Comments on: Will Kanaan Fit At de Ferran Dragon Racing?

By: Paige

Paige — Mon, 13 Dec 2010 14:40:22 +0000

I can’t think of one driver who doesn’t want to win. Hopefully Rafa can continue to run for dFD and TK will join the team. It would be a big boost to everybody.

By: DOUG BERNARD

DOUG BERNARD — Mon, 13 Dec 2010 05:25:39 +0000

I HAVE BEEN AROUND RAPHAEL SINCE HIS ARRIVAL IN THE USA, AND CAN STATE THAT HE DOES NOT, AND I REPEAT DOES NOT LIKE TO LOSE. FOR A YOUNG MAN TO COME TO THIS COUNTRY WITH VERY LITTLE AND TO ARRIVE AT THE TOP IS NOT A LOSER. THIS IS A TEAM SPORT AND AS WE ALL KNOW IT TAKES MONIES TO DO IT RIGHT. SURE HE HAS HAD HIS UPS AND DOWNS, MAYBE HE IS NOT THE GREATEST PERSONALITY, MAYBE DUE TO A LANGUAGE, HE IS NO ONE TO SEARCH THE LIME LIGHT, JUST WANTS TO WIN !!!!!!!!!! WINNING ALL THE SERIES AND GOING UP THE LADDER, ON HIS OWN, WITH NO MAJOR SPONSOR SPEAKS VOLUMES ABOUT RAFA. FROM ALL THE TEAMS HE HAS BEEN WITH, I KNOW THAT IT TAKES A COMPLETE TEAM TO MAKE A WINNER, SO ENOUGH OF THIS RAFA SHOULD NOT BE ON A INDYCAR TEAM. HE HAS WORKED HARD TO GET TO THIS LEVEL, SO GIVE HIM HIS DUE. REMEMBER HE WON A 2 MILLION SPONORSHIP FOR THE CHAMP SERIES AND NEVER CASHED THE CHECK, HE WON A 1OO THOUSANDS DOLLAR SPONORSHIP FOR THE SKIP BARBER SERIES, THEN THAT SERIES WAS CANCELS, NEVER CASH THAT CHECK EITHER. SO THIS WAS A MAN ON A MISSION AND HAS WORK HARD TO REACH THIS LEVLE. I HAVE ALWAYS SAID THAT UNTIL INDYCAR DRIVERS DO NOT HAVE TO BRING MONIES, THEN THE SPORT WILL NEVER REACH IT’S GOALS. THE SERIES SHOULD HAVE ONLY THE BEST THAT HAVE MOVED UP THE LADDER, AND NOT DRIVES WITH ONLY NAMES, OR MONEY, UNTIL THIS IS A REALITY, THEN THE INDYCAR SERIES WILL ONLY BE INTERESTING FOR THE FEW WEALTH FEW, THEY NEED ONLY THE BEST !!!!
AGAIN I KNOW THAT RAFA WANTS TO WIN, HE CERTAINLY WORKED HARD TO REACH THIS LEVEL, SO I LOOK FOWARD TO SEEING IN A CAR NEXT YEAR !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

By: Splash And Go: Dec. 10 | The Official Blog of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway

Fri, 10 Dec 2010 19:45:35 +0000

[...] Andretti Autosport is down to three drivers — Hunter-Reay, Marco Andretti and Danica Patrick — for 2011 after Tony Kanaan’s release when 7-Eleven didn’t return as the primary sponsor of TK’s car for 2011. Kanaan’s future destination is the hottest topic in the IZOD IndyCar Series silly season, and blogger George Phillips looks at how TK might fit at DeFerran Dragon Racing. [...]

By: AZZO45

AZZO45 — Tue, 07 Dec 2010 21:53:55 +0000

Well, we AGREE on this issue for sure Speedgeek Matos might not be “Mr Personality” to some of the ICS fans but he’s one helluva driver. I think us fans must remember its a team sport & crapping on Rafa is just not fair or reasonable IMO.

If he is bounced out of de Ferran-Dragon. sadly I don’t think he brings $$$ so no Indycar team will hire him However some ALMS or Grand Am team will get themselves a very skilled driver.

By: The Speedgeek

The Speedgeek — Tue, 07 Dec 2010 20:04:03 +0000

AZZO, you and I don’t agree on everything (actually, we probably agree more than disagree, but I digress), but you and I are of the same mind here. I’ve been a Rafa fan since his Star Mazda days (yep, I’m pulling the old “I’ve been a fan of that band since waaaaayyy before they were cool” routine), and he is one of the top-3 talents to come out of the American ladder system in the last 5-6 years. Given his feel-good “arrived in the States with one set of clothes and $200 in his pocket” story and his utter domination of the junior formula, I’d say that he’s EXACTLY the type of driver that we’re looking for in the IndyCar series. Yes, we’re looking for great American drivers, but when Randy Bernard says that we’re looking for the most talented drivers in the world, Rafa is the exact guy who fits that bill. Really, he’s TK circa-1998 or 1999, before TK had won his first CART race. Think about it: bootstrap story (TK famously slept on his team’s shop floor when he ran in Italian F3), stellar record in junior formula, running a year or two for a team that’s not quite there…who’s to say that Rafa couldn’t be a TK-level star in 4-5 years?

By: AZZO45

AZZO45 — Tue, 07 Dec 2010 19:11:32 +0000

Vastly overrated by someone who sits behind a keyboard as opposed to slipping into a racing cockpit. If this was an easy decision than deFerran & Co. would have dumped Matos a helluva long time ago.

Kanaan confirmed to team engineers that DRIVER FEEDBACK was not the teams problem… but $h*t-can the driver as some knee-jerk, feel good “fix”

By: The Speedgeek

The Speedgeek — Tue, 07 Dec 2010 14:56:15 +0000

[Resigned sigh] Welcome back, Trick.

By: Paige

Paige — Tue, 07 Dec 2010 13:34:02 +0000

It doesn’t help that they haven’t had the best of luck the first two years together.

By: redd

redd — Tue, 07 Dec 2010 12:55:18 +0000

Kanaan/Matos in a 2 team effort might be the best outcome. If there’s only one car and TK brings coffee money, it’s a no-brainer. Matos must be bringing some cash to the deal, he could turn up elsewhere, right?

By: Zachary

Zachary — Tue, 07 Dec 2010 03:54:49 +0000

I’m not sure Matos has really gelled with that team. I could be wrong, but some of the body language suggests some potential discontent there. I think Rafa’s talented, but he also needs to show results soon.

I think TK would be an excellent fit, especially considering his relationship with Gil.

I’m also looking forward to seeing Davy back for a couple of races.