Raphael Matos and Richard Antinucci Savor Showdown on Sunday

Championship Contenders Comment on Upcoming Contest at Chicagoland
by Allan Brewer
allan@indyproracer.com
AFS Andretti Green Racing’s Raphael Matos. Photo: ChrisJonesIRL
Months of preparation, and a sixteen-race schedule spanning from March to September, culminate on Sunday (September 7th) when AFS Andretti Green’s Raphael Matos and Sam Schmidt Motorsports’ Richard Antinucci square off at Chicagoland Speedway to determine who is going to go home with the Firestone Firehawk Cup—the prize for winning the 2008 Firestone Indy Lights championship.
Both men, who are competing in their first full year of Indy Lights competition at twenty-seven years of age, were solid preseason co-favorites to win the Cup; and neither has disappointed their fans or their teams in a season-long quest for the crown.
The pair have see-sawed the points lead back and forth from the green flag that waved over the streets of St. Petersburg in Race One to kick off one of the greatest years ever of Indy Lights racing.
Now with a single contest remaining, the last two contenders standing will settle the issue on the 1.5 mile oval near Joliet, Illinois.
Stakes High as Both Drivers Aim for IndyCar Futures
For both men the Firestone Firehawk Cup validates their credentials to move upward into the IndyCar Series.
Raphael Matos’ three victories (St. Pete, Watkins Glen and Mid-Ohio) and seven top-five finishes are bolstered by four pole position starts over the sixteen-race 2008 season.
An Indy Lights championship in tandem with the Champ Car Atlantic championship he won in 2007, and the Star Mazda championship he claimed in 2005, can boost him into the limelight as IndyCar ‘silly season’ gets underway (early) this year.
“I hope I will be in an IndyCar (next year),” Rafa offered. “There are a lot of things going on right now, and that’s my ultimate goal. That's what I'm working hard for.”
“I truly believe having the Indy Lights championship can help me in negotiating for next year. I have a great team that could easily support a car for me in the IndyCar Series,” he said.
“So let's hope.”
Richard Antinucci has shown the kind of consistency of finish, and speed on the big oval at Indianapolis, that leads to championships at the Indy Lights level and beyond.
Sam Schmidt Motorsports’ Richard Antinucci. Photo: RonMcQueeneyIRL
Two wins (also at St. Pete and Watkins Glen) compliment nine top-five finishes and eleven top-tens that could be enough to sway 1998 Indianapolis 500 winner Eddie Cheever to roll out an IndyCar team in 2009 with nephew Richard at the wheel.
Most importantly, Antinucci ran a convincing second to Panther’s Dillon Battistini at the Freedom 100 on Carb Day (May 23rd) at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The feat established his potential on the 2.5 mile oval that hosts the grand-daddy of all American races, the Indy 500.
“I hope Eddie and the whole Team Cheever manage to pull something together to do part-time, full-time, or just the Indy 500 in the IndyCar Series,” said Antinucci, “because that's where I really want to be. That's where I think his (Eddie’s) heart is, too.”
“We'd both like to work together,” he continued. “We did really well last year in the few races we did. We ended on a very positive note. We've also done a Grand-Am race together and it went really well. The results were good, fastest lap, all that.”
Something Must Give as Matos and Antinucci Focus on the Same Goal
Matos takes 472 points into the final racing battle at Chicagoland Speedway, a neck ahead of Antinucci’s 469. The closely-fought competition has left both racers anticipating the climax.
“I'm really looking forward to this last race,” said Antinucci in the final pre-race interview of the 2008 campaign, “because we've brought ourselves to this point and we have a chance.”
“We're almost going in even,” he continued of the skinny three point deficit that separates him from leader Matos, “as if the championship race started this race. It's definitely a fair crack at it.”
“I think the approach will be pretty much the same as everywhere we've been,” countered Rafa with his turn at the microphone. “We’ve shown great speed pretty everywhere we've been. We won three races on a road course, and we had two pole positions at the mile-and-a-half oval courses.”
“We tested last week at Chicago,” he said, “and we have a great car for that track. I'm looking forward to it. I think we'll have an extremely good package for the race.”
“Everybody's wishing me good luck from Brazil,” he finished. “Hopefully I will bring this title for them, to all my family, friends, and obviously my team.”