Part-timers Danica, Helio garner attention at Indy 500
INDIANAPOLIS » Part-time drivers and oneoff 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 parttime 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 for a record-tying fourth time. He’s been chasing that mark since 2010 and has finished second three times.
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.
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.
Her return to racing’s biggest stage comes seven years after Patrick left for NASCAR. The only woman to lead laps in both the Indy 500 and the Daytona 500 has no plans to race after Sunday.
Like Castroneves, she returned to Indy with a car capable of winning.
Everyone knows she can win her finale, but not many believe she will actually pull it off. Patrick believes in herself, though, and her peers have no doubt she will impress again at Indy.
“Not enough people give enough credit to her,” Castroneves said.