WEST ALLIS, Wis. -- Jimmy Vasser calls Paul Tracy the "king
of the restarts."
Tracy showed why Saturday at the Milwaukee Mile, making a daring
outside pass to wrest the lead from Vasser early in the Road Runner
225 Champ Car World Series event.
It took him nearly a full lap on the 1.032-mile oval to make the
pass stick on the restart after the first of three caution flags.
But Tracy moved into the top spot on the 19th of 221 laps and wound
up leading 192 laps on the way to his 29th career victory.
It was his fourth win on the wide, flat and tricky oval at
Wisconsin State Fairgrounds. Tracy said he has learned his lessons
on ovals over the years from former teammates like Rick Mears,
Emerson Fittipaldi, Al Unser Jr. and Michael Andretti.
"I've gotten plenty of lessons from those guys, mostly by
getting passed," Tracy said. "It gives you a feel for what you
can do when the track feels a certain way."
Oriol Servia, who finished third subbing for injured Bruno
Junqueira, has learned plenty from watching Tracy.
"You think you're doing the best you can and then he passes
you. And then he passes you again," the Spaniard said. "And,
today, I passed (people) three times. So, I'm learning."
Of course, passes like the ones Tracy pulled off Saturday don't
always work. A year ago, when the Milwaukee event was run at night,
Tracy tried to pass Patrick Carpentier on the outside and wound up
in the wall.
"It's something you really enjoy, making the outside move,"
Tracy said. "In these conditions today, I think it was easier. ...
Last year, in the dark, there was more crashes because guys were
going up high and it was hard to see how far you could go. This
time, I knew the track was clean, so I knew where I could go around
the outside."
Once he got out front, Tracy still had to fend off a challenge
from second-year driver A.J. Allmendinger, who stayed with him
until a restart with six laps remaining in the race cut four laps
short by a time limit imposed for the TV broadcast.
"Paul is absolutely `The Man' on starts," Allmendinger said.
"He was just driving around everybody out there."
It was the best career finish for last year's top rookie, who
finished third at Vancouver in 2004.
Servia started the year with Dale Coyne Racing but got a shot at
the Newman/Haas Racing ride after Junqueira, who was leading the
Champ Car points, was hurt in the Indianapolis 500. However, it was
a one-race deal and now Servia hopes he can stay with Champ Car's
top team.
Newman/Haas general manager Brian Lisles assumes Junqueira will
be out most of the season.
"Oriol is a possibility for the rest of the year, but we've
been in contact with a number of young promising drivers in
Europe," Lisles said.