Motorsports passion source: indycar.com By Tim Harms Brazilians are passionate people. Watch a World Cup match or even a gentlemanly game of tennis with a Brazilian involved and you'll see a crowd filled with painted faces and waving flags. The passion extends to motorsports, which is widely recognized as the country's second-most-popular sport. "Obviously, in every country you have some sports that stand out more than the others," said Tony Kanaan, the 2004 IndyCar Series champion who hails from Salvador, Bahia. "In America, every kid goes to school and plays football. Here it's soccer, and the second sport is racing." Even a foreigner, such as 2005 IndyCar Series champion Dan Wheldon, who has been to Brazil each of the past two years to compete in the Granja Viana 500-mile go-kart race, sees Brazil as one of the top countries for motorsports in the world. "I think outside of the United States, two of the most passionate countries I've seen that have to do with motorsports would have to be Brazil and England," said Wheldon, an Emberton, England, native. "England is kind of the center of motorsport. There are a lot of things that are manufactured in England and a lot of those things are used in the IndyCar Series. And Brazil, there have always been a host of Brazilian drivers in any series I've ever driven in." Why is racing so popular in a country that is as big as the continental United States? It goes back to a host of drivers who succeeded on the world's stage and stoked the fires of the Brazilians innate passion. "We had Emerson Fittipaldi, Ayrton Senna, Nelson Piquet," said Felipe Giaffone, a a Sao Paulo native who will drive for A.J. Foyt this season in the IndyCar Series. "These three guys they made so many fans of the people in Brazil. I think that's why it's going so strong in Brazil." The drivers etched their marks into the Brazilian consciousness with eight Formula One World Championships in a span of 20 years. Fittipaldi won twice - 1972 and 1974 -- while Piquet scored championships in1981, 1983 and 1987. Senna, however, was almost larger than life, scoring 41 victories and 80 podium finishes in an 11-year career from 1984-94. He was world champ in 1988, 1990 and 1991.
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