CART docks Tracy, Takagi points

Both drivers have been docked two CART FedEx Championship Series points, with Walker Racing driver Takagi placed on probation for the next five races and Team Green ace Tracy given probation for the next three road and street course events.

Tracy's penalty came after a series of 'nose-to-tail' contacts in his home race, including one with Takagi, while Takagi received his punishment for taking out Oriol Servia and making contact with 'other competitors'.

The points loss puts Tracy on to 46, but keeps him 10th in the series' standings. Takagi's total falls to just one point, dropping him to 27th in the standings.

CART steward Chris Kneifel has implemented a 'get tough' policy on driver discipline since taking over the role at the beginning of the 2001 season. In the case of both drivers, Kneifel said the incidents constituted unjustifiable risks under CART rule 8.13.

"We did not want to simply issue probations without accompanying them with a strong signal that actions like this will not be tolerated," said Kneifel. "Championship points are very hard-earned, and they're more valuable than money.

"We want our response to send out the very strong message that this isn't a slap on the wrist, or a token punishment."

Because of the specific nature of his probation, Tracy enters this weekend's race on the Michigan superpeedway, with the probation not yet in force. Japanese driver Takagi, however, starts his with immediate effect.