CHAMP RACING FOR FUN AND PROFIT; Paul Gentilozzi steps into the big tent as a team owner.(Motorsports)

Byline: BILL McGUIRE ``I was all set to do the IRL this year,'' said Paul Gentilozzi. ``Then one day I got a phone call from Chris Pook.'' It's well known that CART CEO Pook can be extremely persuasive. Gentilozzi is a veteran Trans-Am driver and team owner, and now, after taking over the management of the Trans-Am, a series operator.

And for 2003, he was also looking to move his own team up to the big time, taking sponsor Johnson Controls, a major automotive parts supplier, with him. Plan A called for Gentilozzi's Rocketsports outfit to run the entire IRL season coupled with a ...

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