WHEN Helio Castroneves left Indianapolis last May, he pleaded with Roger Penske for one more chance at a record-tying fourth Indianapolis 500 win.
Now that Castroneves is back in town and Penske has assured the exuberant Brazilian racer of making at least two more Indy starts, Castroneves has adjusted his goal.
“I want to win (this year) because winning gives me an opportunity to go for five next year and I know I’m capable of it,” he said. “Racing is still my passion, racing is still my love and hopefully I can break the record.”
Castroneves is 43 and works for the winningest team in 500 history, a team that owns four straight wins at Indianapolis Motor Speedway — last year’s 500 and Brickyard 400 on the historic oval and the 2018 and 2019 IndyCar Grand Prix on the track’s road course.
He was fourth on the speed chart Tuesday, fifth Wednesday and in the top five most of Thursday. Castroneves’ best lap of the week, 228.441 mph, is eighth overall, and the Penske cars have performed so well they actually parked early each of the first two days of practice.
It’s a solid start to Castroneves’ latest attempt to join Mears, Unser and A.J. Foyt in the four-time winners club.
A year ago, after moving from the IndyCar Series to sports cars full time, Castroneves finished fifth in his season debut at the Grand Prix and then wound up crashing in the 500. He finished a career-worst 27th. Afterward, Castroneves used a television interview to plead for one more chance.
There won’t be a repeat May 26. On Wednesday, Penske told The Associated Press he expects Castroneves to return in his familiar No. 3 car next year — win or lose. And it may not be his last chance, either.
“That’s a subject matter I hope we won’t have to discuss for a long time,” he said. “But we made a commitment to Helio based on the sports-car program and that was a three-year plan.”
So Castroneves hopes to make the most of it.
“There are two ways to look at it. The good way is I keep trying; the bad way is I’m still trying every year,” he said. “But you can’t put the cart before the horse. Let’s see what happens right now and I’m planning to win No. 4.” (AP)