About Paul Tracy
Paul Anthony Tracy (born December 17, 1968) is a Canadian-American professional auto racing driver who participated in Champ Car World Series, the IndyCar Series, and the Championship Auto Racing Teams (CART). He started kart racing at age five and quickly became successful and began car racing at sixteen, finishing third in the 1985 Formula Ford 1600 championship with one win and Rookie of the Year honors. Tracy became the youngest Canadian Formula Ford champion in the 1985 CASC Formula 1600 Challenge Series and was the youngest Can-Am race winner the following year. He raced in the American Racing Series for three years between 1988 and 1990, winning the series title with nine wins from fourteen races in 1990. Tracy's CART career began in the 1991 season with Dale Coyne Racing. However, following one race, he drove three races for Penske Racing. He competed with Penske in eleven races during the 1992 season, finishing on the podium three times. In the 1993 season, Tracy finished third in the drivers' standings after winning five races. The following year, Tracy won three more races. He moved to Newman/Haas Racing for the 1995 season, winning two races before returning to Penske for the 1996 championship. Tracy won another three races in the 1997 season before being fired for criticizing the car and joined Team Green the following year. He was third in the 1999 championship with two victories but fell to fifth in 2000 season despite three more wins. Tracy's form declined over the next two seasons but won one race in 2002. He joined Forsythe Racing in the 2003 championship, winning his first (and only) series title with seven victories. In the renamed Champ Car World Series (CCWS) in 2004 and 2005, Tracy won two races for fourth overall in both seasons. Tracy's performance declined during a 2006 season in which he took three podium finishes. His final Champ Car victory came in the 2007 championship. Following the unification of the CCWS and the IndyCar Series, he raced part-time for the KV Racing Technology, Vision Racing, A. J. Foyt Enterprises, Dreyer & Reinbold Racing and Dragon Racing teams over the following three years. Tracy entered NASCAR-sanctioned stock car races in its Busch Series and the Camping World Truck Series, sports car racing through the Rolex Sports Car Series as well as the Stadium Super Trucks and the Superstar Racing Experience. Nicknamed "The Thrill from West Hill" for his aggressive driving style and his bad boy image, Tracy's outspoken nature saw him placed on probation and fined several times by CART. He analysed IndyCar races for the Canadian broadcaster Sportsnet in the 2013 season and then for NBCSN between the 2014 and 2021 seasons. Tracy is an inductee of the Long Beach Motorsports Walk of Fame and the Canadian Motorsport Hall of Fame.
Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.