AUTO RACING

› INDIANAPOLIS — Part-time drivers and one-off rides are usually afterthoughts at the Indianapolis 500, where the sport’s brightest stars tend to shine in the hot sun on the final Sunday of May.

This year, the part-time driver is Helio Castroneves.

And the one-off is Danica Patrick. Throw in a deep, four-car stable from newly minted NASCAR Hall of Fame owner Roger Penske, the race favorite starting from the back row and a big name sitting out the race and the 102nd edition of the “Greatest Spectacle in Racing” has every expectation of living up to its nickname.

Yes, Castroneves can win this race for a record-tying fourth time. He’s been chasing that mark since 2010 and has finished second three times, including last year when he was beaten by Takuma Sato, the first Japanese winner in race history.

Castroneves will have Penske calling his race as “The Captain” seeks his 17th Indy 500 victory. But this is so very different for the popular Brazilian. Penske needed him in sports cars this year so he moved Castroneves out of IndyCar, but promised him a seat in the race for a shot at that fourth jug of milk.

Castroneves is part of the talented Penske lineup that put all four of its Chevrolets in the front nine of the starting grid. He was the favorite to win the pole but didn’t get the run he needed and wound up eighth, right behind Patrick.