Tracy will delay NASCAR switch

The 2003 series champion told Champ Car's website that his difficult early races in the NASCAR Busch Series had persuaded him not to rush into stock cars with uncompetitive machinery.

"It's going to take a little longer than I thought it was going to take to break into NASCAR," Tracy said.

"You're just not going to walk into a (Nextel) Cup deal with a top team. It's not going to happen. You can get a ride on a second-rate team, but do you really want to do that? I don't think so.

"There's a huge disparity in the quality of equipment even in Busch. Even though all the cars look the same, everybody is building their own chassis, suspension, bodywork and engines, so there are huge disparities in the levels of performance."

In his three Busch outings at the start of the year, Tracy was delayed in a multi-car accident at Daytona, retired with collision damage in Mexico City, and then finished down the order after a puncture in Las Vegas.

His Champ Car team owner Jerry Forsythe is keen to hold onto Tracy, and while the Canadian expects to remain with the squad, he would like to negotiate a more flexible contract.

"Unless a top Cup deal was to come along, which doesn't really look likely, what I would probably do is stay in Champ Car," Tracy said.

"Right now, I've got to ask permission from Jerry to do other racing, and I want to change that.

"I'll stay in Champ Car but I want to be able to go and do some NASCAR races and Grand-Am races without having to ask permission.

"I think it's good for me to do other kinds of racing. I don't want my legacy in the sport to be just a great open-wheel driver. I want to be known for being able to drive anything."