The Indianapolis 500 does not signify the halfway point in the IndyCar Series schedule, but it signals a time to move on.
A season championship is there to be won, and there is news to make.
From Helio Castroneves’ bid to score his first major U.S. title to Danica Patrick’s impending free agency, the portion of the season that begins at the Milwaukee Mile holds much intrigue.
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It is difficult to believe Castroneves, now a three-time Indy winner, has never captured a major open-wheel season championship, but that’s the case.
Castroneves has twice finished second. He is one of just five Indy winners since 1964 not to have a championship, too, the others being Mark Donohue, Arie Luyendyk, Eddie Cheever and Buddy Rice.
“My challenge now is (winning) the championship,” said the Brazilian who finished second to Scott Dixon last year. “It’s been hanging around for quite some time.”
After four races, the top seven drivers are separated by just 16 points.
Dario Franchitti leads Castroneves by five points, Ryan Briscoe by eight, Dixon by 11, Tony Kanaan by 12, Patrick by 13 and Dan Wheldon by 16.
Castroneves is second despite missing the St. Petersburg race due to his federal tax evasion trial. The last IndyCar driver to seriously contend for the title while missing a race was Gil de Ferran in 2003. He finished second, 18 points behind Dixon.
“This isn’t going to be easy, for sure,” Castroneves said. “But I look at it this way: After all I’ve been through, this is the easy part.”
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Patrick insists she’s not looking to leave AGR or IndyCar, but is willing to listen to offers.
“I’m not bringing (NASCAR) up; I’m purely answering questions that people are asking me,” she said prior to finishing third at Indy. “This is my home.”
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