Paul Tracy and Patrick Carpentier of Team Player's have
both experienced the sensation of standing on the podium to the cheers of an
exuberant home crowd at Molson Indy Vancouver
source: Players
The two drivers are hoping that scenario will be repeated this
Sunday, as the Champ Car World Series makes its second consecutive Canadian
stop, following up the Tracy-dominated Toronto race with a 100-lap event on the
Vancouver street circuit.
Tracy, who snared Team Player's first-ever race win in Canada with the
emotion-charged triumph in his hometown of Toronto, has reached the Vancouver
podium twice in the last three years. After finishing no better than eighth in
eight previous starts in Vancouver, Tracy qualified on the front row and rolled
to victory in 2000. Last year, he again was No. 2 on the starting grid and he
was second at the finish, 1.2 seconds behind winner Dario Franchitti.
When Carpentier garnered his podium in Vancouver with a second-place finish in
1999, it was his first podium as a member of Team Player's. He earned the
podium in dramatic fashion, after starting 11th on the grid.
Carpentier steadily moved up the field as a deluge of rain led to chaos on the
street course. He eventually got into second place with a couple of bold passing
moves and held off a pressing Jimmy Vasser by four-tenths of a second.
"I was so happy to finally get that first podium with Team Player's that I
was yelling and crying as I crossed the finish line," remembers Carpentier.
"And then, being on the podium in front of that big crowd, it sent shivers
down my spine. It was such a tremendous feeling, and I'd really like to have
that feeling again this Sunday."