Race Car Driver Greg Tracy Pushes Life to the Limit!
April 16, 2015/
It is always fun to see what friends from high school end up doing with their lives! Some have gone on to do things that are pretty extraordinary and my friend Greg Tracy is one of them! It isn’t everyday that someone breaks a World Record or wins one of the most difficult car races in the world. He has won the Pike’s Peak race 7 times which once you see the actual race track you’ll be pretty amazed. I had a hard time watching one of his YouTube clips showing his view while racing around the cliffs. And he and another driver raced the “Hot Wheels Double Loop Dare” that took place at the 2012 Summer X-Games in Los Angeles. Greg and Tanner Foust raced through a 60-foot vertical loop modeled after the new Double Dare Snare Hot Wheels toy. This was the first time in history two cars mounted a vertical loop at once. Greg won and holds the World Record!
I had a chance to speak to Greg about his career as a stunt car driver, some of the movies he has been in, and what he hopes his children gain from seeing him pushing himself to the limit. I think you’ll find his story and life pretty fascinating and inspiring!
Pike’s Peak
Have you always been interested in motorcycles and race car driving?
I have been passionate about motorcycles, racing, cars, speed and pushing the limits for as far back as I can remember. Growing up in Southern California was the best place to be exposed to this stuff. We lived next to an orange grove so we were always building bmx tracks, jumps, and berms. We would spend entire summers pushing each other to jump bigger and bigger gaps. My Dad raced motorcycles and went for a world speed record on a waterski in 1965 at Marine Stadium in Belmont Shore. We had Saddleback motocross track in Orange and that was where I decided that I wanted to make a living with a throttle instead of a pen!
You’ve won Pikes Peak International Hill Climb 7 times! What makes this race so unique (and difficult).
I have won the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb 7 times, including setting the record last year in the electric car division. It is funny how famous this race is everywhere in the world except the US. It is the second oldest race in the United States. The race itself starts at 9000 ft. altitude and goes up to 14,200 feet. The road is 12.42 miles long with 156 turns. My record in the electric car is 9 minutes and 8 seconds. I also won the race representing Ducati twice and BMW motorcycles. The race only happens once a year and the rest of the time it is a heavily travelled tourist road. The cliffs are anywhere from 10 to 3000 feet high, so a mistake can be pretty devastating. I crashed in practice in 2012 and broke my hip and back and considered myself lucky if that says anything about the risk involved.
How did you become a stuntman? What has been one of your more memorable stunts and movies you’ve worked on?
I was very fortunate to grow up racing with quite a few kids who’s parents were in the film business. One in particular, Mouse McCoy who has been a best friend as long as I can remember had started working in the film industry as a stuntman and while I was racing kept pushing me to get involved in the stunt business. He did not have to push that hard! We have remained best friends and he has went on to direct so many fun projects, from the Hot Wheels campaign to the movie Act of Valor.
Worst wipeout?
As you most likely remember I spent quite a bit of time growing up on crutches, in casts, stitched up, and banged up. My brother Gary was the same. I think Child Protective Services visited our house on more than one occasion!
I hate to admit it but the crashes and injuries hurt so much worse now. I am sure getting older has something to do with it, but I also have a pretty good idea of what to expect heal time now, so I will be laying there on the ground thinking wow this is going to take 3 months to heal. I will not be able to do the things I want to for this long! That can mess with you mentally a fair amount. My last crash at Pikes Peak was a big one that I feel like I am still healing from. I crashed at about 90 mph into a solid rock face wall. I broke my back and hip and was unconscious for some time. I still managed to race the following week. Looking back I would not recommend that to myself again.
Tell us about your World Record!
I have so many memorable projects that I have been a part of, but probably the biggest life memory has been my involvement with Hot Wheels, from coordinating some World Records to actually breaking the World Record for the biggest loop in a car, (7 stories high)! To be able to bring to life the iconic Hot Wheels loop felt like I had completed the circle, (no pun intended) on my career. I spent days and days with the Loop toy as a kid. Of course I also remembered how many time the car didn’t make it around. When it came time to try it for the first time I had to take a deep breath and believe that everything I had done leading up to this would get me through it.
It is amazing to me that when you’re a kid you look at life as being forever, time is something that you’re not the slightest bit concerned with. I never anticipated that in the end I would have accomplished what I have. But, the point I want to make to people is that you do not just wake up one day and say now I am this or now I am that. It is so important to make a commitment to what you want your life to look like, then make sure everyday you’re building what your dream looks like. For me it was risk. I have always felt the most alive when I was pushing my personal limits. In life if you do not risk anything you risk everything, so if it is a better more rewarding job or finding the love of your life, it is not just going to fall in your lap, you will have to make it happen!!!
Thank you Greg for sharing your story and inspiring words!
Melissa Northway, M.S. is a mom, founder of dandelion moms, and a children’s book author. Her award-winning book Penelope the Purple Pirate was inspired by her little tomboy. Penelope is a modern-day Pippi Longstocking who teaches girls and boys the importance of having fun while at the same time teaching them to be kind and respectful of others and their differences. Dandelion moms was created for moms to share their stories and to inspire and be inspired! You can reach Melissa at: info@dandelionmoms.com and follow her @melissanorthway and @dandelionmoms. Check out her author web site at: www.melissanorthway.com, as she hands out loads of goodies from the treasure chest.
