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Giaffone back in the saddle

Brazilian IRL IndyCar Series driver Felipe Giaffone returned to the cockpit of his Hollywood/Mo Nunn Racing Panoz GForce/Toyota during private testing at Chicagoland Speedway yesterday

It was the first time Giaffone has driven since he suffered fractures to his right leg and pelvis in a collision with Dan Wheldon during the Kansas Indy 300 in July.

"It's just great, really great, to be back," Giaffone said. "My leg wasn't a big issue. Toward the end of the day, it was getting a little tired. I would feel it a little bit; but then I would just put my left foot on top of my right one and go on.

"I've been waiting too long," added the Brazilian, who had to watch as Alex Barron substituted for him and scored a win in the Firestone Indy 400 at Michigan. "I missed seven races overall between IRL and IROC. Even though I'll tell you, you're not going to believe me, how much I missed it."

Giaffone plans to return to racing in the next round at Chicagoland on Sep 7, and was confident the car will be up to the task.

"We kept working on finding more speed, as everybody else is, but I think I have a very good car," Giaffone said. "The car seems to be very good for the race. We still have to find a couple of tenths (of a second) to go quicker, but the car feels fairly stuck. I'm happy with how the car is handling."

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