At the height of the IRL/CART war, the ruling placing Castroneves ahead of Tracy (and the way the subsequent protest was summarily dismissed) represented the nadir of the Split era’s politics.Īfter making the jump from CART to IRL with Penske in 2002, Castroneves established himself as one of Indy car racing’s top stars. Helio’s 2002 Indy win will always be shrouded in controversy video evidence showed that Paul Tracy passed him for the lead entering Turn 3 on Lap 198 just before caution was signaled for an accident that happened at the opposite end of the track. Of course, Castroneves is best known for his three victories in the Indianapolis 500, in 2001, ’02 and ’09. The rest is history: 30 Indy car race wins (6 in CART, the remainder IRL/Ind圜ar), and 47 pole positions.
A Penske-perfect pitchman (John Oreovicz) Then Greg Moore was killed in the CART finale at California Speedway, and within days, Roger Penske signed Helio as Moore’s replacement. He led 16 laps at Long Beach and finished second at Milwaukee, then backed it up with some impressive performances in 1999 after moving to Hogan Racing.Ĭarl Hogan was ready to shut down his team at the end of the 1999 season and Castroneves appeared to be out of a job.
#Helio castroneves leaves penske series#
Led by Kanaan, they finished 1-2 in the 1997 Lights standings and both graduated to the CART-sanctioned Indy car series in ’98, Kanaan remaining with Tasman while Castroneves joined Tony Bettenhausen’s team. Helio and his roommate and Indy Lights teammate Tony Kanaan could barely speak English when they landed in Columbus, Ohio in 1996 to drive for Steve Horne’s Tasman Motorsports team. He deflected direct questions about the incident in a manner familiar to those of us who have covered his U.S.
31 AXR car driven by Felipe Nasr (yet another Brazilian) on the out lap for practice. Then at Laguna Seca, Castroneves appeared to initiate contact with the No.
#Helio castroneves leaves penske driver#
7 Acura victory in the Motul Petit Le Mans, he charged down to the Action Express Racing pit and exchanged harsh words in Portuguese with AXR driver (and fellow Brazilian) Pipo Derani. In the aftermath of the collision with Taylor driving that possibly cost the No. Helio’s intensity and desire to win the IMSA championship in his last, best shot at a title, was put on display as the 2020 season wound down. His popularity was boosted by regular appearances on ABC’s “Dancing With The Stars” series, including teaming with Julianne Hough to claim the top prize in Season 5. Other than having a reputation as an aggressive blocker (and a 2009 federal tax evasion case that resulted in acquittal), Castroneves generally maintained a squeaky-clean image throughout his 25-year American career. In his element in the Ind圜ar Series (Team Chevy) A team orders victory gifted at Laguna Seca Raceway helped them take the points lead, and they held off the Wayne Taylor Racing duo of Ryan Briscoe and Renger van der Zande despite a mechanical delay and last place finish in the season-ending Mobil 1 12 Hours of Sebring. It’s a foregone conclusion that the Brazilian will run IMSA’s endurance contests for MSR as the growing organization steps up to campaign an Acura DPi.Ĭastroneves and Taylor went on a tear in the summer and won four times in a five-race stretch to vault into championship contention. He’s slated to run six races, including the Indianapolis 500, in a Dallara-Honda for Meyer Shank Racing. Helio’s long-awaited championship came at the end of a week in which he confirmed his return to Indy car racing in 2021 on a part-time basis. Castroneves teamed with Ricky Taylor to win the Daytona Prototype International class of the 2020 IMSA WeatherTech Sports Car Championship to claim the second consecutive DPi crown for Acura Team Penske after a compelling and sometimes contentious season of American sports car racing. So Helio Castroneves finally won a championship, a fitting cap to a remarkable and successful 21-year run with Penske Racing.
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