A back row start did nothing to distract Raphael Matos or the Luczo Dragon/de Ferran Motorsports crew from producing a stirring rally in the rain delayed Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg.The race was completed a day later than scheduled after rain washed away Sunday’s start time and, despite his lowly grid position, Matos was one of Monday’s big movers. The impressive Brazilian battled his way towards the front making up 15 places to finish eighth at the checkered flag – a result that moves him up to fifth in IZOD IndyCar Series standings after the first two races.“I’m so proud of Rafa’s maturity and development,” Luczo Dragon/de Ferran Motorsports co-owner and race strategist Jay Penske said. “From where we started the guys on this team really put together a car that could compete with the race leaders and Rafa ran a very smart race.”The dramatic turn around was evident from the start when Matos moved up four positions on the first lap. He continued his climb all the way to the top, jumping into third on lap 27 and surging into the lead on lap 34 and holding it for three laps until coming in for the team’s second stop.“After starting 23rd it really was a great day for us,” Matos reported. “The crew was flawless. I really believe we have the best crew in the paddock, I trust them completely and I just knew they would put me in the front. We were really strong in the first stint, It was exciting being in the lead. The car had really good balance and I was able to really push it hard.”Matos’ strong run wasn’t without a scare, though. On lap 65 he survived an incident with Mike Conway when the Englishman tried to pull off a daring pass in turn five only to clip the front wing of the #2 HP LDR/DFM car. The contact eliminated Conway, but Matos was able to continue with minimal damage.“The incident with Conway was unfortunate,” Matos said. “He was just overly aggressive and the contact did something to the alignment of our car. We stayed in the race, but we paid for it in the end because I couldn’t push it like before.”Matos did have enough to hold off Graham Rahal and Tony Kanaan to clinch eighth and collect 24 points for his efforts. By coupling the eighth place finish with the fourth place run in Sao Paulo, the second year driver now sits fifth in series standings with 56 points. Having won both rounds staged to date, Will Power leads the title race with a maximum 100 points.