Sports

GLADEVILLE, Tenn. (AP) ― Vitor Meira is a cup-half-full kind of guy, someone who doesn't rattle easily, looks for the good in life and ignores the bad.

That's what he learned from his mother growing up in Brazil. That's a good quality for a driver who has gone 87 straight IndyCar Series races without a victory. He also credits his co-workers at Panther Racing with helping him remain confident.

"I can't be by myself all positive if everyone's down," said Meira, who finished sixth at Nashville Superspeedway on Saturday.

Meira needed that support from his team and co-owner John Barnes on July 6, when he wrecked while leading a race in which he had been as far back as 10th.

"Everybody said we're not doing anything wrong. Let's keep going. It's hard to be positive by myself. But with a group like the Delphi National Guard Crew, it gets easier," Meira said.

Meira is easily the IRL's best driver yet to win a race. He has placed second eight times, including this year at the Indianapolis 500. He has finished 62 of his 87 races, earning 26 top-fives and 53 top-10s. He had the lead late at Texas before finishing seventh and has led laps in four races this year alone.

"There have been a lot of great, great race drivers who never won, and we don't consider it a streak," Barnes said. "We don't consider it anything. Just everything - the equipment we've given him or the circumstances he's been in - has not allowed him to get his first victory. It'll come. But we don't worry about it, and I don't think he worries about it."

Meira vows that he doesn't, mentioning an old saying to go where the water takes you.

"The most important thing we do is put ourselves in position to win and let things happen," he said. "If we do that, we'll be OK. The more times we do this, the better ... our odds to put it all together. That's what we have to work for."

In recent weeks, Meira has almost seemed a target for other drivers. Marco Andretti took Meira out at Milwaukee, sending him airborne, John Andretti did it at Richmond and E.J. Viso, later punished for "avoidable contact," was responsible at Watkins Glen.

"I don't wish the worst for anybody, but he got what he deserved," Meira said of Viso, who pulled out of the Firestone Indy 200 at Nashville last week with mumps.

Racing in an open-wheel series in the United States isn't what Meira dreamed of as a boy.

Formula One was the goal when he was growing up in Brazil and competing on road courses similar to the Watkins Glen circuit. Meira won a Brazilian go-karting title, was named the South American F3 rookie of the year, and later won that series title in 2000 with eight victories. He moved to Europe just before he turned 19.

He was prepping for a Formula One test when John Menard offered him four races in 2002 in the IRL. He won his first pole and finished third in the season finale at Texas.

"I came here and definitely do not regret my decision. That's where I want to be until the end of my career," Meira said.

He stayed with Menard through 2003, then moved to Rahal Letterman Racing in 2004 and 2005, finishing second four times and was no worse than eighth in the series points race. He then joined Panther, reuniting with the man who originally tested him in 2001 at Texas.

But 2006 didn't start easily for Panther Racing, a team with 15 IndyCar Series' victories and consecutive championships with Sam Hornish Jr. in 2001 and 2002. The team had just lost sponsorship from Chevrolet, Pennzoil and Rock Star Energy Drink, and had auctioned off excess equipment to keep going with a skeleton crew.

"Sometimes we actually forget about it many times where we were and where we are now," Meira said.

Panther co-owner Mike Griffin said they had targeted Meira to replace Tomas Scheckter for the Brazilian's even-keeled temperament, as well as his driving skills. They also like Meira's physical fitness as someone who tries to compete in three triathlons a year and wants to do the Ironman Triathlon in Hawaii once he quits driving.

"Everyone wanted him," Griffin said. "He's a great team player. He's a great tactical driver. He's a great technician. These cars are really difficult to drive. There's a lot more to it than driving say a stock car, truck or something like that. It takes a lot of finesse."

Meira finished fifth in the points with 12 top-10s in 14 races in 2006. The team took a step back last season, finishing 12th with three top-fives and 10 top-10s.

This season began on a personal high note when he got married before the opener at Homestead in March.

When finding a date to accommodate American friends and family in Brazil failed, Meira and his fiancee eloped, getting married at the Little White Wedding Chapel in Las Vegas with photos of their relatives propped on chairs. A party in Brazil is planned once the season ends.

For now, the focus is on the last seven races of the season and improving on his 15th-place standing in the points.

Barnes, who prefers to keep drivers on one-year contracts with an option for the next, doesn't see any changes on the horizon.

As for Meira, he has no doubt he will win.

"There's going to be a lot of people that's going to be happy, not only on the team, but there's a lot of people out there who wish me good as I wish them good," he said. "So I think it's going to be a good day, I think."

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