It would be difficult to quantify how many miles Raphael Matos has logged in his journey from anonymous go-kart mechanic to rising IndyCar star, but for a couple of years it was exactly 24 miles per day.

As a poor, young, aspiring race car driver, Matos rode a used bike he bought for $50 from his Sunny Isles apartment to his job at an Opa-locka go-kart track. Twelve miles each way.

He gets around in a car now -- a 650-horsepower, $250,000 car at speeds reaching 225 mph. He gets around so well, in fact, that Matos is in commanding position to win Rookie of the Year honors at Saturday's Firestone Indy 300 at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Matos is 25 points ahead of Robert Doornbos, which means Doornbos would have to finish first or second in the season finale and Matos would have to finish back in the pack for Doornbos to win the award.

Most satisfying for Matos, who has finished ninth in four consecutive races, is that he's likely to take the rookie title in his adopted hometown of Miami, the same place he first pursued his goal of becoming a professional driver.

``When I first came here, I was not afraid to give it a shot,'' Matos said. ``All that dedication translates to speed. It was just a matter of opportunity for me, and I'm thankful that I got my chance.''

Matos, 28, is the lone driver for the Luczo Dragon Racing team, which is completing its first full season. He is 13th in the standings, seven points behind Ed Carpenter. Scott Dixon leads the series, five points ahead of Dario Franchitti and eight ahead of Ryan Briscoe.

Matos has driven to eight top-10 finishes, four on ovals and four on road/street courses. His best finish was sixth at Milwaukee. He crashed out of four races.

``In each crash I was counting on another driver to work with me and they didn't -- I was too confident,'' he said. ``It's been a huge learning experience. At the track, they expect rookies to stay out of the way. It's certainly easier to learn when you're with a first-class team. If you don't have the right equipment you can be Michael Schumacher and never win.''

HONORING HOMESTEAD

Matos has raced once before on the Homestead track, when he started on the pole and finished eighth in last year's Indy Lights season opener.

``It's a challenging layout because the corners are so long and there's not a lot of banking so the cars have less grip,'' he said. ``The conditions can change a lot. The wind shifts, the track gets hot and the asphalt gets really greasy.''

Matos is on the verge of winning his third Rookie of the Year title in his fifth U.S. racing series. He has been consistently successful on every step of the ladder, from the Skip Barber Formula Dodge Series to Pro Mazda, Champ Car Atlantics and Indy Lights, winning championships in each.

It all started in Belo Horizonte, Brazil, where Matos grew up. His mother was a teacher and his father was a computer analyst and racing fanatic. When Matos was 11, he and a friend each got a go-kart. Matos, a daredevil on his skateboard and bike, took to racing immediately. His friend never liked it -- and eventually became a dentist.

``You have to have an instinct for speed,'' Matos said.

In 2002 Matos moved to Miami with little money and a big dream. He got a job at the Opa-locka track, where he was a mechanic, driving instructor and test driver. He learned how to speak English and rebuild an engine.

Join the discussion

The Miami Herald is pleased to provide this opportunity to share information, experiences and observations about what's in the news. Some of the comments may be reprinted elsewhere in the site or in the newspaper. We encourage lively, open debate on the issues of the day, and ask that you refrain from profanity, hate speech, personal comments and remarks that are off point. In order to post comments, you must be a registered user of MiamiHerald.com. Your username will show along with the comments you post. Thank you for taking the time to offer your thoughts.

     Showing: Oldest first Newest first Most-recommended first Least-recommended first

@Nyx.AuthorDisplayName@ wrote on @Nyx.PostedAtTime@:

@Nyx.repliedToText@

@Nyx.replyAnswerText@

Reply to this Comment @Nyx.Recommender@ @Nyx.AbuseReporter@