IRL: Fastest rookie Matos gains confidence

Raphael Matos has gained confidence with his qualification run that places him 12th on the grid for his first career Indy 500, according to IndyCar.com.

"It was a big accomplishment for team and for myself," said Matos about setting the fastest time among rookies. "Being the fastest rookie means a lot to me and being the quickest of the second day means a lot to me as well. It gave me a lot of confidence, which allowed me to work on race setup. The car ran flawless all month and we're proud to be here today.

Our View: The Indy 500 starts 33 cars, which is the IRL's biggest field of the year, but that is still relatively small and allows for some great dark horses. Matos could be one of these.