Castroneves eager to make history with 300th start on the horizon

INDIANAPOLIS -- The first time Helio Castroneves showed up at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway for a race, he won it. That was the 2001 Indianapolis 500 and it was a monumental moment because it was Team Penske's first Indy 500 since Al Unser, Jr's victory in 1994 in the famed Mercedes-Benz 209 cubic-inch pushrod engine. Castroneves and Penske were part of the rival CART Series at that time and the victory in the Indy 500 helped convince the team owner to leave CART at the end of the 2001 season and become a full-time participant in what was then the Indy Racing League.

The second time Castroneves showed up at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway for a race, he won that one too. It was the 2002 Indianapolis 500 and the finish was one of the most controversial as CART driver Paul Tracy contends he passed Castroneves for the win before the caution light was turned on. Castroneves was awarded the victory while Tracy and his team protested, but Castroneves' victory was upheld as he became the first driver in history to win the Indianapolis 500 in his first two attempts.

In 2009, Castroneves won his third Indy 500 achieving redemption from the darkest moment of his life. Just six weeks earlier, Castroneves was acquitted from tax evasion charts in a federal courthouse in Miami. Instead of going to prison, Castroneves went to victory lane at the Indy 500 for the third time in his career.

In addition to being just one of three drivers to win the "World's Most Famous Race" three or more times, Castroneves has won four Indy 500 Poles -€“ tied for second with A.J. Foyt and Rex Mays and two behind Rick Mears' record of six.

Castroneves' first IndyCar Series start came in the CART race at Homestead-Miami Speedway on March 15, 1998. He qualified 22nd and finished 24th. He joined Team Penske after Greg Moore was killed in the final race of the 1999 CART season. Castroneves took over what would have been Moore's ride for the 2000 season and drove to victory for the first time in the Tenneco Grand Prix of Detroit at Belle Isle on June 18, 2000.

So many of Castroneves greatest moments, however, have come at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and he will make his 300th career IndyCar start in Saturday's Angie's List Grand Prix of Indianapolis.

"Congratulations to Helio on making his 300th career start in the Verizon IndyCar Series this weekend," team owner Roger Penske said. "I could not think of a better place for him to celebrate this achievement than at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

"Helio really exemplifies what it means to be a member of Team Penske - both on and off the racetrack -€“ since joining our team in 2000. His record speaks for itself and he continues to be one of the most productive drivers competing in the series. I know he will be doing everything he can to join Rick Mears as a four-time Team Penske winner of the Indianapolis 500 in a couple of weeks."

It is quite appropriate that Castroneves reaches this milestone start at the racing venue that made him a worldwide name.

"What a special moment for me to wake up every day and to do 300 times something that I love," Castroneves said. "And for me, it's fantastic. It's a blessing. I can't think it's very difficult for a person to do what you want when you dream, and I'm one of those persons that is very fortunate to be able to keep doing with the same enthusiasm that I had in the past when it was the first time. So the 300th, it's probably, feels like just my first time. And I'm very excited about that. And hopefully the result will be a celebration so that we can make part of history as well."

Castroneves turns 40 on Sunday, May 10. He hopes to begin the birthday celebration on Saturday night in victory lane after the second annual Grand Prix of Indianapolis.

"It's just like wine, you know, getting better with age," Castroneves said. "I'm excited. We're not going to be on the track, we're going to be off the track. But hopefully I'll get my present on Saturday, on the 9th."

Castroneves will be the first to admit he has benefitting from the knowledge and expertise of four-time Indianapolis 500 winner Mears. That driver retired after the 1992 season but remained at Team Penske as a consultant/driver coach and spotter for Castroneves.

"I always have Rick as my consultant," Castroneves said. "Let's put this way, I keep asking him a lot of questions. I can't believe he didn't say, 'Roger, I'm leaving. This guy is asking too many questions.' But it's great to have him spotting for me. Every time I always learn something forever. Whatever he says, it becomes words of wisdom and that, for me, it's just a very fortunate situation because not many teams able to have someone like Rick Mears right beside you. And I'm very happy to have him around."

Castroneves is driven by two things -€“ to join Mears, A.J. Foyt and Al Unser as drivers who have won the Indianapolis 500 four times in their career, and to finally win a Verizon IndyCar Series championship. He came close to both in 2014, finishing 0.0600-seconds behind Ryan Hunter-Reay in the second-closest finish in Indy 500 history and losing the series championship to teammate Will Power in the final race of season.

"It's a matter of putting everything together," Castroneves explained. "Every time you come over here, it's not about thinking the number of how many you won. It's the matter of executing.

"Last year was super close -- too close, and obviously we did everything during the month of May to put ourselves in that position. But I don't think that, 'Oh, that's it, I've got to win four.' You know, I've got to win, and no matter if it's the Indy Grand Prix or the Indianapolis 500 or the championship. I want to go out there and give my best.

"Obviously it's the Indianapolis 500, and if you give yourself a small moment to think about a fourth, what a great, incredible moment would it be being part of history. I do believe, and the fans are witness of that, so many people come to me and say, 'Man, I want to see you win four, you know.' And that's the beauty of it, when you have these types of people that are young, now it's even teenager or older, 'I saw your first win and I want to see you win four.' So those things motivate me to go out there and give extra. This place is automatic; it brings the best out of me. So I'm super excited to have this aero kit because it's kind of reset everyone, and hopefully with that, and the extra motivation, we're going to make it happen."

But is Castroneves ready to accept if he is never able to win the Indy 500 for a fourth time in his career?

"If I don't win a fourth? Well, then we come back next year," he quipped. "We never think it's not going to happen. I always dream big, and I do believe big dreams come true."

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