Racing career

He went to the United States to drive in the Indy Lights series in 1999 where he was coached by Formula One legend and countryman Nelson Piquet. He began racing in the IRL in 2001 and won one race at Kentucky Speedway in 2002. In 2003 Felipe was one of the IRL's representatives in the IROC series, but he only competed in two races due to injury and finished 10th in series standings. In 2005 Felipe made a last minute deal with A.J. Foyt to qualify a third car for him in the Indianapolis 500. With minutes to spare, Giaffone bumped Arie Luyendyk Jr. from the field. Starting in the final 33rd starting position, he avoided attrition and finished 15th. With A.J.'s grandson A.J. Foyt IV leaving the IRL for NASCAR in 2006, A.J. the elder chose Giaffone to be his full-time driver for the 2006 season but he was released after eight races due to what Foyt called "communication problems".

Since 2007, Giaffone has raced in the Fórmula Truck, the Brazilian racing truck series. He won the championship in 2007, 2009 and 2011, and was runner-up in 2010, 2012 and 2014.

Racing record

American Open Wheel racing results

(key)

Indy Lights

Year	Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	Rank	Points
1996	Leading Edge Motorsport	MIA	LBH	NAZ	MIS	MIL	DET	POR	CLE	TOR	TRO					17th	20
	Brian Stewart Racing											VAN	LS
1998	Conquest Racing	MIA	LBH	NAZ	STL	MIL	DET	POR	CLE	TOR	MIS	TRO	VAN	LS	FON	4th	104
1999	Conquest Racing	MIA	LBH	NAZ	MIL	POR	CLE	TOR	MIS	DET	CHI	LS	FON			6th	78
2000	Conquest Racing	LBH	MIL	DET	POR	MIS	CHI	MDO	VAN	LS	STL	HOU	FON			4th	118

IndyCar Series

Year	Team	Chassis	Engine	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	Rank	Points
2001	Treadway Racing	G-Force GF05B	Oldsmobile Aurora V8	PHX	HMS	ATL	INDY	TXS	PPI	RIR	KAN	NSH	KTY	STL	CHI	TX2					6th	304
2002	Mo Nunn Racing	G-Force GF05C	Chevrolet Indy V8	HMS	PHX	FON	NZR	INDY	TXS	PPI	RIR	KAN	NSH	MIS	KTY	STL	CHI	TX2			4th	432
2003	Mo Nunn Racing	G-Force GF09	Toyota Indy V8	HMS	PHX	MOT	INDY	TXS	PPI	RIR	KAN	NSH	MIS	STL	KTY	NZR	CHI	FON	TX2		20th	199
2004	Dreyer & Reinbold Racing	Dallara IR-04	Chevrolet Indy V8	HMS	PHX	MOT	INDY	TXS	RIR	KAN	NSH	MIL	MIS	KTY	PPI	NZR	CHI	FON	TX2		20th	214
2005	A. J. Foyt Enterprises	Panoz GF09C	Toyota Indy V8	HMS	PHX	STP	MOT	INDY	TXS	RIR	KAN	NSH	MIL	MIS	KTY	PPIR	SNM	CHI	WGL	FON	31st	15
2006	A. J. Foyt Enterprises	Dallara IR-05	Honda HI6R V8	HMS	STP	MOT	INDY	WGL	TXS	RIR	KAN	NSH	MIL	MIS	KTY	SNM	CHI				17th	142

IndyCar Series career summary

Year	Team	Starts	Wins	Points	Championship Finish
2001	Treadway Racing	13	0	304	6th
2002	Mo Nunn Racing	15	1	432	4th
2003	Mo Nunn Racing	11	0	199	20th
2004	Dreyer & Reinbold Racing	13	0	214	20th
2005	Foyt Enterprises	1	0	15	30th
2006	Foyt Enterprises	8	0	142	17th

Indianapolis 500

Year	Chassis	Engine	Start	Finish	Team
2001	G-Force GF05B	Oldsmobile Aurora V8	33	10	Treadway Racing
2002	G-Force GF05C	Chevrolet Indy V8	4	3	Mo Nunn Racing
2003	G-Force GF09	Toyota Indy V8	16	33	Mo Nunn Racing
2004	Dallara IR-04	Chevrolet Indy V8	25	15	Dreyer & Reinbold Racing
2005	Panoz GF09C	Toyota Indy V8	33	15	A.J. Foyt Enterprises
2006	Dallara IR-05	Honda HI6R V8	21	21	A.J. Foyt Enterprises

Family

The Giaffone family has had great involvement in motorsport.

• José "Zeca" Giaffone - Felipe's father; 1987 Stock Car Brasil champion and five times winner of Mil Milhas Brasil: 1981, 1984, 1986, 1988 and 1989. The founder of JL Racing, the biggest racing engine supplier in Brazil and Stock Car Brasil chassis supplier, and the owner of Granja Viana international kart circuit in São Paulo.
• José "Zequinha" Giaffone - Felipe's brother; He competed in some races in the 1996 Indy Lights.
• Affonso Giaffone Filho - Felipe's uncle, Zeca's elder brother; The winner of the first ever race of Stock Car Brasil in 1979, the champion of the 1981 season and two times winner of Mil Milhas Brasil: 1981 and 1986. His four sons all competed in the Brazilian national kart championships.
• Affonso Giaffone - Felipe's cousin, Affonso Filho's son; He competed in the 1996-1997 Indy Racing League season.
• Silvana Giaffone - Felipe's cousin and later wife of Rubens Barrichello. This makes Barrichello a cousin-in-law of Felipe.

[ Source: Wikipedia ]