The deal to bring 1995 CART champion Jacques Villeneuve back to champ cars for 2003 is still very much alive, according to his manager Craig Pollock and CART team owner Gerry Forsythe.

Villeneuve and Pollock turned up at last weekend's CART show in Miami, Fla., to talk with CEO Chris Pook, some old friends and also to set the record straight.

"If the right deal was put together, Jacques would come here and drive again," said Pollock, whose client and best friend has been strapped with an uncompetitive ride in Formula One since 1999. "He loves CART and he's been very vocal about it and he's got a lot of issues with the IRL and what it's done to open wheel in this country.

"People might perceive it as a step down, but it would be a kick in the teeth to Formula One and a big boost for CART."

Several weeks ago, Forsythe (who co-owns the Player's CART team) initiated a plan to bring back his former driver and join fellow Canadians Paul Tracy, Patrick Carpentier and Alex Tagliani in the Player's lineup for 2003.

"A lot of people laughed at that story and said there was no way, but it's still very much a reality," said Forsythe, who also owns a portion of Villeneuve's British American Racing operation in F1. "A decision needs to be reached pretty quickly but, believe me, there is quite a bit of interest."

Originally, BAR director David Richards wanted to farm out the '97 F1 champion and his $20 million salary to Forsythe and CART in 2003 and bring him back for 2004 and 2005 to close out his career. Both BAR and Player's are members of the British American Tobacco family and Villeneuve's contract with BAR expires following 2003.

But, evidently, the hang-up now is that Richards and BAR want to only give the 31-year-old French Canadian one more year in F1 -- 2004.

	Villeneuve

"The key is that Jacques has to go back to F1," said Pollock, who met with Forsythe and Pook in Miami. "He would give a year to Player's to help them win a championship and also give BAR a chance to build a better package for next year.

"As I said, Jacques would not be against coming back to CART for 2003 but it would have to be the right deal and a deal that suits all parties." There was talk of an offer of $50 million, but Pollock rolled his eyes at that claims and said regardless of the financial enticement, Villeneuve isn't driven by the almighty dollar.

"Jacques is not run by money, he's run by racing and competition," said Pollock, whose client earns a reported $20 annually at BAR but hasn't scored a victory since '97 because of uncompetitive engine and chassis packages. "He deserves a lot of money because he is one of the best and he took a risk at going to BAR so he's paid to take that risk.

"It hurt his career, obviously, but he believes in BAR and believes they will win."

Pollock, who admitted his recent plan to acquire the Arrows F1 team was a done deal before it came apart, also revealed he would take a serious look at starting a CART team.

"Personally, if the right deal came along I would be quite interested in starting a team over here because I feel the timing is perfect and CART needs racers who understand the international scene," he said.

"It would be very, very difficult for 2003 because time is very short but I am definitely interested."

Tracy hits mute button

	Tracy

The worst kept secret in motorsports for the past three months is that Tracy has opted to stay in CART with Player's, but the 33-year-old Toronto native says he's not allowed to talk about it.

"I'd like to be able to tell my fans what I'm doing next year but I have been informed by my current employer that I cannot make any announcements or discuss it," said Tracy, whose Team Green teammates Michael Andretti and Dario Franchitti are headed to the Indy Racing League in 2003 under new ownership that includes Andretti.

"Those guys made their announcement so I assumed I would be able to make mine, but I was given a gag order and told I could be found in breach of contract if I talk about.

"Maybe they are mad at me because I didn't go to the IRL with them."

Kevin Savoree, one of the co-owners of Andretti-Green Racing along with Kim Green, said he didn't want any surprises from the outspoken CART veteran.

"I guess it all depends on what Paul wants to tell his fans and what is going to be said," Savoree said. "We tried to be as low-key as possible with our announcement and we don't want to turn this into a CART vs. IRL thing.

"Paul is still an employee of Team KOOL Green for three more races and we have restrictive covenants about what can be announced and Paul has to respect that."

Tracy incurred a fine of $50,000 by his team last month after the Denver race for supposedly making disparaging comments about his Honda engine.

"I don't care if he calls the cars a piece of ... but I do care when he says the engine doesn't have any power," said Savoree, whose new team will be the factory Honda team in the IRL.

Tracy says that will no longer be a problem.

"It's simple," he said with a grin. "When I'm in the car I just don't say a word on the radio anymore. Total silence."

Which is really tough to imagine for CART's most colorful character.

Hornish gets tour

	Hornish

Two-time IRL champion Sam Hornish Jr. got a guided tour of the Hendrick Motorsports shop last week by owner Rick Hendrick and the NASCAR team is definitely interested in the open-wheel star.

But Pennzoil Panther Racing co-owner John Barnes said his 22-year-old talent is definitely staying in the IRL for 2003.

"I hope Sam enjoyed his trip (to Hendrick) and I knew he was going to be there," said Barnes, whose squad of IRL originals knocked off Roger Penske's 1-2 punch of Helio Castroneves and Gil de Ferran this past season. "But I can guarantee you that in 2003 he is going to be driving that yellow No. 4 Pennzoil car.

"We love this kid and we're going to do everything we can to keep him. Everybody assumes people can walk in and take him away but we are not going to roll over."

Rumors that Penske, DEI and Hendrick have approached Panther about selling Hornish's contract are nonsense, according to Barnes.

"First off, there is no buyout clause in Sam's contract," he said. "And nobody, not one person, has talked to us about buying out his contract. And we have no desire to sell his contract.

"I know Sam is going to honor our contract next year and we're trying to keep him for as long as possible. But none of us have a crystal ball."

Ken Howes, the director of competition for Hendrick Motorsport, admitted Hornish is on their radar.

"We think he's got huge talent and, if he's thinking at all about Winston Cup, we want him to think about this place," Howes said.

Notes