Tracy brings unique voice to NBCSN booth

NEWTON - It's nothing new for former athletes to step into the broadcast booth when the athletic part of their careers is finished. That tradition dates back as far as sports have aired on TV.

ESPN has led the way in that area with former athletes for decades, but as Fox Sports 1 and NBCSN have stepped up their game in live sports coverage, so to have they in the talent they hire.

For NBC and NBCSN specifically, as they hit their stride with the second half of the NASCAR season, the last five years have seen a focus on former competitors as analysts that have recent experience in competition and are dynamic behind the mic.

Enter former IndyCar, ChampCar and CART driver and lightning rod Paul Tracy.

'Last year (NBCSN) asked me if I wanted to do some races. It was just a couple to start, then right away they asked how many more I could do,” Tracy said. 'I think people see me as a guy who's current. I've been in a car, I know what it takes to win. I know what these cars are like to drive. A lot of the guys they have on ABC or other networks, they haven't driven in a long time. After a while you lose touch with what's going on. '

Tracy is widely considered one of the best American open wheel racers to sit behind the wheel - his last Verizon IndyCar Series start coming in 2011. He had a 20-plus-year career across the three American open-wheel series, winning 31 races - good for ninth on the all-time list - and ruffling more than a few feathers along the way.

His no-nonsense personality comes through simply on TV, with an unvarnished approach endearing him to viewers and his bosses alike. The only problem becomes that as intense as he is, he's not vociferous like some of his counterparts in other series or networks.

'The biggest thing for me is the energy level in my voice,” Tracy said. 'I don't yell, I'm not really like that. I have to talk louder and more forceful than I would normally.”

What makes him such a valuable voice for NBCSN is his connection to the current drivers and teams.

While others on the broadcasts spend hours researching and planning their work, Tracy takes a different approach. He's just as prepared when he steps into the NBCSN booth like he did Saturday night for the Iowa Corn 300 at Iowa Speedway, it just happens in a different way.

'I don't prepare like these other guys do. They're all dicking around on the Internet trying to find stories. If I want to talk to these guys I just go walk into their truck and talk to them,” Tracy said. 'Whether it's Graham (Rahal), (Scott) Dixon, or (Juan Pablo) Montoya, I can just walk into their motor home and say, ‘What's up? What's going on?' They'll tell me straight.

'Guys can be guarded to media, they won't tell you the straight story. I wouldn't say anything on TV that would throw anyone under the bus, but I can get a more honest version of what's going on.”

As for Iowa Speedway and his take? He never got a chance to race at the 7/8-mile track, but like so many others, loves the way it races.

He got to call last year's dramatic run to the finish by Ryan Hunter-Reay, and expected a repeat this season.

'It's not too hard to analyze, because this track is kind of similar to tracks I've been to,” Tracy said. 'I'd say it's most similar to Nazareth. It's a similar length, similar kind of banking in the corners. I

'It's got its own unique qualities. It's fast, it's got multiple grooves. It was a great race last year. Strategy played out with new tires, old tires. It (was) the same thing Saturday night.”

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