Las Vegans are home in Toronto as friendly teammates

Jenna Fryer

Friday, July 11, 2003 | 9:50 a.m.

TORONTO -- Patrick Carpentier started the season with little interest in being teammates with Paul Tracy. Halfway through the season, the fellow Canadians who make their homes in Las Vegas seem to be getting along just fine.

Tracy, a Toronto native, heads into the Molson Indy as the CART series leader. Carpentier is fourth in the standings, giving the Player's/Forsythe team a solid shot for Sunday's race.

That things are going so well could hardly have been predicted at the start of the year, when Carpentier was less than thrilled with Tracy's arrival at Player's.

"Sure I was a little upset when the team brought Paul in," Carpentier said. "I had been through a tough year of negotiations to get a new contract and then the team signs Paul and gives him everything he wants."

The animosity lingered at the start of the season, especially when the team changed from Reynard chassis to Lolas, which Carpentier had no experience using.

But Tracy did his best to help Carpentier with the new chassis, and four races into the year, Carpentier softened toward his teammate.

"There is a sincerity about our relationship," Carpentier said. "When Paul talks to me I know I can trust what he says is what it is."

They will be racing for a win Sunday in the first of two consecutive races in their native country.

"Hopefully we won't wreck each other to win," Carpentier said. "But that doesn't mean I'm going to let him pass me easily just because we are teammates."

Tracy, who holds an eight-point lead in the standings over Bruno Junqueira, will need a strong finish to hold his points lead. He has been in Toronto all week getting ready and getting reacquainted with his hometown as the series points leader.

"It's a great feeling to be able to go to Toronto for the first Canadian race of the season with the lead in the championship," Tracy said. "Coming home for a race at this stage of the season provides added incentive to keep plugging away toward our goal."

Tracy has set his goal at winning his first CART championship and finds himself in prime position with three wins in the first nine races.

But he hasn't been successful at the 1.755-mile temporary course on the streets of Toronto since 1993, the only year he won the race in his hometown.

"I can't think of a better way to celebrate the 10th anniversary of my race victory in Toronto than by winning this year," he said.

Tracy knows how difficult it will be, even though he's quite familiar with the circuit and all the surroundings. Since his only victory at Exhibition Place, Tracy has failed to lead a single lap and finished 16th last year after mechanical failure.

"Toronto is one of my favorite tracks in the series, but I realize there's no such thing as a home-track advantage," he said. "We're going to need to qualify well because it's a very tight street circuit with limited passing.

"We've had some success getting on the front row and hopefully that will continue in Toronto."

Tracy has qualified well this season, starting from the front row in six of nine races with two poles.