Hélio Castroneves

Lore & Background

Castroneves is one of four drivers to have won the Indianapolis 500 a record four times: in 2001, 2002, 2009, and 2021. He was runner-up in the IndyCar Series drivers' championship in 2002, 2008, 2013, and 2014. He has also competed in the IMSA SportsCar Championship, where he won the overall championship in 2020 with Team Penske. He is a three-time winner of the 24 Hours of Daytona, consecutively in 2021 with Wayne Taylor Racing and 2022 and 2023 with Meyer Shank, and won Petit Le Mans two times.

In Their Own Story

The air at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in late May 2003 tasted of burnt rubber and anticipation. He had won this race two years running. The expectation was no longer a whisper; it was a weight. When the green flag dropped and the field surged down the front straight, he felt the familiar vibration in the steering wheel, the way the car wanted to fight him into Turn 1. He eased it in, held the line, and let the engine scream. Three in a row. He would not let the moment pass without feeling the full, terrifying beauty of it.

Reader's Guide

Castroneves began competitive go-karting at age 10, before progressing to car racing, in the Formula Chevrolet Brazil, Formula 3 Sudamericana, the British Formula Three Championship, and Indy Lights. He entered CART in 1998 with Bettenhausen Racing and with Hogan Racing in 1999, achieving one second place each with both teams. Castroneves moved to Team Penske in place of Greg Moore for 2000 and 2001, winning three races in both years. He debuted in the IRL in 2001, competing in two races for Penske and winning the Indianapolis 500. Castroneves drove full time in the IRL from 2002, winning the Indy 500 for a second straight year and finishing runner-up to Sam Hornish Jr. in the championship. He finished third in 2003 and 2006 and was runner-up to Scott Dixon in 2008. During the 2009 season, he won the Indianapolis 500 for the third time and finished fourth in the points standings. He was fourth again in two of the next three seasons, before coming second to Dixon in 2013 and his Penske teammate Will Power in 2014. Castroneves achieved one further series win in 2017 before leaving full-time IndyCar racing to make his IMSA SportsCar Championship debut with Penske at the 2017 Petit Le Mans, paired with Ricky Taylor. He won one race and finished seventh in the 2018 Prototype standings and improved to third with five podiums in 2019. In 2020, he would win four races en route to his first auto racing title.

Did You Know?

• Castroneves's celebration of climbing the fencing beside the track after a victory earned him the nickname 'Spider-Man'.
• He won the fifth season of Dancing with the Stars with professional dancer Julianne Hough.
• He changed his surname from Castro Neves to Castroneves in 2000 to stop the media misidentifying him as 'Helio Neves' or 'Helio Castro'.
• Castroneves was born in São Paulo, Brazil on 10 May 1975.