Cristiano da Matta (#10 RuSPORT Ford-Cosworth / Lola / Bridgestone) has had a racing career full of milestones. source: champcarworldseries.com This weekend at the West Edmonton Mall Grand Prix presented by The Brick, da Matta will add another achievement to his long list of accomplishments behind the wheel of a Champ Car. Da Matta will make his 100th career Champ Car start in Edmonton, where he will look to improve his place in the 2006 Champ Car World Series Driver's Championship. Currently, da Matta sits in eighth place, just six points outside of the top five. By starting this weekend's race in Edmonton, da Matta joins an exclusive club of current Champ Car drivers who have made at least 100 career starts: Oriol Servia (106), Alex Tagliani (111), Jimmy Vasser (232) and Paul Tracy (243). Over the course of 99 race events, da Matta has posted 12 victories, 19 podium finishes, and has won seven poles. Of the four other current drivers who have started 100 races, only Tracy has more victories (30). Da Matta's career winning percentage is identical to Tracy's at .120. Da Matta's best Champ Car season came in 2002, when he won the Champ Car World Series Driver's Championship as a member of Newman-Haas Racing. "It seems like my 100th start has come a lot quicker than I expected," said da Matta. "And while it's not all about starts, but rather wins and championships, it's great to have started 100 Champ Car events. Although I have won a few races, I feel like I can still win more. I just want to fight for a race win every weekend. I feel that I can now that I'm racing with RuSPORT."
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