Racers Unchained with Paul Tracy

Townsend Bell joins Racers Unchained for a wide-ranging conversation about a racing career that took an unconventional path. Bell didn't climb into a race car until he was 21, but once he discovered racing at Laguna Seca, he committed completely. He talks about hustling his way through Skip Barber, finding sponsorship at trade shows, winning the Indy Lights championship and making the jump into CA...

Three-time NHRA Funny Car champion Ron Capps joins Racers Unchained for a wide-ranging conversation about his remarkable racing career, from growing up around drag racing on California’s Central Coast to getting his big break with legendary driver Don “The Snake” Prudhomme. Capps shares the story of how he went from working as a crew member and racing wherever he could to suddenly getting the call...

Andy Lally has built one of the most diverse careers in American motorsports. A three-time IMSA champion and five-time winner of the Rolex 24 at Daytona, Lally has raced everything from prototypes and Porsches to NASCAR stock cars. In this episode of Racers Unchained, he sits down to talk about the path that took him from go-karts on Long Island to the top levels of sports car racing, and why simp...

Katherine Legge has raced just about everything — Champ Cars, IndyCars, prototypes, sports cars, Formula E, NASCAR, and even a Formula 1 car. On this episode of Racers Unchained, she sits down with Paul Tracy for a wide-ranging conversation about the highs, lows and hard lessons from a career that has taken her all over the world. Legge opens up about coming through karting and Formula Ford withou...

Ryan Hunter-Reay joins Paul Tracy for an honest conversation about one of the most accomplished careers in modern IndyCar racing. The 2012 IndyCar champion and 2014 Indianapolis 500 winner looks back at his rise through karting, his championship season, the unforgettable final laps of the Indy 500, and why instinct—not planning—led to one of the boldest passes in Indianapolis history. Hunter-Reay...

Graham Rahal joins Paul Tracy for a candid conversation about where IndyCar stands today, what it will take to grow the series, and why he believes the next generation of race cars needs to be lighter, faster and more demanding to drive. Rahal shares his thoughts on the future of the championship, the impact of simulators, the push for new events like Arlington, and why bringing back multiple chas...

Sam Schmidt was a rising IndyCar star, 5th in points, a race winner, teammates with Arie Luyendyk, when a testing crash in January 2000 left him paralyzed from the neck down and unable to breathe on his own. Doctors said he'd never walk or talk again. 25 years later, he's built one of the most successful teams in Indy Lights history, co-owned an IndyCar team with Dan Wheldon and later Arrow McLare...

Stefan Johansson joins Racers Unchained for a wide-ranging conversation about one of the most fascinating careers in motorsport. From racing in Formula 1 alongside legends like Ayrton Senna, Alain Prost, Niki Lauda and Gilles Villeneuve’s era, to winning at Le Mans and competing at the sharp end of IndyCar, Johansson reflects on the moments that shaped his journey through the sport’s most dangerou...

Romain Grosjean joins Racers Unchained for an open and candid conversation about one of the most extraordinary careers in modern motorsport. From dominating the junior ranks on his way to Formula 1 to rebuilding his career after setbacks, Grosjean reflects on the victories, disappointments, and defining moments that shaped him as a driver. The discussion revisits the horrific Bahrain crash that ne...

Mark Blundell joins Racers Unchained for a fast-moving conversation covering the highs, risks, and realities of life at the top levels of motorsport. From battling through the Formula 1 paddock in the 1990s to winning at Le Mans and racing in IndyCar, Blundell shares stories from an era when drivers pushed the limits every weekend and personalities were just as big as the machinery. He reflects on...

Simon Pagenaud joins Racers Unchained for a raw conversation about the moments that shaped his career — from terrifying crashes and career-defining pressure to leaving France behind in pursuit of a future in racing. Simon reflects on the accident he barely remembers, the sacrifices it took to keep climbing the motorsports ladder, and how close he came to walking away from racing entirely. The Indy...

He Was Beating Vettel's Lap Times. Then It All Fell Apart — Robert Doornbos | Racers Unchained He went from tennis prodigy to Formula One in four years. Then Sebastian Vettel took his seat. Robert Doornbos joins Paul Tracy on Racers Unchained for one of the most fascinating career stories in motorsport — from a chance lunch with Jacques Villeneuve at the Belgian Grand Prix that changed everything,...

Derek Daly joins Racers Unchained and wastes no time getting into one of the most unbelievable stories in motorsport history—how he managed to finish both first and second in the same 12 Hours of Sebring. From brutal endurance stints in 1,000-horsepower machines with no power steering to pushing through exhaustion and heat, Daly walks through the kind of racing that simply doesn’t exist anymore. I...

Paul Tracy sits down with Marco Andretti. Marco opens up about the fine line between control and chaos behind the wheel, breaking down the split-second decisions that define a driver. From gambling on slicks in unpredictable weather to explaining why too much grip can be more dangerous than not enough, Marco gives a raw, technical look at what drivers actually feel in the car—and why “predictabili...

Mika Salo joins Racers Unchained and proves just how far a driver will go to compete. On race day in Miami, Salo was driving down from Fort Lauderdale when his lung collapsed—a recurring issue that had followed him since his Formula 3000 days in Japan. Struggling to breathe and unsure if he could even start, he made the call to race anyway. The result? A podium finish. From freezing winters in Fin...

Tony Stewart joins Racers Unchained for a wide-ranging, unfiltered conversation about the biggest moments of his legendary career — from terrifying crashes and IndyCar speeds to NASCAR politics and life after racing full-time. The three-time NASCAR Cup Series champion, 1997 IndyCar champion, and NASCAR Hall of Famer reflects on the wildest stories from his career, including the most violent crash...

This week on Racers Unchained, Paul Tracy sits down with legendary Trans-Am icon Paul Gentilozzi for one of the wildest origin stories you’ll ever hear. Before the championships.
Before the Daytona wins.
Before the Hall of Fame. There were midnight “borrowed” cars, 4-speed joyrides, and a 13-year-old kid who couldn’t wait to drive anything with wheels. Paul Gentilozzi takes us through: * The rainy...

What do you do when you find Michael Schumacher’s damaged wheel sitting in the trash after practice at Belgian Grand Prix? If you’re Darren L. Jack… you haul it three miles through the woods and take it home. In this episode of Racers Unchained, Paul Tracy sits down with the man behind Hall of Fame Collection — the world’s largest motorsports memorabilia collection — to unpack how a kid sneaking i...

Justin Marks joins Paul Tracy on Racers Unchained for a wide-ranging conversation about driving on the edge, taking risks, and building something different in modern motorsports. Marks recounts the moment that changed his driving approach forever — committing flat-out into Turn 1 — and how that same mindset carried through his career. From growing up as a racing fan with no karting background, to...

NASCAR icon Mark Martin joins Paul Tracy on Racers Unchained for a wide-ranging, brutally honest conversation about racing, confidence, aging, and the evolution of the sport. With 40 Cup wins, 49 Xfinity wins, five IROC championships, and inductions into both the NASCAR Hall of Fame and Motorsports Hall of Fame, Mark reflects on what truly made him competitive—not raw aggression, but building a be...

In this episode of Racers Unchained with Paul Tracy, Bill Auberlen walks through a career that began in Southern California motocross, jumped straight into endurance racing, and turned into a 30-year factory relationship with BMW. From prototypes and GT cars to Le Mans, Daytona, and everything in between, this is a rare, firsthand look at what longevity at the top really looks like. They talk abou...

On this episode of Racers Unchained, Paul Tracy sits down with former IndyCar and Formula One star Cristiano da Matta for an honest and emotional conversations in series history. Cristiano opens up about the terrifying deer-on-track accident that nearly took his life, what he remembers from that moment, and the long road that followed. The two old friends reunite after almost 20 years and dive int...

In this episode of Racers Unchained, Indy 500 winner and fan favorite Tony Kanaan sits down with Paul Tracy to reflect on a legendary career that spanned more than two decades at the top of IndyCar. From go-karts in Brazil and Formula 3 in Italy, through the ups and downs of the IMSA and IndyCar world, to turning mentor and team principal in the sport. They discuss the slippery slope of career tra...

No, this isn’t a joke... Longtime GM factory driver, Kelly Collins tells Paul the wild story about how he went from a kid on a motocross bike to off-road to racing school instructor to the podium at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Collins unlikely journey to the top of racing featured brushes with Juan Pablo Montoya and Bryan Herta, but maybe not the way you’re imagining. Collins would go on to spend fou...

https://offers.racer.com/subscribe for RACER+ and magazine offer! In this episode of Racers Unchained, Paul Tracy interviews legendary motorsports athlete Jeff Ward, known for his rare success across multiple disciplines. Ward first rose to fame as a seven-time AMA Motocross and Supercross Champion, becoming one of the sport’s most dominant riders in the 1980s. After retiring from two wheels, he s...