The Car - Helio Castroneves' #3 Race Car

Choose a number corresponding to the part of Helio's Car to view details.

1 REAR WING
The rear wing works in conjunction with the front wing (#8) and is essentially an upside down airplane wing designed to create downforce. There are three types of rear wings; two element (superspeed-ways and 1.5-mile ovals); single element (Indy); and three element (short ovals and road/street courses).

2 GEARBOX
Six-speed (no reverse), sequential shift gearbox. A pneumatic/electric gear shift system with electric paddle switches mounted to the steering wheel control the air shifter mounted to the gearbox. The paddle switches on the steering wheel tells an on-board computer to up shift or down shift. This allows for shifting through all six forward speeds up and down without the driver's hands leaving the steering wheel.

3 ENGINE
The normally aspirated, fuel-injected 2008 Honda Indy V-8 engine has more than 600 horsepower at the IRL-mandated maximum of 10,300 rpm. The aluminum alloy V-8 engine displaces 3.5 liters (213.6 cubic inches) with dual overhead camshafts and four valves per cylinder.

4 FUEL CELL
The fuel cell is made of rubber and is covered with a Kevlar®-fitted blanket for extra protection in side impacts. It holds 22 gallons of ethanol.

5 AIR INLET
The air inlet is an integral part of a normally aspirated engine (#3) as it feeds the required air to the engine.

6 CHASSIS
Team Penske uses the Dallara chassis which is constructed of carbon fiber with an aluminum honeycomb core.

7 TIRES
The Firestone Firehawk racing radials are mounted on 15" rims with front tires approximately 10" wide and rear tires 14" wide. The weight of an IRL car at speed is approximately four times its static weight so the sidewalls have to be strong enough to handle the stress, yet thin enough to dissipate the tremendous heat. On a superspeedway, tread surface may reach the temperature of boiling water (212°f/100°c at sea level).

8 FRONT WING
The front works in conjunction with the rear wing (#1) to create downforce and balance between the front and rear of the car. There are two types of front wings: single element for Indy, superspeedways and 1.5-mile ovals and two element for short ovals and road/street courses. The front wing angle can be adjusted during a race to improve handling.