Relaxed and clear-eyed, Helio Castroneves showed up at the Milwaukee Mile on Friday ready for his next big challenge — trying to hold on to the momentum from his third Indianapolis 500 win and use it as a launching pad to his first IndyCar Series championship.
The charismatic Brazilian has ridden what he calls “a roller coaster” of emotions for the past year.
He made a late-season charge and came up just 17 points behind 2008 champion Scott Dixon, then spent six months dealing with federal tax evasion charges before being acquitted in April and diving right back into his Penske Racing car, winning Indy in his third race back with the team.
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The days since last Sunday’s emotional win at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway have been filled with travel to New York, Fort Worth, Texas, and Chicago for a multitude of interviews and appearances.
But none of it has slowed Castroneves down as he prepares for Sunday’s race here.
“I should have that sponsor with the little bunny that never stops,” he said, grinning. “I’m still going.”
He’s hoping the ride carries him all the way to the series title that has eluded him in four seasons in the now-defunct CART series and the last eight full seasons in IndyCar.
“Last year, Scott won a lot of races and got some separation and then I was able to challenge him at the end,” Castroneves said. “That seems to happen a lot, somebody gets hot and wins a bunch of races. But, this year, the cars are more even, the teams are all good and I think it’s going to be close like this all the way to the end.”
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