Paul Tracy

[Deleted]

I was watching my copy of the 1991 Michigan M@r1b0r0 500 & upon watching Tracy crash hard on lap 3 i thought, exactly how many cars has this guy wrecked in his career... You know I think Tracy probably wrecked more Penske's from 91 to 93 than Rick crashed his entire career...

[Deleted]

Oh Penskepc22.......

I could go on for hours on how bad Paul "The Wall" Tracy is.....but, I'll wait until this May when he starts wrecking even more cars at Indy....Why? Becuse he is kmnothead!

Best to you!

Russ

[Calvin]

Paul Tracy makes me shake my head.

I'd say that Rick Mears probably only crashed no more than 10 in his career, the first time he hit the wall at Indy was 1991.

Off the top my head some of Rick Mears crashes in his career

1982 Michigan 500 (flat tire)
1984 Sanair (driver error)
1986 Michigan 500 practice (minor crash)
1991 Indy 500 practice
1992 Indy 500 practice
1992 Indy 500

I know there is a few more but nothing bad

[Deleted]

Calvin......

Now you can't count the 92 500. Rick got caught up in someone else's mistake...be fair!

Best to you!

Russ

[clm1545]

As my son says, Paul never saw a wall he did not like.
Take Care
Craig

[Calvin]

Apr 26, 2010 13:46:04 GMT -5 @oldcalhoun said:

Calvin......

Now you can't count the 92 500. Rick got caught up in someone else's mistake...be fair!

Best to you!

Russ

Yeah, OK.... I'll cross it off

[2lapsdown]

Paul Tracy and Robby Gordon are two of the most talented drivers out there. Having said that they are both guilty of wasting that talent by being egotistical and refusing to give in to the corporate demands that professional drivers all face. When you loose your ride at Penske you've lost the best ride you'll ever have. Robby and Paul have burned way to many bridges along the way and to this day neither of them seem to understand what happened to their careers. And I agree that Paul may have cost The Captain more in damages than he did in salary.

[indy]

The three times Mears hit the wall at Indy, driver error by Mears was never the cause. Both practice crashes were mechanical failures and like Russ said - Crawford spun on the restart and Mears was passing on the high side so the red #4 was just in the wrong place at the wrong time The only race I saw him run live and he got taken out.

Not to imply Mears is perfect or anything - I believe his car control was above anyone else's in his era. Here's a picture of Mears and a shortened Penske chassis



I want to say it was Riverside but it might be Laguna or somewhere else. I have no idea what happened or which session.

Here is what Racing Reference has as far as a races Mears retired with "crash" - no telling if it was a self crash, other guys, etc. Also, I wouldn't bet any money on Racing Reference results - they are good but not perfect.

1979 (nothing - in fact, running at the end of every race except running out of gas on the last lap at Michigan)
1980 Mid-Ohio
1981 (nothing - in fact, running at the end of every race)
1982 Michigan
1983 Michigan, Elkhart Lake, and Mid-Ohio
1984 (nothing)
1985 (nothing)
1986 Laguna Seca
1987 (nothing)
1988 Phoenix & Pocono
1989 (nothing)
1990 (nothing)
1991 Cleveland
1992 Indy

That's only 10 races in 14 years - pretty stellar IMHO *and yes I am biased ;D*

Jordan

[2lapsdown]

Two things set Rick Mears apart from his contemporaries. Excellence on the track, humility off of it.

[indydog]

Apr 26, 2010 13:33:48 GMT -5 @oldcalhoun said:

Paul "The Wall" Tracy

Russ

;D I like that. Best description of him I've ever heard!

[Deleted]

Apr 26, 2010 16:07:48 GMT -5 2lapsdown said:

Two things set Rick Mears apart from his contemporaries. Excellence on the track, humility off of it.

Now mind all of you, I was not the biggest Rick Mears Fan, but respect is due when it is earned, and Mears has my respect! I remember once during a broadcast from Indianapolis where Penske turned to Mears, not knowing the camera the mic were on him and asking Rick, "Didn't you talk to him about driving this place on cold tires?" And Mears responding "You know I did but he won't listen to me." Who is Rick Mears to be listen too? By the way, Tracy spun the car.

Best to you!

Russ

[Deleted]

Yeah I was a little surprised when they announced Paul would be replacing Rick at Penske racing cause he tore up alot of cars before that announcement was made. My driver ever since I first started watching CART back in 89. Rick Mears, i was sooo sad when he announced his retirement but I felt the timing was probably right. In the Penske racing history book, they talk about why Danny lost his ride at Penske. Pennzoil was leaving to give full support to Michael Waltrip in NASCAR & M@r1b0r0 only wanted to sponsor 2 cars. The Captain had to make a choice, Emmo was staying because he had strong personal financial backing from M@r1b0r0. So now Rick or Danny, the choice, though tough, was easier than you may think. Rick was Penske racing, along with Mark Donahue & other than a brief stint with Bill Simpson, his entire driving career in USAC & CART was in Penske racecars. He had won the Captain 3 driving titles & 3 Indy 500's & had saved him hundreds of thousands of dollars with his care of the cars on race weekends. He was a standup guy who didn't go chasing women & getting drunk, he went home to his wife & kids at night. I never heard anyone ever say a negative thing about Rick Mears. Rick repaid the Captain that very season with victory at Indy & his first at the M@r1b0r0 500. The best driver Roger ever had under his employment, who knows how many more races he'd have won had the Sanair accident never happened...