Q&A: Paul Gentilozzi and Alex Tagliani - Pt.2.

Paul Gentilozzi's Rocketsports team, which is adding the new-look CART Champcar to existing Trans-Am commitments this season, recently confirmed speculation by naming Canada's Alex Tagliani as driver of the Johnson Controls-backed entry. Here, the two principal players talk about their link-up.

Q:
Alex, I just wonder how the uncertainty over the second half of the season, particularly through the last couple months, affected your off-season, and now your preparation for the 2003 season...

AT:
It was difficult because I was hearing a lot of rumors, and nothing was sure, although people were trying to reassure me. Then, bam, you know, with four races to go, pretty late into the season, I have to turn around and try to get a ride. So it was difficult, but I think all those little problems and little steps that you have to go through in your life or in your career are just going to make me stronger. And, now that's done, I am going to race for Rocketsports - all that pressure is off, and we are just going to put some other pressure on ourselves to be competitive as quick as we can.

Q:
Everybody is going to be in a similar position this year with the same engine with a different chassis. As a driver, where are you going to look for your advantage this year? How can you be quicker than the rest?

AT:
Well, I don't know what to expect, but I am a guy that is able to get used to cars pretty quick. I don't think it's going to be as bad as when I went from Atlantic to Champcars, so I'll try to feel what the car needs to go fast and get to know my engineer and show him what I want to drive the car. He needs to understand what I like and to see how it works. It's going to take a little bit of time, but we are ready - we have everything in place to be competitive - we just need to put all the ingredients in and make sure we have a good recipe at the end. But, we are up for the challenge.

Q:
Did you meet with [another] new ChampCar owner Craig Pollock?

AT:
Not really. I was invited for the [ski-ing] 24 Hours of Mont Tremblant. I was there and I met him for five minutes and we talked - I heard that he was going to be involved in CART, but I didn't even know that he was going to buy an existing team, so we never start negotiating.

Q:
There are going to be a lot of new drivers, do you feel like the veteran that you are now, even though this is only your fourth year in the series? You are even more of a veteran considering the number of veteran drivers who have left. Will that give you an advantage, even though ordinarily you wouldn't be looked on as a real veteran?

AT:
Yeah, last year, [after] three years in CART, I was still a rookie when you were around guys like Jimmy [Vasser], [Paul] Tracy and Michael Andretti, but now there is going to be a lot of rookies in the series, and I am pretty sure knowing the track is an advantage. But, after one year of professional race car driving, you don't need five days to learn a racetrack, so I think guys that are going to race this year, they are really fast and strong. They are going to be able to learn the track really quickly, but as for the fine tuning and the preparation with the engineer, the input and working together to go there as fast as possible, and getting the car out of the trailer, you know, quick. I think that's where the advantage is for me. But I think you can expect a season that's going to be pretty competitive.

Q:
The fact that you were bumped from Player's by [Paul] Tracy, was that just business as far as you were concerned, or do you have any sort of bitterness or animosity toward the team or Paul?

AT:
No, not really. I am a guy that respects opinions of people, and I think I consider their decision as an opinion, and I respect the change that they wanted. But the only thing that was a little bit hard for me is that I would have liked to have known a little bit earlier - especially as driver that is looking for a ride for next year. During the season, I was saying to everybody that I was going to be set for 2003, and suddenly, with four races to go I am looking for a ride. That's the situation I didn't like to be in but, for the rest, I think it's an opinion - and I respect people's opinions.

Q:
I've known Alex a long time, I know how strong he is - strong character and hates to lose, killer instinct - and I know that Mr Gentilozzi is pretty much the same. What kind of relationship are you expecting? Alex was talking about kind of a father/son relationship when you got some medicine for him, but I know that you are very strong competitors, and what kind of relationship are you expecting from both of you?

PG:
Well, I expect it's one of respect, quite honestly. We want the same thing, and being on a race team is a lot like being with your family. There are times when you disagree, and you may disagree with a lot of emotion, but you also understand that you are in the same family and you want the same thing, and that's how we have always raced at Rocketsports. I expect that there are times when Alex and I will disagree about what we do and whether what decision we make or how he drives. But that's okay, we do that together, and in the end everything we do is with the same objective, so I respect very much his ability, and I hope he comes to respect what we do as a team. I am sure he will, and we are going to make that into a winning situation.

Q:
And how would you describe yourself as a boss now, because you used to drive?

PG:
I think, and I have told a great many people, that I have seen many things in Alex as a driver that I saw in myself as I look back - a desire to achieve and to win - and I hope now that as I have gotten older that age has given me the advantage of some knowledge. That's really what I want to do is share that knowledge and, for a guy that sets that many fast laps, it's time to win. Sometimes, it just takes the right ingredients to make that happen.

Q:
Will you be a tough boss?

PG:
I am a tough boss just like I am a little bit of a tough father. Being a boss is not much different than being a father. There are days when you have to reassure your sons and your driver, and days when you might have to kick some ass.

AT:
I am the same thing - I've got a pretty good guy for my boss, so I am prepared to have a good relationship with Paul. I am sure that, if we qualify up front, he is not going to make me start last like my dad would have, so that's an advantage.

I think, for me, I have a side that is very human. I am emotional, and I really take the time to see the character and the person the way they are, and Paul is very impressive as a person - he makes me feel very comfortable. I feel that I am in a position where I am part of something, we are building something together and I am glad that he decided to have me to drive for his team. My job is going to be to represent Johnson Controls and the associate sponsors, and we are going to do the best we can and work really hard. The time that I am going to spend in the truck or at the shop or whatever to make this team go fast, I don't care about. I am prepared for anything. And he is willing to have me do that, so that's why I feel comfortable and I am excited for the season.

EM:
The temperament of Mr Gentilozzi may not be very well known. He was an ice hockey player at Michigan State University quite a few pucks ago and, for those of you that have dealt with hockey players in the past, that might give you a little better insight what you and Alex are getting into here.

Q:
Since you brought it up, Paul, what position did you play at Michigan State?

PG:
I was mostly in the penalty box! I was a defenseman.

Q:
With racing, is it realistic for you to be on the podium this year with a first-year team?

AT:
Oh, yeah, it is - it may be a first-year team, but there are a lot of people that have CART experience. They have worked on CART teams previously, and the engineer that is going to work for the team was working for the last four years at Penske, so there is a great deal of experience there. We have the tools, the equipment, we have cars - everything is competitive. We have to work a little bit and find out the set-up to go fast.

Everybody is going to be on the same engine. Without the traction control, I think it's going to make for interesting racing. There is going to be a lot of things that happen in a race, and everything is open at this time. I don't think we are right now the top team in CART because we don't have any base. We are going to have to find those bases, but we have everything to find them and, as soon as we can put our finger on a good set-up and everything we that need, the ingredients to be competitive, we are going to remain competitive very consistently.

Q:
Paul, what made you decide to go open wheel as opposed to something with fenders? I thought you might do something else?

PG:
I really think that our background in sportscar racing put us in line with Champcar and, when you have been a Trans-Am team, we were a support race for CART for the last 20 years - as long as CART has been in existence. You look over the fence at the big guys and you come to admire guys like Roger Penske and Pat Patrick. They are really, as team owners, the role models, and we felt best adapted at being that kind of team.

Q:
They are making a big deal about this is going to be one of the best-funded teams in CART. What do they mean by that?

PG:
I guess they thought I had money until I started doing this. The best way to make a small fortune is to start out with a big one and go racing....

Q:
Just a little bit off the subject - for both of you, actually. Yesterday, CART announced, and Cleveland announced, that that race is going to be under the lights this year. Obviously, Paul, you have experience racing at Cleveland in the daylight, and obviously, Alex, you do, too, but could you share your thoughts about that announcement and what you expect this July at Cleveland?

PG:
Well, I guess I will go first. Cleveland is a great city, full of people who love racing, and CART's decision to race at night, I think, is really exciting. That riverfront area and the area on the lakefront is full of restaurants and hotels and people, and we need to make this race an event, not just a race. I think CART's staff has done that.

I think, from Alex's perspective, Cleveland is a much more challenging racetrack than people give it credit for. It's a simple one to learn, but a hard one to go fast on because of the bumps and identity. Having done a lot of Sebrings and Le Mans, I know what racing at night is like and I think this is going to be exciting.

Q:
One of the things that we always hear from drivers at Cleveland is that one of the challenges there is that the runways are so wide and generally featureless - that it's sometimes not so much hard to get your bearings, but that there aren't the reference points that you are used to on most natural terrain and street circuits. Obviously, this is going to be another wrinkle into it. It's going to be light enough but it's going to be a little different than it was, and I just wonder what you will expect there?

AT:
I always said that CART needs to do some stuff for increasing the excitement in racing and, if that's a solution for them, I think it's going to be fun - especially as, in that city, like Paul was saying, there is a lot of things that's going on at night. I think the race in Cleveland will become more than the race, it will become an activity, it will become something exciting for the teams, entertainment for everybody. Hopefully, you will have even more success.

Technically, as a driver, Cleveland is very difficult because there is no reference points. There are some places where it's very difficult to see where you have to turn in and things like that. So, your vision is even worse on that type of track and, at night, we don't know yet what's going to be the reflection of the lights, or how much lighting we are going to have. All these things are difficult to answer but, for sure, the show is going to be fantastic and, as we have some backfire into the exhaust, it's going to be even more so. I think the fans are going to enjoy open road racing at night time.

Q:
My first question is to Paul. Over the winter, right before Christmas, I bought a new car, and about the third day after I bought it, my 18-year old daughter took it out for a drive, and it was the longest three hours I ever spent in my life. That car is probably pennies compared to your investment. At that first race, how is it going to feel to have someone else drive your car?

PG:
I am glad you brought that up, because it is a hard thing to do. I had a little taste of it the last race in the Trans-Am season. I was at VIR and I crashed and broke my ribs in practice. I started the race but, after about seven or eight laps, I couldn't drive anymore because of the pain. So I put Jack Willis in and that was the first time I had ever watched someone drive my car. I have kind of gotten over the hump.

The good thing is that I have got a lot of faith in Alex. I am comfortable now, I talked to Bobby Rahal about this at some length - how you quit driving and just focus on owning. It's not an easy thing to do, because you have anxiety, you have desire. I will get over it, though. I never had any desire to drive a Champcar and so I am going to be really comfortable, I think, after a few minutes of having Alex as my guy.

Q:
Alex, you have talked about Paul's ability to bench race with you, so to speak. Were there other things that you saw within this team because, quite frankly, the pressure was for you to find something that fit well? It wasn't like you had to have a job to earn your keep for next season, so you were the choice of the litter.

AT:
No, I think Paul made the decision, and I am glad. I feel fortunate that I am going to be driving for Rocketsports Racing next year. But, for the team, it's a new team that is getting started. Paul worked really hard to put all the team together, and really good people together, and I don't think he is going into Champcars just to have a Champcar team and be seen as an owner.

I think he is going there to be successful and I am ready to work really hard to be successful in this team. It's exciting. The team is going to be based in Lansing, Michigan - away from all the other teams - so we are going to be focused and concentrate on the work we need to do to be able to get out of 2003 with some good results.

Q:
It's an interesting comment that you made - Paul is going to be an owner but not an owner just to be a Champcar owner. Have you seen a lot of owners that use that almost as an ownership role as an ego trip? And you laughed there....

PG:
We have a motto at our team about going racing, and it says 'we are not here to make friends, we can afford to bring our own'. I think it's easy to get caught up in the culture of just owning a team, and that's not the objective at all. It's about competition. That's what we thrive on. I can park my motorhome in the parking lot and set up a little grill and have a picnic, but I don't need to do that.

Q:
And, apparently Alex, you like that concept?

AT:
That's something that Paul has going for him and I think it's what makes him who he is. I think other guys that are working for him, they like his attitude and that's why maybe they work really hard for him. What he is trying to build here can be very special and very different from any other team and I am sure that it's not going to take ten years for this team to win the championship.

By the way, I am going to have to go pretty soon because I am going to be late and my wife is going to kill me. We have to get a wedding certificate. I am an hour away from there.

Q:
Paul, I have going to ask you, you had mentioned Alex's qualities as a driver but, from what we understand, Player's, because of the situation with Paul Tracy, had Alex under contract and were trying to find a ride for him. Now, does that make him even more attractive to you? Because, from what we understand, rather than paying a portion of his salary or all of his salary, you not only get a talented driver but you get a little bit of a kick there with somebody helping with the funding of the team?

PG:
That absolutely was not it. It's funny, because several people have written that, and obviously they don't know me. That wasn't a part of our consideration. First of all, there are a lot of talented drivers around the CART series that can do a job, but I needed a guy I could share with philosophically.

We didn't come into this looking for a driver whose salary was paid, and we talked to a lot of drivers. That's a function of motorsports today, but that's an insult to Alex. I mean, he is a driver that could drive for anybody, and so we went after this and we made our decision based on his ability. Let's assume your budget is six-and-a-half or seven million dollars, you are sure not going to worry about a few hundred thousand dollars in regards to his performance.

Q:
But is Player's in some ways subsidising him?

PG:
They are an associate sponsor of the team.

Q:
But basically you are saying that, for people to assume that [Alex] is there because Player's is kicking in a bunch of money, is totally wrong?

PG:
That's baloney and it's insulting.