitted under green coming back out at the tail end of the lead lap in P23. After a couple yellow flags and another round of pit stops PT would finish in P14. Consider this a good warm up for Toronto in 2 weeks.
