De Ferran bounces back from early season injury

Gil de Ferran isn't flashy.

Except when prompted by teammate Helio Castroneves after winning the Indianapolis 500 in May, de Ferran has never climbed a fence after a win.

He isn't controversial, either, never publicly venting his anger or frustrations.

What de Ferran is, though, is determined.

"I just do what I need to do to be competitive," said de Ferran, who is second in the Indy Racing League standings despite missing a race early in the year due to injury.

His third-place finish Sunday at Gateway International Raceway was de Ferran's eighth top-10 in a row -- all since returning from a concussion and two broken vertebrae suffered in a crash in Japan in the third race of the season.

"I never really lost heart," said de Ferran, who spent two weeks recuperating at his South Florida home, mostly lying in bed or on a couch, after the crash in Japan.

"That just about drove me crazy," de Ferran said. "I couldn't do my workout. I couldn't pick up my children. But I knew it was necessary, even if it was frustrating. I had to be patient."

The first time he got back in his car was the opening day of practice at Indy, where the 35-year-old de Ferran showed how ready he was to be back in action by beating two-time defending champion Castroneves for the win.

"I told myself, in any 16-race championship you're going to have one or two bad races," de Ferran said. "I figured I got one of them out of the way early."

Tim Cindric, president of Penske Racing, said de Ferran has a great way of handling adversity.

"He has a bit of the Formula One mentality to put his helmet on and focus on the job today, right now, rather than getting too confused about the bigger picture and getting too many things in his head at once," Cindric said.

He added that de Ferran tends to be very methodical in his approach.

"He gets frustrated like everybody else does, but he handles it properly," Cindric said. "The best thing he has is a constructive approach to what we're trying to accomplish: win the championship."

De Ferran has had the added burden -- a pleasant one -- of being the Indy champion.

"I've been busier, that's for sure, dealing with things the Indy 500 winners have to deal with," de Ferran said. "You've still got to get back in the car and stand on the gas, though, so nothing has really changed at all."

Only 24 points separate the top four IRL drivers with five races remaining, beginning with Sunday's event at Kentucky Speedway.

De Ferran, a two-time champion in the rival CART Champ Car series before coming to the IRL with team owner Roger Penske in 2002, said the focus can't be on any one or two drivers.

"It's clear to see it is not a two-horse race, so you can't be thinking about what anybody else does," he said. "I'd rather focus on myself and what I need to do to enhance my driving, my competitiveness and my car."

Cindric said those two championships could be the edge de Ferran needs.

"Experience is priceless," he said. "Having that experience is certainly in our corner."

But de Ferran would rather not be stalking leader Tony Kanaan. He wants to be out front.

"Some guys are not really comfortable in that position," he said. "They get uncomfortable and tense being in front. I'm not like that. For me, the lead is the place to be, in the race or the championship."