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Tracy gets D&R seat for Watkins Glen

Paul Tracy will become the latest driver to substitute for Mike Conway at Dreyer & Reinbold in next weekend's IndyCar Series race at Watkins Glen

The 2003 Champ Car champion is already committed to racing in Toronto and Edmonton with KV Racing, but will join Dreyer & Reinbold for a warm-up run at the Glen.

"It's obviously a good feeling to get more races, especially being able to race at the Glen and building up momentum before going into the Canadian events," said Tracy.

"I'm really excited about working with [D&R co-owner] Robbie Buhl again and to get to work with Dreyer & Reinbold Racing. I've known Robbie from our early days in racing back when we competed against each other in the Indy Lights series. It's very exciting to branch out with another team I haven't been with before and I'm looking forward to a good weekend."

Tomas Scheckter and Graham Rahal have replaced Conway for the past two events at Texas and Iowa, and AUTOSPORT understands that efforts to keep Rahal on board are continuing, though the team expects to only run Tracy and Justin Wilson at Watkins Glen. The race will be Tracy's first IndyCar start since Lexington last year, as he failed to qualify for the Indianapolis 500.

"We are very happy to have Paul drive for us this weekend," Buhl added. "He's a great driver and big personality and we are thrilled to have him driving for us in Watkins Glen.

"We were extremely strong there last year and with Paul's racing experience and him being teamed up with Justin Wilson, we feel that we'll have an extremely strong package for the weekend.

"We obviously wish that Mike could be with us, but we just want him to have a quick recovery. Paul was a perfect fit and we couldn't be happier to have him behind the wheel."

Conway suffered back and leg injuries when he hit the back of Ryan Hunter-Reay's out of fuel car on the penultimate lap at Indy and was launched into the fencing. The team has calculated from Indy Racing League data that he was on course to finish third but for the accident, based on the cars ahead which were set to run low on fuel had the race stayed green.

Conway will be able to start his rehabilitation in a fortnight when the cast is removed from his leg.

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