Castroneves thinks he would be a good fit for NASCAR

Castroneves

Three-time Indy 500 winner Helio Castroneves thinks he would look pretty sharp in a NASCAR Sprint Cup car.

Castroneves, who has driven for Team Penske since 1999 and has delivered 29 victories to its IndyCar program, says that he's always wanted to contribute to the NASCAR side of the Roger Penske racing operation. He's marveled at the success of Team Penske drivers Brad Keselowski — a former Cup champion — and teammate Joey Logano.

Penske, however, has made sure to put the brakes on those ideas.

"Yeah, we definitely talked about it," Castroneves told Autoweek on Tuesday. "I've been with Roger for a long time. Several years ago, I asked him about NASCAR and he told me 'no.' I asked him later down the road and he said 'no.'

"So I asked him one more time and he said, 'Look Helio, NASCAR isn't for you.' So I got the message (laughs) — NASCAR, apparently, isn't for me."

While he is disappointed that he is unlikely to make a start in the Brickyard 400 or in a NASCAR road-course race, Castroneves is more than happy with his role as an IndyCar contender at Team Penske. He still hopes he will at least get the chance to test a stock car through a promotional or marketing opportunity.

"I just want to drive one of those cars," Castroneves said. "It would definitely be a different and cool experience. We've seen several drivers try to crossover from IndyCar to NASCAR and it looks like a really challenging machine."

Only three-time Sprint Cup champion Tony Stewart has enjoyed much success upon making the switch from IndyCar to NASCAR.

Several open-wheel stars, including Juan Pablo Montoya (two wins in 255 career Sprint Cup Series starts), Danica Patrick (0-for-95 in Cup), Sam Hornish Jr. (0-for-144), A.J. Allmendinger (1-for-240) and Robby Gordon (3-for-396) have competed in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series with less-than-stellar results. Dario Franchitti and Patrick Carpentier were also winless in Sprint Cup.

"So I understand why Roger is hesitant, but maybe I can drive the Shell-Pennzoil Sprint Cup car for a promotion," Castroneves said.

Having celebrated his 40th birthday back in May at Indianapolis, Castroneves is starting to get asked about his potential retirement. One year removed from finishing second in the IndyCar championship standings and remaining a contender for wins and podiums, Castroneves isn’t even entertaining the notion of scaling back or calling it quits.

He says he has too much to accomplish, including winning a fourth Indianapolis 500 and his first career championship. He was also quick to point out that Mario Andretti raced until he was 54, providing Castroneves a timeline and standard in which to follow.

"That's what I tell people anytime they ask me about retiring," Castroneves said. "I tell them I still have 14 more years. And why would I want to stop? I still have the desire and the drive. I'm still competitive and with the experience, I feel like I have never been a better race-car driver.

"I like this car, with the aero kits. I like how the teams can experiment and how they benefit drivers with experience who can explain what the car is doing to their engineers. The results are there, too, so I’m still having a lot of fun and I’m definitely not ready to retire." AutoWeek