ROCKVILLE - No one thought him a particularly brave little boy, but, at age 12, Airton Dare was racing Jet Skis in Brazil. By age 19, he was a six-time Brazilian and one-time South American champion and owned two Jet Ski stores.

By the time he was 20, he had given it all up to pursue his dream of racing open-wheel cars in the United States.

"I knew when I was 19 I had to decide to stay in Brazil and do what I was doing or go and do the racing," he said during an appearance in Rockville in support of tomorrow's Indy Racing League race at Richmond International Raceway. "I decided to come here, but it was scary in the beginning."

In the beginning, he spoke no English, and the Brian Stewart team he joined in the Indy Light's Series spoke no Portuguese or Spanish. In the beginning, he was so lonely he decided to learn to play the guitar to fill all the time he spent alone in his apartment.

"I taught myself to play the guitar," he said. "I went out and bought these little instruction books. I don't play very well, but I enjoy playing. Last year, at Indianapolis, I even took my guitar with me and played a lot in my hotel room."

He also taught himself to speak English. It was sink or swim.

"The first two months were hard for me," Dare said. "I didn't like anybody here. I thought Americans were mean. Then I came to understand it was just that we couldn't communicate. The most difficult thing was to leave my friends and family. Even now, if I have 10 or 15 days without a race or a test session, I go back to Brazil.

"But I've gotten to know how Americans live and how they are. Americans are a lot like Brazilians. We all smile a lot. We all like to be happy."

And going into this weekend, Dare appears very happy as he contemplates the SunTrust Indy Challenge as a member of the A.J. Foyt-owned team.

At 24, Dare is becoming an established veteran with a veteran car owner. He finished 13th at the Indianapolis 500 and is eighth in points with a team that, until the first weekend of the season, he had no idea he would drive for.

After three seasons and two victories in the Indy Light Series, Dare moved up to the IRL with TeamExtreme in 2000 and earned Rookie of the Year honors. Last season, he finished a career-high 10th in points and was looking forward to 2002.

"But TeamExtreme, they didn't do right by me," said Dare. "They kept telling me we were going to race in 2002, and I put all my eggs in their one basket. Then, in January, they sent me a letter saying they were in bankruptcy and were not going to pay me the money they owed me.

"I looked for a ride, but teams were booked."

And so, on that first weekend in March when the IRL was about to begin its season, Dare was standing in a line to buy a ticket to the race when his cell phone rang.

"The voice on the phone said it was A.J. Foyt and that I should come to his garage because he had a job for me," said Dare. "I hung up and laughed. I thought my friends who were with me had staged it. But they said no, they did not and that I should go to A.J.'s garage."

Dare went, and Foyt, whose driver Donnie Beechler had been hurt, said: "Here's a car if you want to drive it."

Dare still describes the meeting with wonder in his voice.

"Without any tests and only five minutes sitting in the car, we qualified 21st and we ran second for a long time until a bad pit stop made us fourth," he said. "And then, with four laps to go, I was squeezed onto the marbles and crashed."

He was taken to the infield medical center for the mandatory checkup and when he emerged, a crewman told him Foyt wanted to see him in his truck.

"My dad was with me, and I said, 'Dad, if I am in there too long, you come save me,' " Dare said, laughing. "But A.J. was really happy. He said come to Houston and we will sign a contract.

"You know, I didn't know who A.J. Foyt was when I came to this country. But I learned that he has the fame for being a rude guy. I know he likes people to think of him that way, but I think he has a good heart and is a good person."

For his part, Foyt was simply making the best of his own bad situation. He needed a driver. Dare, Top 10 in 2001, was available.

"He's a very young, very talented driver," said Foyt. "In that first race with me, he went up to second and was real impressive. With me, the bottom line is performance, and he's shown me that."

At Richmond, they will try to find their way into victory circle for the first time this season. Dare said they have a good chance to do it on the three-quarter-mile track that is his favorite.

"It is such a fun track," he said. "And at Richmond, I haven't had any bad luck. I ran really good there last year [qualified fifth, finished 15th] and this year I am back with a better car. I think I can win. I am ready to win."