DPR Sports & Racing News

PAUL TRACY

#15 GEICO - KV RACING TECHNOLOGY HONDA/DALLARA/FIRESTONE

Camping World Grand Prix at The Glen July 4– 5^th, 2009

Paul Tracy will make his Watkins Glen International debut and second start for KV Racing Technology this weekend.  Tracy will drive the #15 GEICO – KV Racing Technology Honda/Dallara/Firestone entry. 

The 2009 Camping World Grand Prix at The Glen will be Tracy’s 267^th career start, fifth in the IndyCar Series, third this season, second with KVRT and first at Watkins Glen.

Watkins Glen will be the first of three consecutive races Tracy will contest for KVRT.  He will also race at the Honda Indy Toronto, July 10-12 driving the #15 Ontario Honda Dealers – Wounded Warriors.ca – KV Racing Technology entry and at the Rexall Edmonton Indy, July 24-26.

Tracy has made two IndyCar starts this year, at Indianapolis for KVRT, finished ninth and Milwaukee for AJ Foyt, placed 17th.

Tracy is in his 19^th year of top-tier open-wheel competition.  In 266 career starts (seventh all-time), Tracy has earned 31 career wins (tied for seventh all-time), 25 poles (ninth all-time), and 4,238 laps led (sixth all-time).  He has 75 career podium performances, 102 top-five finishes and 142 top-10 showings.

In the 15 seasons in which Tracy has competed in over 80% of the races, he has finished in the top-10 in the championship standings 10 times including eight times in the top-five, four in the top-three and captured the championship in 2003.

A native of Canada, Tracy, 40, currently resides in Las Vegas, Nevada.

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ONTARIO HONDA DEALERS ASSOCIATION TO SPONSOR PAUL TRACY AT HONDA INDY TORONTO

EFFORT TO SUPPORT WOUNDED WARRIORS.CA

INDIANAPOLIS, IN - - JUNE 23, 2009 - - Canadian Paul Tracy’s KV Racing Technology car will be sponsored by the Ontario Honda Dealers Association, and will support Wounded Warriors.ca., at the Honda Indy Toronto, July 12 on the streets of Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Tracy, the 2003 Champ Car World Series champion, is one of the most successful and exciting drivers in the history of open-wheel racing.  The native of Scarborough, Ontario, Canada, will pilot the #15 Ontario Honda Dealers – Wounded Warriors.ca – KV Racing Technology Honda/Dallara/Firestone machine.

“We are extremely pleased that Paul Tracy will pilot a KV Racing Technology entry with sponsorship from the Ontario Honda Dealers Association in support of Wounded Warriors.ca,” said KVRT co-owner Jimmy Vasser.  “Having Paul drive in front of his countrymen with an organization like Wounded Warriors.ca on the sidepods of a KVRT car is an honor and a privilege.  I personally want to thank the Ontario Honda Dealers Association for making this possible.”         

Brian Tafler of the Ontario Honda Dealers Association said, "To have the Indy return to Toronto, sponsored by Honda, and not have Paul Tracy racing didn’t make sense to us.   So we decided to sponsor Paul.  When someone brought up the idea of supporting our Canadian troops, the decision to do that was both immediate and unanimous.  We have young men and women in harm's way in foreign lands.  Not all come back unscathed.  We wanted to help those in need of numerous forms of assistance.  That’s why we decided to join with Wounded Warriors.ca to help bring awareness to their cause and to help raise funds for them during the Honda Indy Toronto race weekend."

Commenting on the support Captain George W. Johnston, president and founder of Wounded Warriors.ca., said, "As a soldier and the father of a soldier I think I can speak for all military members and their families when I say thank you from the bottom of my heart. We see the support for the troops every day and what the Ontario Honda Dealers have done here today, has made them corporate heroes," 

Tracy, whose talent and determination have made him a fan favorite, will be contesting his 17^th race in Toronto.  In 16 previous starts on the streets of Toronto he has finished in the top-10 a total of 11 times with eight top-five showings, five podium performances, two wins (1993 and 2003) and one pole. 

“I want to thank the Ontario Honda Dealers Association, Kevin Kalkhoven and Jimmy Vasser for the opportunity to race in front of my hometown fans,” Tracy said.  “I am especially thankful because it is a tremendous honor to represent Wounded Warriors.ca.  I am proud to be able to support and raise awareness for this organization that assists Canadian armed forces personnel.”

The Toronto race will be Tracy’s fourth IndyCar start.  In May he competed for KVRT at the Indy 500 finishing ninth.  His other IndyCar events were the 2002 Indy 500, where he placed second, and the 2008 Edmonton race, placed fourth.  Tracy will also compete in the Camping World Grand Prix at the Glen, July 5, at Watkins Glen International in Watkins Glen, New York in a tune-up prior to the Honda Indy Toronto race and then Rexall Edmonton Indy on July 26.

Now in his 19^th season, Tracy has crafted a career that has established him as one of the top drivers ever to step into the cockpit of an open-wheel car.  The resident of Las Vegas, Nevada is among the top-10 in almost every Champ Car career statistical category including wins, 31 (tied for seventh all-time), poles, 25 (ninth all-time), and laps led, 4,238 (sixth all-time).  He has 75 career podium performances, 102 top-five finishes and 142 top-10 showings in 265 starts (262 in Champ Car, tied for eighth all-time and three in IndyCar).  In the 15 seasons in which Tracy has competed in over 80% of the races, he has finished in the top-10 in the championship standings 10 times including eight times in the top-five, four in the top-three and captured the championship in 2003.

About The Ontario Honda Dealers Association:

The Ontario Honda Dealers Association, which was founded in 1986, represents 76 Honda dealers located in 59 communities throughout Ontario which is home to the Honda of Canada Mfg. assembly plants that produce Civic, Canada's number one selling car.  The 76 Honda dealerships, which have a proven track record for providing maximum customer satisfaction, employ approximately 3,000 Associates.

About Wounded Warriors:

Wounded Warriors.ca is an independent not-for-profit charity that supports Canadian soldiers wounded overseas. It is primarily a fundraising mechanism that supports existing programs that tend to soldiers. Wounded Warriors.ca recognizes the priority to treat visible and non-visible injuries, like that of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.  In three years, Wounded Warriors.ca has raised more than $400,000 and as an all-volunteer organization is able to keep its administration costs well below 5 per cent. The health of this fund is a credit to the benevolence of Canadian corporations and citizens alike.

MARIO MORAES

#5 AZUL – VOTORANTIM - KV RACING TECHNOLOGY HONDA/DALLARA/FIRESTONE

Camping World Grand Prix at The Glen July 4– 5^th, 2009

Mario Moraes returns to Watkins Glen following a frustrating weekend at Richmond.   Moraes finished 16^th at Richmond after going down a couple of laps early in the race when the yellow flags did not fall his way and he had to pit under green..Moraes earned 14 points and remains 16^th in the championship standings with 122, just 22 points out of 11^th place.

Moraes is in his second IndyCar season and first with KV Racing Technology.

The 2009 Camping World Grand Prix at The Glen at the Watkins Glen International will be Moraes’ 25^th IndyCar career start, ninth on a road/street circuit, ninth with KVRT and second at Watkins Glen.

• In eight previous road/street starts, Moraes has a career best finish of seventh at Watkins Glen in 2008, which is also his IndyCar career high.
• Moraes has five career top-10 finishes (seventh, Watkins Glen, ninth, Milwaukee, 10^th, Texas, Nashville and Infineon Raceway) in 24 career IndyCar starts. 

·         Prior to this season Moraes had never qualified higher than 10^th on any circuit and never higher than 20^th on an oval.  Since joining KVRT he has qualified in the top-seven in four out of seven events (Iowa qualifying cancelled) including a career high fifth in Milwaukee.

·         In his first full season of IndyCar Series competition, Moraes finished sixth in the Bombardier Rookie of the Year standings.

·         Moraes led his first career IndyCar Series laps (3) at the Indianapolis 500 in 2008.

• A native of Sao Paulo, Brazil, Moraes, 20, currently resides in Miami, Florida.  He is the second youngest driver in the IndyCar Series (born 12/20/88; Graham Rahal 1/4/89).

For more information about KV Racing Technology visit: www.kvracingtechnology.com