Vitor Meira
| Vítor Meira | |
|---|---|
Meira in 2008
|
|
| Nationality |
 Brazilian |
| Born |
March 27, 1977 Brasília, Brazil |
| IRL IndyCar Series career | |
| Debut season | 2002 |
| Current team | A.J. Foyt Enterprises |
| Car no. | 14 |
| Former teams |
Panther Racing Rahal Letterman Racing Team Menard |
| Starts | 112 |
| Wins | 0 |
| Podiums | 15 |
| Poles | 2 |
| Best finish | 5th in 2006 |
| Championship titles | |
| 2000 | Formula Three Sudamericana |
| Awards | |
| 2008 | Scott Brayton Trophy |
Vítor Meira (born March 27, 1977) is a Brazilian auto racing driver. He formerly competed in the IndyCar Series and has twice finished second in the Indianapolis 500.
After participating in an open test for Panther Racing at Texas Motor Speedway in 2002, Meira made his IndyCar debut with Team Menard on August 11, 2002 at Kentucky Speedway. A little over a month later, Vitor won his first career pole at Texas Motor Speedway after just four starts, and finished in third place.
In 2003, Meira ran his first start of the year for Team Menard at the Indianapolis 500, where he finished 12th as a rookie. Meira then ran the next seven races in the #2 Johns Manville powered Dallara Chevrolet, until a practice crash at Kentucky Speedway sidelined him for the next three races. After recovering from his wrist injury he suffered at Kentucky, Vitor ran the final two races of the season.
In 2004, Meira missed the first two races of the season before a race-by-race deal was presented to Meira by Rahal-Letterman Racing. After Vitor's disappointing finish of 17th in Indy Japan 300, where he suffered a clutch problem, he ran the rest of the season in the #17 G-Force sponsored by Centrix Financial. At The Milwaukee Mile, on July 25, 2004, Meira earned his second career pole.
Rahal-Letterman Racing signed Meira to a three-year contract in 2005, with backing from longtime supporter, Johns Manville and Menards. One notable race finish during the year was a second place to Dan Wheldon at the Indianapolis 500. Meira gave Rahal-Letterman Racing their best final point standing finish of seventh as well as recording seven top five and eleven top ten finishes for the team. After losing a majority of the funds for the #17 car, Rahal-Letterman needed a driver who had sponsorship with them. For Meira, that meant losing his ride to Paul Dana, who brought Ethanol sponsorship.
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