Helio sees his face on the Indy trophy again
Castroneves received the spoils of his third "500" victory – the Herff Jones Champion of Champions Ring and the unveiling of his likeness on the famed Borg-Warner Trophy – in a ceremony Tuesday, Jan. 12 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Hall of Fame Museum.
"Where is it?" Castroneves said as he tried to locate his newest likeness on the trophy. "Ohh, here we go. Wow! We can see that the years are passing by. My hair is kind of going backward. I can see that. Isn't that amazing? Oh my goodness! This is just incredible."
Surrounded by the cars that A.J. Foyt, Wilbur Shaw and Johnny Rutherford drove to their third "500" victories, IMS Corporation President and Chief Executive Officer Jeff Belskus presented Castroneves with his winner's ring. Event host Bob Jenkins and a crowd of fans counted down the time until Castroneves removed the covering from the trophy to see his face sculpted in sterling silver.
Belskus also surprised Castroneves by giving him a basket of baby clothes as a congratulatory gift on the recent birth of his first child, daughter Mikaella.
In addition to the champion's ring and likeness on the Borg-Warner Trophy, Castroneves and Team Penske owner Roger Penske will receive scaled-down replicas of the Borg-Warner Trophy in a ceremony Wednesday night. The "Baby Borg" is traditionally presented by BorgWarner to the winning driver and car owner in Detroit during the North American International Auto Show. Castroneves' likeness also will be featured on the event ticket for the 2010 "500."
"I have to work four times harder now," Castroneves said of his drive for a record-tying fourth "500" win May 30. "I have the right team. I have great people surrounding me. I guess I know what I need to do. Certainly, it will be tough. It will be difficult, but I have no doubt in my mind that everything is possible, so I'm going to go for it."