Helio Castroneves
Helio Castroneves
Hélio Castro-Neves, better known as Hélio Castroneves, is a Brazilian auto racing driver competing in the IndyCar Series. In IndyCar competition, Castroneves has 23 wins and 38 poles, and placed second in the season standings four times, third two times and fourth four times. Prior to IndyCar, Castroneves competed in the CART championship, with a highest championship points finish of fourth; he recorded six wins and seven pole positions in the series...
NationalityBrazilian
ProfessionRace Car Driver
Date of Birth10 May 1975
CitySao Paulo, Brazil
CountryBrazil
Obviously, we are extremely disappointed. I thought we were finally going to finish. I'm not sure what happened to the car.
It's a track where everyone can go flat easy. It's a track where equipment sometimes takes over for the driving. But that's for speed. The draft is very important here and we have been learning what it takes, so hopefully we will be able to learn from that and win.
The banana is good for retaining water, and the sugar brings me up. It's going to look like oatmeal when it's done, but it tastes much better.
Some drivers might be twisting their nose or don't like the idea. The way I see it, it's good for everybody.
I tell you, if we would be like NASCAR - have bumpers - for sure I would have won the race. But this is not NASCAR.
I was just trying to get the side draft. We were trying to get so slow. I wasn't sure if Sam was trying to pass or push. I didn't know which way he was going. I really thought the finish line was ahead of me. I was thinking, 'Look! It's right up there!' And they were telling me on the radio that the race was over.
Everything is going the way we are planning but until the checkered flag, you can't count on it. Today, we are extremely happy. That's what we need to be thinking about and enjoy this moment.
All the drivers know the risks and the dangers, but we're here because we love what we do. It's not the first time it's happened and, unfortunately, it probably won't be the last time.
Close to the end, when I saw Sam coming, I tried to make a move. I tried to take advantage of the momentum, put me side by side with Dan. But it just was not enough. If we would be like NASCAR and have bumpers, I'm sure we would have won the race by now.
It's awesome starting up front. We were fast in practice, but I know everybody will pick it up as well tomorrow.
Incredible. I mean, we have to face it, this is the second-best event of the series.
Motor racing is going to miss a phenomenal race driver and I'm going to miss a good friend. I think I will learn a lot with Sam. He is an experienced driver even though he is young. He's been fast at a lot of tracks where we haven't done well so I hope to learn from him.
I can't believe it. To lose (a race) that close, I don't what to feel, to be honest right now. Should I be happy? Should I be sad? I don't know. It's a weird feeling to finish second in this kind of situation, so close. We got ourselves back a little bit into the championship, and moved up into fifth. Let's keep moving. We gave it all we had, but we just couldn't push ahead on the final lap. Being realistic, Dan (Wheldon) is probably going to win the championship, but it would be a great goal to have two Marlboro Team Penske cars finish in the top five in points.
Once I made the top six, it was, 'OK, now it's time to go for it,