Roger Penske is hopeful Helio Castroneves will be able to race for his team in the upcoming IndyCar series.
Castroneves is set to appear in court in early March after being charged with tax evasion. Attempts to have the trial date move to after the IndyCar season were rejected, leaving Penske with a difficult choice; keep Castroneves in the car and put up with the potential delays and distractions of the trial or replace him with another driver for the duration of the court case.
“We await Helio’s court date, which is set for the first week of March,” says Penske. “Hopefully everything will work itself out so Helio is able to compete at the first race in St. Petersburg (Florida) on April 5.”
Ryan Briscoe will be part of Penske Racing’s 24 Hours of Daytona sports car team in the Jan. 24-25 event in Daytona Beach, Fla., but IndyCar Series teammate Helio Castroneves will not.
“One day obviously the truth will come out,” he said this week in a phone interview about his pending indictment over $5.5 million in wages he is charged with hiding from the U.S. government in offshore accounts. “It’s very sad, but who said life gets to be all happy?
“I try (to be happy). Don’t get me wrong, I’m Mr. Positive . . . and just continuing to be myself. That’s what brought me up to this point.”
“I think what they’re doing is letting me focus on what’s important right now—not that racing is not important—but it’s important for me to finish one step at a time,” he said. “That’s what I’m doing.”
Penske Racing president Tim Cindric said there has been no decision regarding the Brazilian’s status because there is no immediate deadline. The season’s first test won’t be before February at the earliest. The first race is April 5, a month after Castroneves’ trial is scheduled to begin.
“We’ve talked to plenty of (drivers), but it’s a bit more complicated because we want to stand by Helio as long as we can, or until we know what his situation is,” Cindric said. “Obviously, we have to have a backup plan if he isn’t able to (drive).
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