Wednesday, April 15, 1998 | 9:19 a.m.
In the two years since its opening, Las Vegas Motor Speedway has attracted some of the top racing series in the world. Now, the 1.5-mile superspeedway is enticing some of the top drivers in the world to move to Southern Nevada.
Paul Tracy, a 13-time winner on the CART FedEx Championship Series, will become a full-time Las Vegas resident in less than two weeks when he moves into a home he has built in Summerlin.
"I have been living in Parker, Ariz., for about a year and a half and it's a hassle when it comes to traveling," said the 29-year-old native of Scarborough, Ontario, Canada. "It's a two and a half hour drive to (the airport in) Phoenix or Vegas and it was OK at the time. But it has gotten to be a bit of a hassle with the amount of testing that we're doing.
"I've already lived in Phoenix for a few years and the town was OK but I have spent some time in Vegas since the race track opened there and I really enjoy the town."
Tracy said the addition of a world-class racing facility was one of the many reasons he chose to move to Las Vegas. Tracy will join fellow CART drivers Jimmy Vasser and Richie Hearn and Indy Racing League drivers Davey Hamilton and Sam Schmidt in calling Southern Nevada home.
"The first time I went to Las Vegas was in 1983 for a go-kart race and I hadn't been back since until about two years ago," he said. "After the track opened, I came out there and spent a little time and I just really like the town -- and not just the Strip. There's a lot to do out there.
"For me, the race track being out there is a help because they've got a couple go-kart tracks in town and stuff that I like to do. It's a good location for me as far as traveling goes because it's real easy getting in and out of there."
Tracy will be in Las Vegas this weekend to wed his fiance, Liisa Hunter, then will head to Nazareth, Pa., next week for Round Four of the 19-race CART season.
After driving for Penske Racing for six of the past seven seasons, Tracy moved to Team Kool Green during the off-season and is teamed with promising driver Dario Franchitti of Scotland.
Although he has earned points in only one of the first three races this season (a fifth-place finish last month in Japan), Tracy would like to give his bride a belated wedding gift in Nazareth.
"I'm real hopeful that we can come out of Nazareth with a win," Tracy, who has two wins at the mile oval, said. "We had a great test there about a week ago and I was quicker than the lap record (191.174 mph) that I set last year. That was real encouraging.
"Having driven for Penske in one car, with the same engine for seven years and the same crew guys, the transition is a little bit harder than I thought it would be switching to a different car. But we've got a great team. We just need to get more familiar with each other and as every test and practice session goes by, it's getting there."
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