Greg Tracy is known for crazy stunts in movies like the Bourne Ultimatum and the many car commercials he does….oh, and there was the Hot Wheels Double Dare Loop where he earned a spot in the Guinness Book of Records. But for me, he is my business partner, mentor, confidante and most importantly one of my very best friends. We are tight. There is only one person closer to me and that is my life partner, Andy DeVol.
Pikes Peak has always been that one time a year that I knew I would not only spending time with Greg, but his family as well. Simply, there are some of the best people you could ever meet.
This is first time in about 8 years that I haven’t been here with the Tracy family and Greg. It feels weird and I miss them.
But, it has been fun seeing old friends, making new friends and potentially watching Greg’s record be broken. I know that sounds odd, but Greg is the type of guy who is genuine in his spirit of competition. He believes that “records are meant to be broken…” and this year, Rhys Millen driving the one-megawatt electric car called the eO PP03 developed in Latvia by Drive eO could do it.
Rhys Millen is also a friend of Greg’s, as they are part of the Driver’s Inc. stunt team.
The Drive eO team has competed against Greg for the past two years, and honestly has had a pretty tough run at Pikes Peak. Either through sorting out technical problems and even a crash, their Pikes Peak experiences have been daunting to say the least. They are really great people and it is obvious how much effort they have put into their program.
This year with Rhys as the driver and new enhancements to the car, they have it dialed in. They are poised to break Greg Tracy’s record and he is not even here to defend it.
Greg’s son, Lane, and I have been texting over past few days talking about the race and comparing notes about his Dad’s time stats from last year versus Rhys’ from this year. Oddly, the connection of chit-chatting about whether or not Rhys Millen would break his Dad’s record has been comforting. Once again, I feel connected to the Tracys even though I talk to Greg multiple times a day.
Lane is quick to point out that Rhys is faster on the bottom this year but his Dad was still faster on the top last year. Who knows? But I do know, it will be the class to watch and the talk of this year’s Pikes Peak International Hill Climb.
I also know that Greg genuinely wants Rhys and the entire Drive eO team to have a great run. That’s just who he is.
But for today…and possibly for another year, Greg Tracy holds the record for the Electric Car Division with a time of 9:08. He is also the only racer to go under 10 minutes on two and four wheels.
With all of that said, I had planned to post this story and video yesterday, as a “Throwback Thursday” but we had a tragedy on the Peak. Motorcycle rider, Carl Sorensen, would lose his life while practicing for the race he loves. We all have heavy hearts and somehow, all of us here on this mountain are a family.
We laugh, live, compete, win, lose and also grieve together.
This video had been planned for many, many months but somehow “something” always got in the way of it being finished.
Well, today it is finished and I think for our Pikes Peak family it is somehow comforting. Greg has a way of finding the perfect words to define why we all are here. I hope you agree.
