During his past 13 years in CART we've referred to Paul Tracy as:

Undeniably talented. Unbelievably careless. Fearless. Clueless. Refreshing. Infuriating. Wildy entertaining. Wild. Good for racing. A Bad Boy. Aggressive. Insecure. Blindingly fast. Unable to see the big picture.

We've also always called Tracy a winner.

But, until this past weekend, there had been one noticeable expression missing from all those descriptions:

Champion.

And the defining race of the 34-year-old Canadian's first Champ Car crown certainly mirrored the many ups and downs of his career.

He started third, got spun out in the first corner, charged back to ninth, was involved in another melee that cost him three laps but still clinched the 2003 title when Bruno Junqueira crashed out.

"It was a flashback of my career packed into two hours," said Tracy on Tuesday afternoon from his Las Vegas home. "It was good, bad, I was out of it, I was back in it. I went from being confident to being pissed to being depressed to being elated.

"I think I went through every range of emotion in that race."

After 209 starts, 26 victories, 19 pole positions and leading 3,386 laps, P.T. finally earned that precious No. 1.

	“	It was good, bad, I was out of it, I was back in it. I went from being confident to being pissed to being depressed to being elated. I think I went through every range of emotion in that race. ”
		— Paul Tracy on his title-clinching run at Surfers Paradise

"My first championship as a professional driver was in 1990 in Indy Lights and I've been chasing to find that feeling again ever since then," said the man who ranks second only to Michael Andretti in laps led of CART competition.

"I've been chasing that dream and chasing that feeling and, you know, I have seen a lot of people come, and seen a lot of people go throughout this sport. I have just always tried so hard and just kept trying 110 percent all the time, trying to get to this point in my life."

Third in points on three ocassions (1993, '94, '99), Tracy acknowledged the frustration.

"It's taken longer than I wanted it to and there has been a lot of frustration, a lot of good times, a lot of wins and a lot of accolades," he continued. "There's been a lot of big highs and big lows.

"I don't feel that much different except now people can quit asking me 'When are you going to win one'? It was like a big weight on me and now that's been lifted."

Besides his candor to the press and outlaw spirit, the other thing that's always endeared P.T. to the fans and motorsports media is his go-for-the-throat driving style. It cost him a couple of championships, and his job, while driving for Roger Penske, but the "Thrill From West Hill" knows only one speed.

"Everybody's got their own style of driving and the way I've driven my whole life was to try to win and put it all out there every time," said Tracy, who owns seven wins this season going into the season finale at California Speedway. "People always told me I should change but I can't change my natural instincts.

"Some guys are naturally risk takers and I guess that's my category. I take chances. Sometimes it pays off and sometimes it doesn't."

Hooking up with Gerald Forsythe and the Player's team seemed to give Tracy that secure feeling he seemed to lack at Team Penske or Newman-Haas.

"Bob Bexson (Imperial Tobacco) and Gerry have believed in me for a long time and they always wanted me. They allowed me to get the equipment and people I'm comfortable with and anything else I needed to do the job.

"With my old engineer, Tony Cicale, Todd Malloy and Mike Pulowski we all clicked and the highlights were winning two of the three races in Canada (Toronto and Vancouver)."

With several of CART's big names and big teams moving to the Indy Racing League this year, Tracy's competition wasn't as tough as it had been his previous 12 seasons.

"The competition level is still there at the top five or six spots," he replied. "Winning a championship is a tough deal and you've got to work at it. This is still the most challenging series for a driver."

Jimmy Vasser concurred.

"The state of open wheel racing today doesn't take anything away from Paul's championship," said the 1996 CART champ. "It's amazing he hasn't been the champion before this because he's one of the greatest drivers in the world."

Unlike NASCAR, whose 2003 champion may wind up with only one win, Tracy took his long-awaited prize by sticking to his guns and driving flat out. True, he shot himself in the foot a couple times, but overcame the bleeding with performance.

"I don't run for points and cruise around," he declared. "Sometimes I win and sometimes I fail but I won the title and I guess I did it my way.

"It took longer than I wanted but it was worth the wait."

Robin Miller covers open wheel racing for ESPN and ESPN.com.