LONDON, ONT. — Calling him "bold" and "decisive," London's Fanshawe College announced Monday that it will award an honorary diploma this Thursday to racing driver Paul Tracy, a.k.a. "the Thrill from West Hill."

Tracy will be the first athlete to be honoured in this way by the college, which will be observing its 50th anniversary next year, and according to its communications department, only the third racing personality in the world to be granted either an honourary degree or diploma. Enzo Ferrari and Sir Jackie Stewart are the other two, research shows.

Now retired from professional competition and living in Scottsdale, Ariz., Scarborough native Tracy owns a motorcycle accessories business and is a colour commentator on Verizon IndyCar Series races for the NBC Sports Channel, seen in Canada on Rogers Sportsnet.

In a telephone interview from Last Vegas early Monday afternoon, Tracy told the Star that he's excited about receiving the diploma, which is something that's been in the works for more than a year.

"They approached me about coming up for the spring graduation a year ago but that's when racing is really getting going and I just couldn't work it in," he said. "So then we settled on the fall convocation. Although I'm busy here at the SEMA show (a huge automotive marketing expo held each year in Las Vegas), I've made arrangements to fly to Toronto and then to drive to London.

"I'm a little nervous about one thing, though," he said. "They said I have to make a 10-minute speech and I'm not really looking forward to that."

In a release that paid tribute to Tracy's speed and tenacity that earned him 31 Indy car victories, the 2003 CART Indy car championship and his induction into the Canadian Motorsport Hall of Fame, Fanshawe President Peter Devlin said:

“Paul is a person whose life matches the very spirit Fanshawe represents. Paul has always been bold, decisive and successful in his life and he continues to transform himself to this day. From race car driver to business owner (motorcycle accessory products) and TV personality, Paul has looked for new challenges and met them with courage. We are proud to have him join the Fanshawe family.”

In 1987 when he was 19, Tracy graduated from Sir Wilfrid Laurier Collegiate Institute in Scarborough—barely. He was a Canadian national Formula Ford champion when he was 16 and won the last-ever Can-Am Series race when he was 17, making him the youngest winner in the history of that championship.

"I didn't have a lot of time for school near the end," he told the Star, adding that he has no post-secondary school education. "I was racing in England and Europe and wasn't around school much. My last year in high school, I was away for two or three months. I wrote the exams but I barely scraped through."

Of course, any time you talk about Paul Tracy, you can bet the hand of his father Tony Tracy is in there somewhere and this was no exception.

"One of the courses I took that last year was auto shop," Tracy said. "So my dad went to the school and convinced the principal that I was over in England working in the Van Diemen factory (a racing car manufacturer) and that I should get a credit for auto shop even though I wasn't attending. And the principal went for it.

"Of course, although I was in England at the time, the closest I ever got to a Van Diemen was racing one."

About 600 graduates in broadcasting, business and several technology programs as well as about 1,000 family members and guests will be in attendance Thursday when Tracy, dressed in cap and gown, receives his diploma.

And he told the Star that although he hasn't signed a television contract for 2017, he expects it will happen soon. "NBC hasn't fired me yet," he said, "and if they do they're going to be firing the fans because the fans love me."