Notebook: Matos fastest rookie for Indy 500

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) -- Raphael Matos has been a champion everywhere he's driven. Now he's the fastest rookie in the Indianapolis 500, eager to add another crown to his racing resume.

The 27-year-old Brazilian will start Sunday's race from the 12th position, on the outside of the fourth row, the best among the five first-year Indy drivers.

"It was a big accomplishment for the team and for myself,'' said Matos, whose Luczo Dragon team is co-owned by Jay Penske, son of 14-time Indy winner Roger Penske. "Being the fastest rookie means a lot to me. ... The car ran flawless all month. Hopefully, we'll keep that momentum and have a good race.''

Matos won five poles and three races to claim the championship in the IRL's developmental Firestone Indy Lights series last season. Before that, he won championships in the Atlantic, Star Mazda and Formula Dodge series. His first championship was in 2001 in the Brazilian Chevrolet Formula Junior series.

Last fall, he signed a multiyear contract to drive for Luczo Dragon in the IndyCar Series and has been coached by former Indy winners Rick Mears and Gil de Ferran.

"As a rookie, I'm learning something every day here,'' Matos said. "I have learned just how intense it is and the patience you have to have. I expect to have many battles throughout the race. It's going to be a day when to push and when to be conservative. Hopefully, I'll put myself in a good position in the last 30 minutes of the race to fight for hopefully a podium finish.''

The other rookies are Robert Doornbos of the Netherlands, Mike Conway of England, Nelson Philippe of France and Alex Tagliani of Canada. Matos' four-lap average of 223.429 was almost 2 mph faster than any of the other rookies.

So far, the only fastest-rookie qualifiers to win the race the same year were Juan Pablo Montoya in 2000, George Souders in 1927 and Jules Goux in 1913.

Two More For Tracy

Paul Tracy will get at least two more races this season, both in his native Canada.

KV Racing Technology said Wednesday that Tracy will drive at the IndyCar races at Toronto on July 12 and Edmonton on July 26.

The 40-year-old Tracy, a native of Scarborough, Ontario, qualified 13th for Sunday's race, his first at Indianapolis since 2002 when he was runner-up to Helio Castroneves. He won 30 CART/Champ Car races in 1993-2007 and was that series champion with seven wins in 2003.

"I feel very fortunate to be able to race in front of my hometown fans with a very competitive team,'' Tracy said.

The full-time driver for KVRT is Brazilian Mario Moraes, who led three laps and finished 18th in his rookie race at Indianapolis last year. The 20-year-old Moraes will start seventh Sunday.

No Rain For The Race?

The weather forecast looks good for Sunday's race.

The National Weather Service said Wednesday that skies over Indianapolis should be partly cloudy and temperatures should be in the upper 70s during the race, with only a 20 percent chance of rain by Sunday night.

The race begins at 1 p.m. EDT and normally takes 3 to 3 1/2 hours to run.

Rain has forced a delay or postponement of the race 14 times, most recently in 2007, when it was stopped after 282.5 miles, restarted after a delay of three hours and stopped again for good after 415 miles. The last time race day was a complete washout was 1997. The race was stopped after just 15 laps on the next day and finally finished on the third day.

Closest Field

The pole-winning speed of 224.864 mph by Helio Castroneves and the slowest qualifying speed of 220.597 by Ryan Hunter-Reay make this the closest matched field in Indianapolis 500 history.

The 33 starters are separated by just 3.0967 seconds from fastest to slowest in qualifications. The previous record was 3.2422 seconds between pole-winner Scott Sharp and slow qualifier Billy Boat in 2001.

Indy Lights

Qualifying for the Freedom 100, the fifth race in the IRL's developmental Firestone Indy Lights series this season, will be Thursday.

Rookie driver Jonathan Summerton of Kissimmee, Fla., leads the series points, despite no victories but with top-seven finishes in all four previous races. Junior Strous of the Netherlands, also a rookie, won the first two races this season and is second in the series, four points behind Summerton.

Rookie Sebastian Saavedra of Colombia and J.R. Hildebrand of Sausalito, Calif., with one victory each, are third and fourth, respectively, in the standings.

The race will be Friday.