Helio eyes 4th title as Indy career winds down
The screaming yellow firesuit made Helio Castroneves easy to find at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
The glowing smile didn’t hurt, either.
Castroneves is wrapping up another May at his favorite race track and getting another chance Sunday at a record-tying fourth Indianapolis 500 victory. The Brazilian has a seat as a favor from Roger Penske, because when the boss needed Castroneves to anchor his new sports car team, the company man agreed.
With a caveat: Castroneves could still run this year’s Indy 500.
And if he happens to win in the Pennzoil-sponsored “Yellow Submarine” that Johnny Rutherford and four-time winner Rick Mears made famous? Well, Penske told
The Associated Press, “he will have an open ticket to go for a fifth, for sure.”
The tightknit Penske lineup rolled its eyes at Penske’s promise. Castroneves desperately wants to be in IndyCar, where he won 30 races and finished second in the standings four times. He also never finished lower than fifth in points his final six seasons.
“If he wins, he’s never going to go away,” teammate Simon Pagenaud said. “He’s going to come back for five. If he wins Sunday, then he’s going to Detroit (next week), and he’s going to do really well there and then he’s going to finish the season. And look at that, now he’s back.” If only it was that easy. Penske is a businessman first and race fan second, so when Team Penske had to downsize its IndyCar operation to three full-time cars, the 43-year-old Castroneves
was cast away to its nascent sports car program. He’s the longest-tenured Penske driver, sideby-side with “The Captain” since 2000, and the two are intertwined in businesses beyond racing. But moving Castroneves into that sports car program was the best move for the Penske brand, and as such, an easy business decision.
“You have to be careful because if you make your business decisions with emotion, you’ll probably make the wrong decision,” Penske said. “This was a planned process with Helio. We talked about it.
“Helio has a nice career for him. He’s able to utilize his racing skills, his business contacts to deliver him other things he wants to do. To me, it was a business decision. He’d probably like to race every weekend, but I think he’s in the right spot.”
It took Castroneves some time to come around to Penske’s way of thinking.
He didn’t know what to do with himself at the season-opening IndyCar race in Florida, where he was the grand marshal. There was no reason to sit in team meetings, and not having driven the 2018 car, he had nothing to offer his teammates. He had nothing to do for an entire weekend until he gave the command to start the engines, and ever the showman, he did it hanging from the St. Petersburg fence to mimic his signature fence-climbing celebration.
When IndyCar next raced in California, in a companion weekend with IMSA, it was easier for Castroneves because he was busy with his sports car. Still, that longing to get back into the sleek, fast IndyCar was there — and the cars were just across the paddock.