VANCOUVER – Paul Tracy’s challengers for the CART Champ Car title may be getting a bit discouraged, and the Vancouver Molson Indy doesn’t look like it’s going to be much help.

Tracy, coming off an emotional victory two weeks ago in Toronto, will be the favorite when he drives his Team Player’s Lola onto the downtown Vancouver street course for opening practice Friday.

“I like the idea of having back-to-back races in Canada,” said Tracy, who was raised in the Toronto suburb of Scarborough. “It’s almost like having a homestand, the way it is in other sports. But it’s even more fun having a second straight race in Canada when you’re coming off a victory in the first one.”

Tracy started the year with three straight wins and looked like he was going to run away with his first CART championship. Then he gave his rivals a whiff of hope with a two-race slump during CART’s European swing through England and Germany.

A 26-point lead turned into a 10-point deficit to Michel Jourdain following the race in Milwaukee on May 31.

Things have picked up nicely for Tracy since then. He has had four consecutive top-three finishes and has moved back on top. Tracy leads Bruno Junqueira by 15 points – that despite the Brazilian finishing in the top four in each of the last four events.

Jourdain has fallen to third, 26 points behind.

“For sure, every race is really important now for the championship,” said Junqueira, who took over the ride of 2002 series champion Cristiano da Matta when the latter left for Formula One following the season. “That’s especially true of the street races because it’s very easy to make a mistake and very easy not to score points.

“You have to be consistent, and Vancouver is a difficult track.”

It’s also the first race of three in as many weeks, with Road America and Mid-Ohio to follow.

Jourdain, who finished second to Tracy in Toronto, said, “It was good to get back on the podium, but we still lost ground to Paul in the championship.”

“Being successful in this stretch of three races in three weeks is important. As a team fighting for the championship, we really want to build some momentum and carry it through this stretch.”

Of the top three, Tracy is the only Vancouver winner getting to Victory Circle in 2000.

“It was mission accomplished in Toronto, and the mission hasn’t changed for Vancouver,” he said. “Fortunately, I’ve had both a race win and a podium in Vancouver in the last three years, so that’s an added confidence-builder.”

Tracy finished second last year to Dario Franchitti, who moved this year to the rival Indy Racing League but is out for the season with a back injury.

“This season has been mostly really good, but the races in England and Germany showed how fast it can get away from you,” Tracy said. “We’re not going to let down our guard for a minute.”