Aside from John Menard, nobody on this hemisphere has spent more of his own money on open wheel racing than Gerry Forsythe.Since losing his partner, Player's, after 2003, Forsythe has fielded two cars with little or no sponsorship in Champ Car in addition to splitting the day-to-day operating costs of the series with Kevin Kalkhoven.
Throw in the millions he lost on CART stock (he was buying when everybody else was bailing) and his outlay this past decade has got to be somewhere in the $125 million neighborhood.
Not many people could swallow that number without choking but the Chicago native never seems to flinch. His power generator business (Indeck) is massive – just like his wealth. Forsythe's commitment cannot be questioned, although his logic certainly could since he's reportedly turned down $3-5 million sponsorships in the past. The story goes that Monster Energy Drink wanted to back Paul Tracy this season for a couple million but supposedly was told by Gerry the price was five times that.
Maybe in 1995, but not now. Not for ESPN Classic at 7 a.m.
Which brings us to the fulcrum of this story.
Forsythe suddenly wants Tracy to renegotiate the remaining four years of his contract, presumably at something lower than the estimated $2.5 million a year he currently receives. Not an unfair request some would say. At 39 (next week), PT is on the downhill run of a checkered career that includes 31 victories, 15 brain fades while leading, one championship, miles of dazzling passes, several altercations and 17 years of brutally honest quotes.
He's only had one win during the past two years and struggled to come to grips with the new Panoz chassis for most of 2007.
Naturally, race drivers (unless of course you're in NASCAR) don't have the luxury of gradually fading away like baseball, basketball and football players who reap big money and fabulous retirement packages for their years of service.
That's why what Forsythe did last year was so rare and yet so cool and so professional. He gave the "Thrill from West Hill" a five-year contract to finish out his open wheel days at Forsythe Racing and, in return, was promised no more dallying in NASCAR from the '03 CART champ – just total focus on Champ Car.
It was a nice 401K and a reward for staying loyal to Champ Car.
Now Mr. Forsythe has evidently changed his mind about the price or maybe the length of the contract, which is certainly within his rights. But it's the wrong time, the wrong guy and the wrong message.
Because, to be completely honest, Tracy is all that Champ Car has left with the fans, general public and what little of the mainstream media that still pays attention to this series. If it somehow survives the next couple years, Graham Rahal will emerge as the poster boy but, right now, it's just the crazy Canadian.
Tracy still packs star power and still sells tickets because he still hangs his ass out at speed, still takes chances and, bless his heart, still says whatever comes to mind.
In the worst case scenario, PT refuses to re-negotiate, gets cut loose by Forsythe and is out of Champ Car. Can you imagine having three races in Canada without Paul Tracy? The Toronto promoter can't.
The best case scenario for Champ Car is that Paul Newman, Carl Haas and Mike Lanigan sign him to replace Sebastien Bourdais and team with young Rahal.
But, if I was Tony George, I'd do whatever it took to get Tracy into an Indy Racing League ride. Honda always had a good relationship with him and maybe they'd help with his salary like they have other drivers.
Because, if the heart of Champ Car ends up in the IRL, this insane, costly, brutal open wheel war would be over.
Game, set and match.
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