Helio Castroneves had a very productive day on Tuesday at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, where the 96th Indy 500 will take place on Sunday May 27th. On this fourth day of practice for the most important race of the IZOD IndyCar Series, the Team Penske driver finished 2nd fastest, achieving the average speed of 222.025 mph (355,526km/h).

“It was an important day today, as we are working on adjusting the car for the race, but were still able to reach such good speed. Since this is a long race, I tried to ride as much as possible and to simulate some things that are not possible in a few laps. For sure the work cannot stop and we do have room for improvement, but it’s good to notice that we are striving in the right direction”, said Castroneves, who will fight for his fourth win at Indy this year.

Picture John Cote

Helio Castroneves achieved this Monday, May 14, his best speed since the start of the Indy 500 practices on Saturday. The Team Penske driver reached 218,728 mph, equivalent to 350 km /h average speed for the 2.5 miles oval at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Despite the improvement compared to the previous days, the practice focus was not speed, but devoted mainly to adjust the car in traffic. Team Penske had all it’s three drivers out at the track together several times, and Helio Castroneves, Ryan Briscoe and Will Power alternated positions during this practice.

“One of the main requirements for the race is to balance traffic situation, which was our main focus and what we were working on today,” said Castroneves, who finished the day, alongside his teammates in a Penske Chevrolet dealership in Indianapolis, participating in events with clients.

Picture by Jim Haines

The second day of open practice for the Indy 500, that took place this Sunday between 12:00 p.m. and 7 p.m., was of a lot of work for Helio Castroneves and his Shell V-Power Pennzoil Penske Team. The day’s objective was achieved, as several different set-ups were put to test.

“The beginning adjustments are what they are. We cannot focus only on being on top, we need to take advantage of every minute to try out solutions for Pole and Race Day. This is the stage where we win some, loose some, but we must let go of strategies that were not working and work harder on further developing the most efficient solutions. Like I said, we have a lot of work ahead of us”, said Castroneves, who will continue rounds of practices this Monday with his Dallara DW12 Chevrolet #3 car.

Picture Dana Garrett

Helio Castroneves started on Saturday, May 12th, preparations for the 96th Indy 500 with very positive results. The primary objective was to test for solutions, but Helio has his eyes on Pole Day (May the 19th), the Team Penske driver reached the speed of 217.617 mph and 348.187 km /h. Holder of three victories in the most important event of the IZOD IndyCar Series calendar, the Brazilian will attempt to win his fourth ring this year.

“Being at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway is amazing. This place is wonderful and I feel really at home. In the first practice, our concern was to test some alternatives and the car behaved very well. I’m glad we are on track, but we still have a lot of work ahead to get the car the way we want for Pole Day and the race, “said Castroneves, who drives the #3 Chevrolet Dallara DW12 with the Shell V-Power Penzzoil colors.

Helio Castroneves is back at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Starting this Saturday, May 12, he and the other drivers will begin preparations for the 96th edition of the Indy 500, the most important race of the IZOD IndyCar Series. Helio, who is the Brazilian with most victories in Indycar, with 26 victories and 40 pole positions, arrives at the Centennial Indiana Motor-speedway as the only active driver able to match the record of wins in the 2.5-mile oval.

Winner in 2001, the year of his first running at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, and again in 2002 and 2009, Castroneves has before him in the ranking, with four wins each, A. J. Foyt, Al Unser (Senior) and Rick Mears. Castroneves is the only driver who holds three wins that continues to compete the race that was inaugurated in 1911. Former drivers who also hold three time Indy champion titles are Louis Meyer, Wilbur Shaw, Mauri Rose Johnny Rutherford and Bobby Unser. This will be his 12th participation on the Indy 500.

After testing with his Dallara Chevrolet DW12 at Texas Motor Speedway yesterday in Fort Worth, Helio Castroneves is ready to start his journey in search of his fourth victory of the Indy 500. Training sessions begin on Saturday, May 12th, Pole Day will be on the 19th and the green flag for the 96th edition of the centennial race will be on May 27th.

Castroneves raced across the 1.5 mile oval for more than 100 laps and had a very productive day. “Our goal was fulfilled, as we came to Texas to test diverse situations for oval tracks and we had good results. Team Penske as a whole was great and now, Indianapolis; here we come! “Said Castroneves, who won the Indy 500 in 2001, 2002 and 2009.

Helio Castroneves will be at Fort Worth at the Texas Motor Speedway this Monday to participate in a group testing. This 1,5 mile track will host the seventh and eighth race of the IZOD IndyCar Series on June 9th. Helio, who is second on the point standings will benefit from this test.

“This will be the first test that we will do after we evaluated the aerodynamic test kit developed by Dallara for oval tracks. We tried solutions based on facts we gathered back in February at Indianapolis, and it will benefit not only for the Indy 500, which is the first oval race of the calendar, but for when we get back to race here at Texas”, said Castroneves, who has won at texas 3 times, in 2004, 2006 and 2009.

Helio Castroneves was one of the highlights of the São Paulo Indy 300 this past Sunday, April 29th on the streets of São Paulo, Brazil. After an unfortunate accident during Saturday’s practice, which landed him a 20 place start, the Team Penske driver adopted a bold strategy allowing him to pass and finish the fourth race of the season in fourth place.

The fourth place finish results keeps Helio in second place in the point standings, being only behind Will Power, the Australian who is Helio’s teammate, won the Brazil race for the third time in a row. Power has 180 points, while Helio has 135.

After starting the race with caution, Helio maintained a steady rhythm and a three-stop strategy. This additional time used during the pits, was offset by speed and gaining of positions on the track and efficiency by the mechanics during the stops. For the three time Indy 500 champion it was a 4th place finish with a taste of victory.

“I mentioned before and will emphasize again, that the curb’s at the “S” of Samba are too high. If it was not for this issue, I might have avoided the accident on Saturday, which affected my performance in qualifying.” said Castroneves who then concluded that: “The results allowed me to celebrate for all the good moments. I started so far back, avoided all the accidents, and was able to maintain a strong and steady pace, and my team was amazing in the pits”.

Photo by Steve Swope

Helio Castroneves and his strategist John Erickson should adopt a more aggressive strategy for the fourth race of the IZOD IndyCar Series, taking place this Sunday at the Circuit Anhembi in Sao Paulo. The pole position was won by Australian Will Power of Team Penske.

After a performance gain between the first and second free practice, an accident in the latter practice resulted in damage to the rear suspension of the Logistics Penske Dallara Chevrolet V6 DW12 # 3.

Although the mechanics of the Team Penske have worked fast and changed the whole system in time for Helio to participate, they didn’t have time for the necessary adjustments. This compromised the balance of the car and the Brazilian driver chose not to take risks of a new accident.

“We started work very well, improving the car with the springs and shock tests we did. The accident in Practice 2 was a shame, but it could have been avoided if the curbs were not so high, “Castroneves said, noting that the work was done followed the guidelines of IndyCar, which chose this model of curbs. “For tomorrow, the thing is starting up. In my current situation, I prefer it to rain, “he added.

The young Mauricio, an eight year old Brazilian boy, had one of his dreams come true this past Thursday, when he met his idol Helio Castroneves. While Mauricio held on to his replica diecast of Team Penske’s Dallara Honda Shell V-Power car, Helio showed him all the details of his Dallara DW12 Chevrolet car and allowed him to sit inside the cockpit of the car.

It was a special moment, not only for the young fan, but for the three time Indy 500 champion and all of the guests involved as well. Helio gifted Mauricio with his book “Road to Victory”; encouraging the boy to dedicate himself to his studies and development and most importantly to reach and make other dreams of his come true, since the one to meet Helio was fulfilled.

It will take place this Tuesday, April 24, the launching of another mobile service in the City of Ribeirão Preto. After the success of Dr. Mobile, which brings medical care to regions that are far from a health care location or hospital, now it’s time for the Mobile Playroom. The event will be held at 3 p.m. at Chico Mendes Park (Luzitânia Avenue), in Ribeirão Park.

To make this project possible, the City had Helio Castroneves’ support, who donated the vehicle and partnered with the company Rontan to meke the adjustments necessary to transform it into a playroom. “Once again Helio Castroneves volunteers to help us in an important action for the interest of the Riberão Preto’s community,” thanked Mayor Darcy Vera.

IZOD IndyCar Series driver Helio Castroneves will participate in an INDYCAR conference call to preview the Itaipava Sao Paulo Indy 300. The call begins at 1 p.m. (ET) Tuesday, April 24. Officials from Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing will lead the call to make a team announcement.

Castroneves, who drives the No. 3 Penske Logistics Chevrolet for Team Penske, won the 2012 season opener at St. Petersburg and is currently second in the IZOD IndyCar Series point standings as the series heads to his native Brazil.

Castroneves, a three-time Indianapolis 500 winner, has a best finish of ninth on the streets of Sao Paulo and is hoping to become the first Brazilian to win an Indy car race in Brazil since Andre Ribeiro won the inaugural race in Rio in 1996.

WHAT: INDYCAR conference call

GUEST: Helio Castroneves and Rahal Letterman Lanigan officials

WHEN: 1 p.m. (ET) Tuesday, April 24

www.indycar.com

Castroneves is already in Brazil. The Team Penske driver arrived on Sunday night (22) for the fourth race of the IZOD IndyCar Series, which will be held at the Circuit Anhembi, in Sao Paulo, next Sunday, April 29. Holding second place in the point standings, Helio, will have a full first two days filled with social activities and press appearances in the city of Ribeirão Preto, where he lived since the age of two and from which he received the title of citizen. Starting Wednesday, the schedule will continue in Sao Paulo. “It’s with great satisfaction that I attend all these events, either in Sao Paulo or Ribeirao Preto; it is a great way to promote the Sao Paulo Indy 300 and invite all the fans for this great event of motorsport in the city,” said Castroneves.

After winning in St. Petersburg with the Shell V-Power sponsored red and white # 3 car, and speeding through the streets of Long Beach and at Barber Motorsports Park with the blue and white AAA Insurance car, Helio Castroneves will race in Sao Paulo at the Indy 300 with the Penske Logistics sponsored car and his Dallara Chevrolet V6 Turbo DW12 will be predominately yellow. The road course event will be held at the Anhembi Circuit on Sunday, April 29.

Helio Castroneves knew it would be filled with difficulties the Grand Prix of Long Beach, held on Sunday in California and stage for the third race of the IZOD IndyCar Series. The penalty for changing engines of all users of the Chevrolet engines put him in the 18th place on the grid, a situation aggravated by the fact that the race happened on a street circuit with few known points of overtaking. Nevertheless, the 9th place he held on the last lap, after a two-stop strategy could be considered a good result, if it wasn’t for an accident on the last minutes of the race.

A compact group formed by Rubens Barrichello (8), Castroneves (9) and Justin Wilson (10) was heading for the finish line, when he met lapped-down cars from the front, among them Katherine Legge that despite noticeably slower, went around the hairpin in front of everybody, forcing Barrichello to brake sharply to avoid a collision. On the curve before that, Wilson tried to overtake Castroneves, and the Brazilian stood on the inside lane of the hairpin, trying to defend the position. Concerned about the attacks of the British driver, Castroneves didn’t have time to react to the reduced pace of the front and could not avoid touching on the car of Barrichello.

In the pileup, he ended up in 10th, but dropped to 13th after being penalized by the race officials by 30 seconds. “This weekend was all complicated and it was a shame what happened on the last lap. I do not agree with the penalty because it was not my fault at all, it was one of those racing incidents, “said Castroneves, who now occupies the second place on the championship. “But race is like that, we will raise your head and move on very motivated, especially since the next race is in Brazil,” said three-time winner of the Indy 500, referring to Sao Paulo Indy 300 on June 29 in April.