Cleveland ? Cristiano da Matta has other passions other than driving race cars at 200 mph. He’s a huge fan of rock music, and in his spare time the Brazilian loves to imitate Jimi Hendrix on guitar.

He’s got 12 of them, including a 1972 Gibson Les Paul acquired two years ago from a fan who only wanted da Matta’s racing suit in return for the vintage six-stringer.

“It’s a nice hobby,” he said.

Da Matta’s trophy collection is growing, too.

Fittingly, within walking distance of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, da Matta will attempt to make history by winning his fifth consecutive CART race Sunday in the Cleveland Grand Prix.

“Maybe I can do five in a row, we’ll see,” da Matta said Thursday. “It’s been like a snowball.”

And one showing no signs of melting this summer.

Da Matta has dominated the CART circuit this season, and with his flag-to-flag win in Toronto last weekend, the 28-year-old has won seven of his last 10 races.

“Everything has really been going well for us this season,” said da Matta, in his second year driving for the Newman-Haas team. “We’ve had the good fortunate to put a couple good races together.”

It’s been much more than that.

He won his final two races of 2001, and his victory at Toronto was his fifth in eight starts this season. The four-straight wins match the CART record set in 1990 by Al Unser Jr. and equaled in 1998 by Alex Zanardi. His seven wins in 10 races also match a record set by Rick Mears in the 1981-82 seasons and tied by Unser in 1994.

“Let’s see if I can get in front of him here,” said Bruno Junqueira, second in the standings.