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Luczo Dragon will roll out it’s new livery on the #2 car driven by Raphael Matos at Milwaukee this weekend.  The car will also sport this paint scheme at Iowa, Richmond, Watkins Glen, Toronto, Edmonton, Ohio and Infineon.  This is definitely a more elaborate Marine livery than they had on the car on the Streets of St. Petersburg.  This time the Marines scheme will include the Marines colors as well as the Eagle, Anchor, and Globe emblem. 

Raphael Matos finished in third place last season in the Firestone Indy Lights and went on to win the Firestone Indy Lights championship.  Matos and Luczo dragon go into the race this Sunday optimistic.

Milwaukee is a track I really like. I was very fast there last year and finished third in Indy Lights. I think it will be a good place for us. It is a track where the driver can make a little more of a difference because it is more technical and challenging than the high banking, flat out ovals.”

Although Matos has had 3 DNF’s in his past 4 starts, he is still 2nd in the IndyCar rookie points standings only and is only 9 points behind Robert Doornbos. He ran strong in all the races before he had his on track incidents.  He is looking to turn his seaosn around at Milwakee. 

The Milwakee Mile can be watched this Sunday at 3:30 p.m. on ABC.

photo: Dan Helrigel

The Firestone Indy Lights double header and IndyCar Series opener were less than uneventful this weekend in St. Petersburg.  With the exception of Friday morning the weather was stellar and the race conditions were optimal.  Versus did a great job of showcasing downtown St. Petersburg during the race coverage and showing off the location of the course.  They really sold the town to the viewers.

The Grand Prix of St. Petersburg was full of surprises.  Graham Rahal, who seemed to be one of the favorites amongst the locals won the pole.  Unfortunately when the IndyCar Series took the green flag Sunday afternoon, Rahal was involved in a turn one incident as the field of cars, 3 and 4 wide in some places, had to bottle neck to make it from the runway onto the city streets.  That incident ended the day for rookie Mike Conway of Dreyer & Reinbold Racing.  That is a tough start to the 09 season with Dad’s Root Beer on board as a sponsor.

Danica and Raphael Matos got into each other headed into turn 12 on lap 31.  Everyone in the stands waited for the drama to unfold.  A what appeared to be calm and collective Danica Patrick emerged from the car.  As Matos and Danica waited for the safety vehicle to give them a ride back to pit lane.  They CALMLY voiced their point of views of what had just taken place.  The fans were waiting to see Danica catch a tantrum or throw a fit, but to everyones surprise it was just the opposite.  

One of the big stories of the race had to have been Ryan Hunter-Reay.  Here we have a driver who lost his ride last season and was out of the seat up until about a week ago.  He recorded Vision Racing’s best finish ever finishing 2nd.  That is great for someone who had to jump in and set up a street course car in 3 days.  I am for one anxious to see how he does at Vision this season.  

Who is Junior Strous?  That’s what everyone was asking over the course of the weekend.  That was of course until he won both races of the Firestone Indy Lights double-header.  Strous is a rookie from the Netherlands that used to run in the Champ car Atlantic Series.  He ran a strong and consistant two races.  He is proved that himself along with The Winners Circle Group should be a force to be reckoned with on the road and street courses.  I would not count him out on the ovals either.  Strous was 6th fastest at the Homestead-Miami open test in February.  I am excited to see how this Firestone Indy Lights rookie does this season.

You can watch the Firestone Indy Lights highlights tonight on Versus at  6p.m. and a re-air of the Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg at 10 p.m.

Good Morning from Homestead Miami Speedway where we are on day 2 of open testing.  The rookies and veterans of the Firestone Indy Lights took to the track at 9 a.m. and are scheduled to run up until 3:45 p.m.  Then it will be time for the IndyCars to take to the 1.5 mile oval.  Rookie Pippa Mann is continuing to show she has what it takes to run in the Firestone Indy Lights She is currently running the second fastest speed of the day behind Ali Jackson  of Guthrie Mayer Racing.  Bruno Junqueira might make a surprise visit at Dale Coyne driving at tonights IndyCar open test.  Members of Dale Coyne Racing could not confirm at this time.  The IndyCar teams are hard at work preparing the cars to run at tonights test.  They will join Robert Doornbos, Mike Conway, Raphael Matos, and Stanton Barrett who tested late into the evening last night.  Check back to IRLblog.com during the course of the day for more updates from Homestead.

Raphael Matos will be driving the full 2009 IndyCar Series schedule for Luczo Dragon Racing. This is a great chance for a great driver to potentially kick a great team into gear. Last years effort by this team was less than stellar. They showed promise but were plagued by mechanical failures during their 6 races in 2008. Matos has already proven that he can develop to be a potential championship contender in the IndyCar Series. Matos has been eyed by other IndyCar Series teams and the fans have definitely noticed him.  It is a shame that  Andretti Green Racing’s stable is already at 4 cars.  Matos has won championships in the Champ Car Atlantics in 2007, Star Mazda Series in 2005, and Formula Dodge in 2003. I believe it is just a matter of time before and IndyCar Series championship is added to the resume.

from IndyCar.com

Matos, who won two of four Firestone Indy Lights starts for Guthrie Racing in 2006, returned to the series this season as one of the drivers to beat. The 2007 Atlantics champion quickly showed his speed by winning the pole for his first oval race at Homestead-Miami Speedway and the following week on the streets of St. Petersburg, Fla.

Raphael Matos has continued to show that he is a force to reckoned with when he is in a race car.  Matos has a pretty distinguished racing background driving in the Champ Car Atlantic Series for Sierra Sierra Enterprises along with driving for Speed Source inc. in the Rolex Series.  He raced in the then IndyPro Series for Guthrie racing earning them 2 wins with him in the seat in 2006.  He currently races for Andretti Green Racing in the Automatic Fire Sprinklers sponsored car.  Matos shows much promise and is definitly a driver that IndyCar Series team owners will be looking at if a seat becomes available in the 2009 season.  Being that he is also a test driver for Andretti Green’s IndyCar Series team has made him familiar with the IndyCar Series cars.  Perhaps he will stay with Andretti Green Racing and graduate into their IndyCar Series program.  I know I will be keeping my eye on this rising star.