Quick Facts
Biography
Felipe Giaffone (Portuguese pronunciation: [fiˈlipi ʒaˈfoni], born January 22, 1975 in São Paulo) is a race car driver from Brazil. He competed in the Indy Racing League between 2001 and 2006. His father, "Zeca" Giaffone is the 1987 Stock Car Brasil champion and Mil Milhas Brasil five times winner in the 1980s.
Racing career
He went to the United States to drive in the Indy Lights series in 1999 where he was coached by Formula One legend and countryman Nelson Piquet. He began racing in the IRL in 2001 and won one race at Kentucky Speedway in 2002. In 2003 Felipe was one of the IRL's representatives in the IROC series, but he only competed in two races due to injury and finished 10th in series standings. In 2005 Felipe made a last minute deal with A.J. Foyt to qualify a third car for him in the Indianapolis 500. With minutes to spare, Giaffone bumped Arie Luyendyk Jr. from the field. Starting in the final 33rd starting position, he avoided attrition and finished 15th. With A.J.'s grandson A.J. Foyt IV leaving the IRL for NASCAR in 2006, A.J. the elder chose Giaffone to be his full-time driver for the 2006 season but he was released after eight races due to what Foyt called "communication problems".
Since 2007, Giaffone has raced in the Fórmula Truck, the Brazilian racing truck series. He won the championship in 2007, 2009 and 2011, and was runner-up in 2010, 2012 and 2014.
Racing record
American Open Wheel racing results
(key)
Indy Lights
| Year | Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | Rank | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 | Leading Edge Motorsport | MIA 14 | LBH 24 | NAZ 13 | MIS 10 | MIL 9 | DET 18 | POR 16 | CLE 6 | TOR | TRO | 17th | 20 | ||||
| Brian Stewart Racing | VAN 22 | LS 8 | |||||||||||||||
| 1998 | Conquest Racing | MIA 19 | LBH 24 | NAZ 8 | STL 4 | MIL 2 | DET 9 | POR 2 | CLE 8 | TOR 6 | MIS 9 | TRO 6 | VAN 5 | LS 18 | FON 2 | 4th | 104 |
| 1999 | Conquest Racing | MIA 17 | LBH 10 | NAZ 18 | MIL 4 | POR 10 | CLE 3 | TOR 4 | MIS 3 | DET 4 | CHI 8 | LS 18 | FON 20 | 6th | 78 | ||
| 2000 | Conquest Racing | LBH 3 | MIL 12 | DET 2 | POR 14 | MIS 1 | CHI 4 | MDO 13 | VAN 2 | LS 6 | STL 7 | HOU 3 | FON 7 | 4th | 118 |
IndyCar Series
| Year | Team | Chassis | Engine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | Rank | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | Treadway Racing | G-Force GF05B | Oldsmobile Aurora V8 | PHX 6 | HMS 4 | ATL 10 | INDY 10 | TXS 2 | PPI 7 | RIR 11 | KAN 4 | NSH 8 | KTY 8 | STL 20 | CHI 10 | TX2 21 | 6th | 304 | ||||
| 2002 | Mo Nunn Racing | G-Force GF05C | Chevrolet Indy V8 | HMS 7 | PHX 19 | FON 6 | NZR 2 | INDY 3 | TXS 5 | PPI 4 | RIR 3 | KAN 4 | NSH 7 | MIS 3 | KTY 1 | STL 21 | CHI 6 | TX2 17 | 4th | 432 | ||
| 2003 | Mo Nunn Racing | G-Force GF09 | Toyota Indy V8 | HMS 9 | PHX 3 | MOT 3 | INDY 33 | TXS 17 | PPI 13 | RIR 6 | KAN 22 | NSH Inj | MIS Inj | STL Inj | KTY Inj | NZR Inj | CHI 15 | FON 16 | TX2 19 | 20th | 199 | |
| 2004 | Dreyer & Reinbold Racing | Dallara IR-04 | Chevrolet Indy V8 | HMS | PHX | MOT | INDY 15 | TXS 9 | RIR 10 | KAN 16 | NSH 15 | MIL 13 | MIS 16 | KTY 16 | PPI 16 | NZR 16 | CHI 8 | FON 20 | TX2 11 | 20th | 214 | |
| 2005 | A. J. Foyt Enterprises | Panoz GF09C | Toyota Indy V8 | HMS | PHX | STP | MOT | INDY 15 | TXS | RIR | KAN | NSH | MIL | MIS | KTY | PPIR | SNM | CHI | WGL | FON | 31st | 15 |
| 2006 | A. J. Foyt Enterprises | Dallara IR-05 | Honda HI6R V8 | HMS 8 | STP 9 | MOT 15 | INDY 21 | WGL 5 | TXS 16 | RIR 17 | KAN 19 | NSH | MIL | MIS | KTY | SNM | CHI | 17th | 142 |
IndyCar Series career summary
| Year | Team | Starts | Wins | Points | Championship Finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | Treadway Racing | 13 | 0 | 304 | 6th |
| 2002 | Mo Nunn Racing | 15 | 1 | 432 | 4th |
| 2003 | Mo Nunn Racing | 11 | 0 | 199 | 20th |
| 2004 | Dreyer & Reinbold Racing | 13 | 0 | 214 | 20th |
| 2005 | Foyt Enterprises | 1 | 0 | 15 | 30th |
| 2006 | Foyt Enterprises | 8 | 0 | 142 | 17th |
Indianapolis 500
| Year | Chassis | Engine | Start | Finish | Team |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | G-Force GF05B | Oldsmobile Aurora V8 | 33 | 10 | Treadway Racing |
| 2002 | G-Force GF05C | Chevrolet Indy V8 | 4 | 3 | Mo Nunn Racing |
| 2003 | G-Force GF09 | Toyota Indy V8 | 16 | 33 | Mo Nunn Racing |
| 2004 | Dallara IR-04 | Chevrolet Indy V8 | 25 | 15 | Dreyer & Reinbold Racing |
| 2005 | Panoz GF09C | Toyota Indy V8 | 33 | 15 | A.J. Foyt Enterprises |
| 2006 | Dallara IR-05 | Honda HI6R V8 | 21 | 21 | A.J. Foyt Enterprises |
Family
The Giaffone family has had great involvement in motorsport.
- José "Zeca" Giaffone - Felipe's father; 1987 Stock Car Brasil champion and five times winner of Mil Milhas Brasil: 1981, 1984, 1986, 1988 and 1989. The founder of JL Racing, the biggest racing engine supplier in Brazil and Stock Car Brasil chassis supplier, and the owner of Granja Viana international kart circuit in Cotia, near São Paulo city.
- José "Zequinha" Giaffone - Felipe's brother; He competed in some races in the 1996 Indy Lights.
- Affonso Giaffone Filho - Felipe's uncle, Zeca's elder brother; The winner of the first ever race of Stock Car Brasil in 1979, the champion of the 1981 season and two times winner of Mil Milhas Brasil: 1981 and 1986. His four sons all competed in the Brazilian national kart championships.
- Affonso Giaffone - Felipe's cousin, Affonso Filho's son; He competed in the 1996-1997 Indy Racing League season.
- Silvana Giaffone - Felipe's cousin and later wife of Rubens Barrichello. This makes Barrichello a cousin-in-law of Felipe.