Castroneves could be fastest to 4th Indy win

Helio Castroneves

IMS

After driving to his third Indianapolis 500 victory May 24, Helio Castroneves is standing on the edge of motorsports history.

Castroneves could join the most elite club in auto racing – a four-time Indianapolis 500 champion – faster than any driver in history by winning the 2010 Indianapolis 500 on Sunday, May 30, 2010 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. He would stand alongside icons A.J. Foyt, Al Unser and Rick Mears as a four-time winner of "The Greatest Spectacle in Racing," and he would achieve the feat in record time.

If Castroneves wins with Team Penske next May, he will have earned four victories in just 10 starts at Indy. Mears is the fastest to four in the "500," earning his fourth victory in his 14th start, in 1991.

It took Foyt 20 starts to achieve four victories, Unser 22.

"We just made three and now are thinking about a fourth," Castroneves said after winning May 24. "I feel honored to be in this category of drivers. And now being in this type of category, wow, with such incredible names. I feel blessed to be in that category. But without a team, without good people surrounding you, you cannot make that."

Said Tim Cindric, president of Penske Performance Inc., "As we look at it now, I remember as a kid growing up here, remembering how cool it was to wait for A.J. to win his fourth and what that meant and all the hype about A.J. winning his fourth, and then again with Mears. So I kind of lived it as a kid, and it's kind of cool to sit up here and think he has a chance to do it."

Castroneves also would write more Indy 500 history if he wins next May, as he would become the first driver to win the race in consecutive years twice. He won his first two starts in the world's most prestigious auto race, in 2001-02, another record-setting feat.

Besides witnessing Helio's race toward history, existing ticket holders who renew their seats online for the 2010 Indianapolis 500 by Monday, June 8 will receive an opportunity to purchase a Victory Lap around the IMS oval for only $10.