Indy 500: de Ferran Dragon race preview
HISTORY LESSON The de Ferran Dragon Racing team will make its fourth appearance at the Indianapolis 500 when drivers Raphael Matos and Davey Hamilton start 12th and 14th respectively in the 94th running of the race. This will be the first two-car ...
HISTORY LESSON
The de Ferran Dragon Racing team will make its fourth appearance at the
Indianapolis 500 when drivers Raphael Matos and Davey Hamilton start 12th
and 14th respectively in the 94th running of the race. This will be the
first two-car effort the team has ever had. Ryan Briscoe (2007), Tomas
Scheckter (2008) and Matos (2009) have driven for the team at IMS the last
three seasons. Briscoe finished fifth; Scheckter and Matos were both
running in the top five before finding trouble in the pits on what should
have been their final stops. A broken drive shaft ruined Scheckter's strong
run on lap 156, while Matos fell from 5th to 21st when the right rear tire
was not fastened on his stop on lap 133. He was involved in a crash with
Vitor Meira 40 laps later trying to make up ground.
DRIVER-OWNER
The last time Gil de Ferran was at the Indianapolis 500 in an official
IndyCar capacity he was drinking milk and kissing the bricks as the winner
of the 2003 race. He returns in 2010 as co-owner and president of de Ferran
Dragon Racing, which actually puts him in good company. De Ferran becomes
only the fifth former Indy 500 champion to enter the race as an owner of an
IndyCar team since 1961. He joins Eddie Cheever, AJ Foyt, Parnelli Jones
and Bobby Rahal on that list. Now de Ferran sets out to join another list.
Cheever, Foyt and Rahal have all won the race as both driver and owner.
Cheever won in 1998 as owner and driver.
GIL ON STARTING 12TH AND 14TH
"Both cars are in a good starting position. It's a 500 mile race and we can
do very well from where we are, frankly win. We just have to get it right."
HISTORY OF 12 AND 14
Starting up front certainly improves your chances to do well in the Indy
500, but doesn't guarantee it. There have been 21 winners who have started
12th or lower in the Indy 500. Al Unser Jr. won the race starting 12th in
1992 and Bob Sweikart won after qualifying 14th in 1955.
FAST FRIENDS
When Raphael Matos collided with Vitor Meira in turn 1 of the 2009
Indianapolis 500, it not only ended the day for both, but it also knocked
Meira out for the season with a fractured back. What made the incident even
more difficult for Matos was that it was with perhaps his best friend in
the series. The two live near one another in Miami and often train together
throughout the year. They have already gone on one long bike ride together
here in Indianapolis this week. "It bothered me a lot especially at the
banquet when he wasn't there. He's a very dedicated guy and it hurt me that
he wasn't able to race anymore. It has been great having him back. The
first time I drove through turn 1 this week I thought about him and the
accident. I'm guessing he thought about it too."
JUNQUEIRA HELPS LAUNCH MATOS' RACING CAREER
Aside from being two of the seven Brazilian drivers in the field, Raphael
Matos and Bruno Junqueira hail from the same hometown, Belo Horizonte and
have known each other since they were kids. In fact, the Junqueiras get
some credit for launching Matos' racing career. Matos' father, Sergio,
bought Raphael's first gokart from Junqueira's father, Jose, when Raphael
was 11 years old. Matos started racing shortly thereafter.
BRINGING IT HOME
Raphael Matos has finished 15 consecutive races the third longest streak in
the series. Danica Patrick has completed 21 in a row and Dario Franchitti
19. The last time Matos did not finish a race was when he crashed in Iowa
in 2009. He closed the 2009 season by finishing 10 races in a row and has
completed the first four in 2010. Scott Dixon holds the all-time record at
28 straight.
LEARNING EXPERIENCE
Matos heard many things to be aware of heading into the race last year,
including advice from past champions Gil de Ferran and Rick Mears. "My
biggest learning was racing with turbulence, racing in the draft and
getting used to racing in traffic. I also learned how much the car can
change throughout the race with the weather conditions and track
conditions. People tell you about those things, but you really only learn
once you experience that yourself. I feel much more comfortable and much
more experienced here this year."
ROLLING 7
Matos is one of seven Brazilian drivers in the 2010 Indy 500 field. There
have been three Brazilians who have won the race - Helio Castroneves (3),
Emerson Fitipaldi (2) and Gil de Ferran (1).
DAVEY'S INDY 500 RESULTS
Davey Hamilton will be making his 10th race appearance at the Indianapolis
500. He has posted three top 10 finishes, including a career-best fourth
place run in 1998. By qualifying 14th Hamilton has secured his best
starting position since 1999 when he started 11th.
MULTIMEDIA MAN
In addition to his workout program, Hamilton uses the media to help him
prepare for the Indy 500. He uses his time in the IMS Radio booth and past
race tapes to get a better feel for performance and strategy. "I may not be
racing every week like the rest of these guys, but I am at every race and I
watch all of the drivers when I'm doing the broadcasts. You can learn a lot
by watching to see how these guys are running. I will definitely watch tape
of previous Indy 500s to see how they all played out. I like to see how
close guys run to each other, how good cars are in traffic and what calls
each of the teams are making."
STAYING FIT
Hamilton does not get to race every weekend, but he trains like he does,
especially as the Indy 500 approaches. He works out on his own much of the
offseason doing an hour of lifting and an hour of cardio training on the
bike, elliptical or treadmill each day. He reunites with his long time
trainer, Steve Hoffacker one month before Indy in order to ramp up his
program. Aside from light weights and cardio, Hoffacker runs Hamilton
through an intense stretching program to enhance flexibility. "I work on
the race all year long. By staying physically fit it helps keep you
mentally fit and you need that in this race. The stretching really frees
you up and that helps me relax."
IMPRESSIVE PERFORMANCE
Even though he has driven only four times in 10 years, still feels the
effects of that 2001 crash in Texas and is the oldest driver in the field
at 47, Davey Hamilton has put together a remarkable run during the first
week of practice and qualifying at the 2010 Indianapolis 500. He posted the
second fastest qualifying time of his Indy 500 career at 224.852. The only
time he has topped that in 10 trips to IMS was when he registered a four-
lap average of 228.887 in his first Indy 500 in 1996. Hamilton has also
been running with the leaders during practice, including recording the
fifth fastest lap in practice eight at 226.415.
GIL ON DAVEY'S PERFORMANCE
"Davey Hamilton has been very impressive here this month. He is not a
regular driver, he's the oldest driver in the field, he hasn't driven on a
regular basis since 2001 and he has to deal with injuries that most people
would not put themselves through. This is the backdrop of his performance
and I'd say it's nearly as impressive as the guys on the front row. He has
been smooth, steady and fast all week and when it was show time he
delivered. He was less than 4 tenths from the top nine and we're talking
about a guy who's no longer in the prime of his career and has been out of
the cockpit for years. He has raced only four times since 2001, but his
driving has been so good that it's like he's never been out of the car.
This is a young man's sport and I'm saying that from personal experience so
when I look at all that he has done this week under this light it is truly
astounding."
EXPERIENCED WINNERS
Should Hamilton win the race he will be nine days shy of being the oldest
winner of the Indy 500. Al Unser is the record holder after winning the
1987 race at 47 and 360 days. Hamilton will be 47 and 351 days on May 30.
Bobby Unser 47 and 111 days when he won in 1981.
NEW TEAMMATES, OLD FRIENDS
Nearly 20 years separate Raphael Matos and new teammate Davey Hamilton, but
the way they have been working together during the first week in
Indianapolis you would never suspect that they first started getting to
know each other in Sao Paulo during the first week of the season.
"Honestly, it's like they have known each other for 20 years," de Ferran
said. "They seem to understand each other well and they are quite happy to
collaborate. They both know this is good for them individually and good for
the team."
RAFA ON DAVEY
"It's an incredible experience for me to have a teammate like Davey. He
sees things I can improve and I see things he can improve and we both push
each other which only raises the bar for the whole team."
DAVEY ON RAFA
"I have obviously seen him for awhile, but now that I'm working with him I
feel like Rafa is really good. He brings a lot to the table. I am just
trying to catch up so that I can give him some valuable information. We
work very well together and we pull for each other. If I don't win I want
him to win."
DAVEY ON THE TEAM
"This is an exciting group and they're very serious about winning. Jay and
Gil come from a Penske background so they have an extreme focus on winning
and Steve only knows how to be successful. The whole group strives to be
the best and that energy rubs off on everyone. That's what makes it so
exciting."
TEAM LEADERS
Gil de Ferran believes in having one voice communicate with the driver
during a race and those voices will be Jay Penske for Raphael Matos and
John Cummiskey for Davey Hamilton. Steve Luczo will share race strategy
duties with Cummiskey, but Cummiskey will be on the radio with Matos. De
Ferran will have radio communication with both crews and will help manage
both teams. Ray Leto will be making his 16th appearance at the Indy 500,
serving as Hamilton's race engineer. Eric Zeto, Matos' race engineer, makes
his third appearance. The last time he worked the Indy 500 he helped lead
Buddy Lazier to a second place finish in 2000.
GOT MILK
Winners drink milk at the Indianapolis 500 and should Hamilton or Matos win
both have selected 2% as their milk of choice. Since chocolate milk was not
an option, Hamilton chose 2%, while Matos initially selected non-fat before
electing to follow Hamilton with 2%. "Davey makes good decisions so I
decided to pick the same milk he was picking."
-source: deferran dragon racing
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