Gerry Forsythe, the owner of the Forsythe Racing Champ Car team and co-owner of the Champ Car World Series, has given his "favourite" driver Paul Tracy an ultimatum - re-negotiate his contract or lose his ride. This request is quite intriguing.
Paul Tracy has been stunned by Gerry Forsythe's ultimatum, having recently turned down an offer to drive in NASCAR in order to be loyal to his Champ Car boss. Last year, Tracy signed a five-year contract to drive in the Champ Car series for Forsythe Racing.
Joined by Robin Miller, Tracy said that "I've been trying to contact Forysthe for a couple weeks but he hasn't returned my calls so all I know is what I read on the Internet forums."
But there are clear smoke signals that things are not running very smoothly at Forsythe Racing.
Gerry Forsythe - a businessman and not a racing aficionado - has little desire to spend his own money to run a racing team. He must deeply regret the happy days his team was totally sponsored by Player's... It is worth nothing that no company has replaced Player's at Forsythe since they ceased their sponsorship. 'Indeck' is a company owned by Gerry Forsythe.
Forsythe began the 2007 season with Mario Dominguez driving alongside Tracy. But after just three rounds, Dominguez was sent back to his native Mexico and was replaced by Oriol Servia. With just two races to go, another wealthy Mexican, David Martinez, replaced the Spaniard.
Then, Phil LePan, the long time Team Manager, left the team before massive layoffs among mechanics were performed. To top it all, Dan Pettit (who closed the doors his own Champ Car team RuSport weeks before) announced would he be partnering with Forsythe in 2008.
So, what is going on? Is Forsythe trying to gradually pull out the Champ Car series? Being one of the co-owners of the series, is he aware of the true financial situation of the organisation?
"I know I'm committed to Gerry and Champ Car, but right now I can't honestly say they're committed to me," concluded Tracy.
Paul Tracy has been stunned by Gerry Forsythe's ultimatum, having recently turned down an offer to drive in NASCAR in order to be loyal to his Champ Car boss. Last year, Tracy signed a five-year contract to drive in the Champ Car series for Forsythe Racing.
Joined by Robin Miller, Tracy said that "I've been trying to contact Forysthe for a couple weeks but he hasn't returned my calls so all I know is what I read on the Internet forums."
But there are clear smoke signals that things are not running very smoothly at Forsythe Racing.
Gerry Forsythe - a businessman and not a racing aficionado - has little desire to spend his own money to run a racing team. He must deeply regret the happy days his team was totally sponsored by Player's... It is worth nothing that no company has replaced Player's at Forsythe since they ceased their sponsorship. 'Indeck' is a company owned by Gerry Forsythe.
Forsythe began the 2007 season with Mario Dominguez driving alongside Tracy. But after just three rounds, Dominguez was sent back to his native Mexico and was replaced by Oriol Servia. With just two races to go, another wealthy Mexican, David Martinez, replaced the Spaniard.
Then, Phil LePan, the long time Team Manager, left the team before massive layoffs among mechanics were performed. To top it all, Dan Pettit (who closed the doors his own Champ Car team RuSport weeks before) announced would he be partnering with Forsythe in 2008.
So, what is going on? Is Forsythe trying to gradually pull out the Champ Car series? Being one of the co-owners of the series, is he aware of the true financial situation of the organisation?
"I know I'm committed to Gerry and Champ Car, but right now I can't honestly say they're committed to me," concluded Tracy.