Paul Tracy: Exposed!
Sometimes satire is the result of hard work pounding a keyboard and at all times because of a slightly off-kilter, bordering on deranged, mind. The post preceding this one is an excellent example.
Sometimes no work or thought is involved and examples of satire just drop into your lap like spaghetti from an overloaded fork.
White jeans - meet spaghetti. Autosport Magazine has an exclusive interview with CCWS “star” Paul Tracy most of which is hidden by the “subscription screen.” Which only goes to prove Full Throttle is one of the few places where satire is still free I guess. (You can thank me later.)
What is available for view I would rate on the satirical scale of one to ten, about a seven. Here is the excerpt that is available:
Paul Tracy reveals why he got injured (Montoya had something to do with it), why AJ Allmendinger failed to qualify for his NASCAR debut (and why he probably won’t qualify much in 2007 either), and how PT felt about the Champ Car officials at Surfers Paradise (but why he is increasing his commitment to the series). This, and more, in PT’s own words…
Just a few days ago Tracy’s injury was attributed to a drunken binge in a golf cart and in Tracy’s own words “self inflicted.” And Montoya was thousands of miles away.
But wait, his opinion of A.J. Allmendinger looks to be a start of a pattern. It fits the mold of “them bad, me good.” Both Allmendinger and Montoya have had reasonable success in their limited trials at this point. And both have been signed by big name teams.
Tracy’s best in actual NASCAR competition was a 23rd in the Busch road course (Tracy’s specialty remember) event in Mexico last March. In August he had to rent a former Cup car just to test on a half-mile oval in Concord, N.C. Later that month he tested for Richard Childress at Michigan International Speedway in an attempt to catch a ride in the Cup event two weeks later.
That never happened, Childress cut him loose. It’s at that point Tracy’s attitude turned to one of “increasing his commitment” to CCWS. Funny how that works out.
“After doing so badly at Texas he’s [Allmendinger] going to realize that it’s a lot harder than he was expecting,” said Tracy.
Well, given the above Tracy should be an expert on the difficulty (and failure), but it has to be said, SOUR GRAPES!
“I don’t think AJ has thought about anything except the money,” Tracy wrote. “Genuinely I wish the kid luck.”
And if that isn’t satire I don’t know what is. I bet he also wishes his paycheck matched that of A.J. or Montoya’s. Again the scent of fermented grapes is in the air.
The bottomline is the bottomline. Tracy tried and failed to impress now he’s back being a big star in a much smaller pond, will earn less money doing it, and will have the advantage of accusing race officials of cheating and not being punished for it (Unlike others in the motorsport world who get slammed for it). Not to mention being able to play Rock’em Sock’em Robots with Alex Tagliani again.
When it’s all said and done you have to give Tracy credit, his “reality” takes a much more satirical look at motorsports and his former compatriots in CCWS and the IRL than I could ever dream up.
Paul Tracy, Champ Car World Series, NASCAR, Sports, NEXTEL Cup, Auto Racing, Motorsports, Full Throttle
You are just flat out wrong on the PT attitude, especially PT’s take on A.J. You left out the most relevant quote, if you took the time to read the enire article:
PT is the most down to earth driver/writer I’ve ever come across. You can read into his backing away from NASCAR whatever you like, or his opinions on A.J., but calling his article satire is totally bogus.
My take was, and is, based on what was available to me. You obviously have an advantage over me and had access to the entire article. I didn’t.
But I stand by my estimation based on these few quotes and some of the other nonsense he’s spewed previously.
A text message that could very well be sent in jest, vice an attempt to jab Tracy or being a smartass is just as likely not knowing the relationship between the two.
I’ll also stand be the comparison of both drivers performance. A.J. is in a brand new team, the fact they didn’t qual is as much of a reflection on the team as it is on AJ. He proved his potential worth in his ARCA starts.
Tracy was in an established team and could only manage a 23rd place on a road course supposedly a place where Tracy is an expert.
More PT from the article:
Any whiff of sour grapes in that quote? Sounds like cold cruel reality to me. We are all at times self serving, but you really need to read the entire article before leaping off that ledge to such an errant conclusion.
Keep ‘em coming, it’s silly season after all!!