Rafa Matos. Former FIL champion. King of stubble. Sometimes confused with Mario Moraes. Now he's on record with the pdog about Brazil, Danistar, and, of course, underpants.
Word to my boy Kirk Reynolds, PR stallion, for helping me get Rafa on record.
pressdog: You’ve won championships everywhere — karting, Chevrolet Formula Junior, Formula Dodge, Star Mazda Pro Series and Champ Car Atlantics, and the FIL last year. What’s been your biggest adjustment to coming into a non-championship situation in IndyCar?
Matos: Coming from Indy lights it was fairly easy to adapt myself to Indy cars, the dynamics of the car are similar and the way you set the car up as well. I had to get use to the longer races and pit stops, but that was just a matter of seat time and getting use to it. I'm fighting for the rookie title despite that I'm not fighting for the overall championship my approach is the same in everything that I race. I'm 100% focused and I push myself every time I'm in the car.
pressdog: How do you maintain your impressive stubble? Do you have a special shaving attachment or some kind of schedule that lets you have peak stubble on race day?
Matos: I try to be as mellow as possible on race day, I know this is an aggressive sport , but i feel that more calm i am more i can think about the race, strategy, and also solve problems and situations during the race.
pressdog: Do you Tweet? What do you think of Twitter?
Matos: Just started my own yesterday following the advice of Tony Kanaan and a friend of mine that lives and races here in Japan. @rafaindy is my twitter name.
pressdog: What do you miss most about life Brazil (aside from proximity of family)?
Matos: I miss mountain biking, the food, the mountains and the beaches in Brazil.
pressdog: When you’re in Brazil, what do you miss most about life in the U.S. (aside from racing)?
Matos: I'm very active here in US, I'm always training, traveling, always doing something. I miss my routine and I miss racing cars when I'm in Brazil on vacation.
pressdog: What drivers are you tightest with in the IndyCar series? My money is on Danica.
Matos: I socialize with everyone, there's not a specific driver that I'm closest to. I have fun most with the Brazilian drivers.
pressdog: Has Danica ever spoken in your direction? If so, do you think maybe she thought you were Moraes or someone else?
Matos: I always speak with Danica. We were teammates last year, and I talk to her like any other driver. I don't think she would think I was Moraes at anytime.
pressdog: Assess your season so far ... better than expected, expected, worse?
Matos: We set our goal before the season that we were going for the Rookie of the Year title, so far we have accomplished that. We are going to the last race with a good points lead and a great chance of winning that title. Frustrations during a season are always going to exist, especially on a rookie season, mistakes are fairly common.
pressdog: You drove the ovals in the FIL and now in the ICS. When road/street drivers come to their first oval, what’s your advice?
Matos: Always respect, and follow your instincts. If you think your car is loose because you had that feeling on the previous lap, don't wait until it get's loose on you, come right back in to your pits and fix it. Ovals, especially super speedways can bite you very easy.
pressdog: What’s been your biggest challenge to improving on the ovals?
Matos: High banking ovals are very difficult because most of the time you're flat out all the way around and it is very difficult to find more speed in the car and everybody is really close.
pressdog: Your sponsor is the Air Force. Have they taken you up in a fighter for some insane turning and burning? If not, are you geeked to do it? I bet fighter pilots may among the few people on earth who aren't real impressed with the speed of IndyCars drivers.
Matos: They're actually very impressed with our speed. I met an F18 Canadian Air Force pilot at Edmonton and I gave him a ride in the 2-seater and he told me it was the best experience of his life. I can't wait to get a ride in one of those jets; should happen soon.
pressdog: How would you describe your driving style? Do you wait patiently for your moment like Rick Mears or like to get in there and chrome horn it around like Paul Tracy, or some combo of the two?
Matos: I hope I'm in between those two, if so that's quite accomplishment for me. I believe that I'm very aggressive and I'm still shaping my style especially on ovals, since I have limited experience still. On road courses everything comes very natural to me and I feel I have that raw and pure speed.
pressdog: Your first Indy 500 this year, how did it compare to your expectations?
Matos: I enjoyed every minute of that month up until 27 laps to go when I crashed with Vitor. It was very sad that he got hurt, but that is part of our job. I was the fastest rookie of the month and could have finish on the podium that day, but a mistake on a pit stop took our chances away. It was a great learning experience for me and I will carry that with me for the rest of my career.
pressdog: Having been in the FIL, what do you think that series could do to improve it’s appeal to the fans?
Matos: It's always difficult to create a fan base i think for the lower series. I think FIL is a great formula and perfect for the preparation of young drivers for the Indy Car series.
pressdog: Any crazy pre-race rituals?
Matos: None
pressdog: A lot of racing in any league is searching for sponsors or sponsor relations, etc. Is that something you enjoy? Necessary evil? Do you need improvement in that area?
Matos: I was never very good at finding sponsors and I feel that drivers should be concentrating on their jobs instead trying to find money to go racing. Like my friend Oriol Servia said one time "I'm not a fund raiser, I'm a race car driver." That quote I believe says a lot about the situation of good drivers not having a full time job.
pressdog: Speaking of, how is it looking for you next year?
Matos: Looking good. The team is happy, we are working with the sponsors and finishing strong in the championship points. It's going to help Luczo Dragon to improve our development program.
pressdog: Pretend I’m Terry Angstadt (I'd have better hair, first of all). Give me three recommendations for improving the league’s appeal to customers (fans).
Matos: 1-I think we should keep the same drivers in the series for at least 5 years, that's the only way we are going to build up a fan base.
2-Race back in Road America and Cleveland
3-Race in Brazil
pressdog: Dog or cat person?
Matos: Dog
Briefs or boxers?
Matos: Boxers
pressdog: We hear you consult pressdog.com daily. Would you describe yourself as a pressdog stalker?
Matos: Not at all
pressdog: Anything else you want your legions of fans — including the many lovely ladies in that group — to know?
Matos: Let them find out with time. Thanks to all my fans. It's been a wonderful time for me this year. See you guys at the last race!!
Word, Rafa. Good luck in the finale and thanks for going on record with the pdog.
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