Thiago Cavalcante de Medeiros (born July 24, 1982 in São Paulo) is a retired Brazilian racing driver.
After racing in Formula Three Sudamericana from 1999 to 2002, finishing third in 2001 and fourth in 2002, Medeiros came to the United States in 2003 to race in the Infiniti Pro Series for Genoa Racing. He started his first race from the pole at Homestead and captured his first victory in the final race of the season at Texas Motor Speedway. He switched to Sam Schmidt Motorsports in 2004 and had a dream season, albeit in a season where the field of most races was very small. Medeiros captured six wins, all from the pole, on his way to the championship.
Medeiros attempted to make his IndyCar Series debut in the last race of the 2005 season at California Speedway for Dreyer & Reinbold Racing. However, he crashed in practice and could not make a qualifying attempt or participate in the race. He returned to the series and attempted to qualify for the 2006 Indianapolis 500 in a car fielded by PDM Racing, his USAC Silver Crown Series team. On Bump Day, he made the grid taking the 33rd and final spot on the grid and finished 31st in the race after an electrical problem.
Medeiros returned to his native Brazil to drive in Stock Car Brasil. He retired from racing in 2007 and started a new career flying helicopters. He currently lives in Dubai.
Racing record American open-wheel racing results (key)
Indy Pro Series Year Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Rank Points Ref 2003 Genoa RacingHMS2PHX2INDY19PPIR6KAN7NSH5MIS3STL11KTY3CHI9FON3TXS14th371 2004 Sam Schmidt MotorsportsHMS2PHX1INDY1KAN1NSH1MIL6MIS2KTY6PPIR3CHI1FON9TXS11st513 2006 AFS RacingHMSSTP1STP2INDYWGLIMSNSHMIL6KTYSNM1SNM2CHI34th28
IRL IndyCar Series Year Team Chassis No. Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 Rank Points Ref 2005 Dreyer & Reinbold Racing Dallara IR-05 44 Honda HI5R V8 HMS PHX STP MOT INDY TXS RIR KAN NSH MIL MCH KTY PPIR SNM CHI WGL FON 32nd 12 2006 PDM Racing Panoz GF09C 18 Honda HI6R V8HMSSTPMOT INDYWGLTXSRIRKANNSHMILMISKTYSNMCHI 39th 10
Indianapolis 500
Year Chassis Engine Start Finish Team 2006 Panoz Honda3331 PDM RacingSource:
References
External links Full American Open Wheel Racing results on ChampCarStats.com