Hélio Castroneves
Hélio Castroneves (Portuguese pronunciation: [ˈɛlju ˈkastɾu ˈnɛvis]; born Hélio Alves de Castro Neves; 10 May 1975) is a Brazilian auto racing driver. He competes part-time in the IndyCar Series, driving the No. 06 Dallara-Honda for Meyer Shank Racing. He is one of four drivers to have won the Indianapolis 500 four times: in 2001, 2002, 2009, and 2021, and was runner-up in the IndyCar Series drivers' championship in 2002, 2008, 2013, and 2014. Castroneves also competes in the IMSA SportsCar Championship. He is a three-time winner of the 24 Hours of Daytona, consecutively in 2021 with Wayne Taylor Racing and 2022 and 2023 with Meyer Shank, in addition to the overall 2020 IMSA championship with Team Penske.
In this Portuguese name, the first or maternal family name is Alves and the second or paternal family name is de Castro Neves.Hélio Castroneves
Hélio Alves de Castro Neves
10 May 1975
São Paulo, Brazil
No. 06 (Meyer Shank Racing)
18th
4th (2001)
Indianapolis 500 Winner
Indianapolis 500 Rookie of the Year
IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship (DPi)
24 Hours of Daytona Overall Winner
Castroneves began competitive go-karting at age 10, before progressing to car racing, in the Formula Chevrolet Brazil, Formula 3 Sudamericana, the British Formula Three Championship, and Indy Lights. He entered Championship Auto Racing Teams (CART) in 1998 with Bettenhausen Racing and with Hogan Racing in 1999, achieving one second place each with both teams. Castroneves moved to Team Penske in place of Greg Moore for 2000 and 2001, winning three races in both years.
He debuted in the Indy Racing League (IRL) in 2001, competing in two races for Penske and winning the Indianapolis 500. Castroneves drove full time in the IRL from 2002, winning the Indy 500 for a second straight year and finishing runner-up to Sam Hornish Jr. in the championship. He finished third in 2003 and 2006 and was runner-up to Scott Dixon in 2008. During the 2009 season, he won the Indianapolis 500 for the third time, and was fourth three times over the next four seasons, before coming second to Dixon in 2013, and his Penske teammate Will Power in 2014. Castroneves achieved one further series win in 2017 before leaving full-time IndyCar racing to make his IMSA SportsCar Championship debut with Penske at the 2017 Petit Le Mans, paired with Ricky Taylor. He won one race and finished seventh in the 2018 Prototype standings and improved to third with five podiums in 2019. In 2020, he would win three races in a row and his first auto racing title.
One of the most popular drivers in IndyCar, his celebration of climbing the fencing beside the track after a victory, would earn him the nickname "Spider-Man". Castroneves has represented IndyCar in the International Race of Champions series, the Race of Champions event, and the Superstar Racing Experience. Among other media appearances, Castroneves won the fifth season of Dancing with the Stars with professional dancer Julianne Hough.
Early and personal life[edit]
Castroneves was born in São Paulo, Brazil on May 10, 1975,[1][2] to automobile dealer Hélio Castro Neves and former school teacher Sandra Alves de Castro Neves.[3][4] He has an elder sister, Katiucia,[5] who is his business manager.[6] In 1977, the family moved to Ribeirão Preto,[7] an agricultural town about 150 mi (240 km) northwest of São Paulo,[5][6] to allow his father to find business in the region's thriving ethanol processing industry.[3] He was educated in the São Paulo school system.[8] In 2000, he changed his surname from Castro Neves to Castroneves to stop the media misidentifying him as "Helio Neves" or "Helio Castro".[9] Castroneves has a daughter with his long-time partner Adriana Henao.[10]
Karting career[edit]
From early 1981 to 1986, Castroneves observed his father's minor stock car team race on weekends by being sneaked into a car's trunk in racing overalls and helmet, allowing him into a circuit.[a][6] At age seven, he was given a child-sized motorized car for frequent driving on the streets of his gated community and asked his father about a go-kart.[11] On his 11th birthday, Castroneves received his first go-kart from race car driver Alfredo Guaraná Menezes,[3] and began driving at a karting track in São Paulo.[6] His mother disliked racing, urging him to focus on schooling and enrolling him in less dangerous sports,[6] such as association football, judo, swimming, tennis, and volleyball. Castroneves played those sports infrequently before telling his mother he wanted to focus on racing.[12] He was inspired by Ayrton Senna, a three-time Formula One world champion.[13]
His father enrolled him in the Karting State Championships in São Paulo in early 1987. Castroneves won his first trophy mid-year by bettering himself, as his father sold his Rio de Janeiro property to establish and finance a karting team around his son.[12] At age 13, he was taken off full-time schooling to learn more about karting from his father and team members. Castroneves' mother disapproved because she believed he could opt to stop karting and was fearful of him not having a backup career.[7] Castroneves won the 1989 Brazilian National Go-Kart Championship at age 14.[11] Around this time, he and his family began watching Championship Auto Racing Teams (CART) and Formula One racing on television. From October 1989 to March 1990, Castroneves did weightlifting and played tennis to improve his physique.[14]
In 1990, he forfeited the Brazilian National Go-Kart Championship and flew to Italy to enter the Karting World Cup to acquaint himself with the more powerful and grippier European go-karts. A mix-up of his registration papers with the Confederação Brasileira de Automobilismo (English: Brazilian Autosport Confederation) and talks with the Commission Internationale de Karting in Switzerland prevented him from entering until a fellow karter sustained an arm injury. Castroneves finished the race 16th.[15] He raced in the 1991 Karting World Cup in France without registration trouble,[15] finishing 25th,[16] and won more races in Brazil.[15]
CART[edit]
1998–1999[edit]
In January 1998, Bettenhausen Racing owner Tony Bettenhausen Jr. invited him to test for his CART team at Sebring International Raceway;[29] Castroneves signed to drive its No. 16 Reynard 98I-Mercedes-Benz car in the 1998 season,[30][31] and was assigned former Penske Racing employee Tom Brown as his race engineer.[29] During practice for the season-opening Grand Prix of Miami at Homestead–Miami Speedway, Castroneves sustained a sore head in an accident but medical officials cleared him to race.[30] Castroneves achieved his first career top-ten finish in CART, a ninth at the Grand Prix of Long Beach, followed by a season-high second in the Miller 200 at Milwaukee Mile.[31] He was 17th in the drivers' championship with 36 points,[31] and was second to Kanaan in the Rookie of the Year standings.[26][32]
In mid-1998 Chip Ganassi Racing (CGR) wanted Castroneves to replace the Formula One-bound Alex Zanardi; Team Rahal were also interested in him. Fittipaldi blocked both deals as he felt Mercedes-Benz was CART's best engine.[30] Bettenhausen Racing fired Castroneves in January 1999, and replaced him with the sponsored Shigeaki Hattori.[32] Castroneves agreed with team owner Carl Hogan on January 26 to drive for Hogan Racing in 1999 in place of JJ Lehto on the condition he paid $3 million in sponsorship to the team.[28][30] He drove the unreliable No. 9 Lola B99/00-Mercedes-Benz car with an engine inconsistent in producing power.[31][33][34][35] Castroneves was ninth in the Firestone Firehawk 500K at Twin Ring Motegi, before coming second in the Motorola 300 at Gateway International Raceway.[31] In the Miller Lite 225 at Milwaukee, Castroneves achieved his first CART pole position.[36] The rest of the season saw him achieve four more top-tens and finished 15th in the points standings with 48.[31]
2000–2001[edit]
Post-season, Hogan closed his CART team because Fittipaldi was unable to provide him with the requested sponsorship money and consequently, stopped paying Castroneves a salary.[37] Castroneves and his sister negotiated without Fittipaldi's help with Walker Racing to replace the outgoing Gil de Ferran and also Team Rahal without success.[38] Following Greg Moore's death in an accident at the season-ending Marlboro 500 at California Speedway, Penske owner Roger Penske, team president Tim Cindric, attorneys, and sports agent Alan Miller hired Castroneves on a three-year contract for Castroneves after pressure from sponsor Marlboro to find a replacement driver by that date. Castroneves ended his working relationship with Fittipaldi soon after for career mismanagement.[f][39]
For the 2000 season, Penske stopped building cars, switched to a Reynard 2KI, changed engine manufacturers from Mercedes-Benz to Honda, and tire supplier from Goodyear to Firestone in a bid to improve performance.[33][40] Castroneves found the Honda engine's driveability different from Mercedes-Benz's,[41] and was at first, not friends with his teammate de Ferran because they were competitors.[42] He finished second at the Grand Prix of Long Beach, his only points finish in the first six races. He led the final 24 laps of the Grand Prix of Detroit in his first series victory after Juan Pablo Montoya retired with mechanical trouble. Castroneves won the Miller Lite 200 at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, took five top-tens, and a third victory in the Grand Prix of Monterey at Laguna Seca.[40] He was seventh in the drivers' championship with 129 points,[31] and was named the inaugural winner of the Greg Moore Legacy Award as "the driver who best typifies Moore's outstanding talent on the track as well as displaying a dynamic personality with the fans, media, and the CART community."[43]
In 2001, he drove the No. 3 Reynard 01I-Honda,[33] and journalist David Phillips considered him a championship contender.[44] Castroneves changed his strategy on a race-by-race basis, getting support from de Ferran and his teammate's pit crew.[45] At the season's second race, the Grand Prix of Long Beach, he led all 82 laps from pole position for his fourth career win.[46] Castroneves started from pole position in the Firestone Firehawk 500 at Motegi, leading more laps than any other driver to finish second, and led every lap of the Grand Prix of Detroit for his second victory of 2001.[47] He achieved a third win at the Miller Lite 200 to go one point behind championship leader Kenny Bräck,[48] and overtook the latter after finishing seventh in the Motorola 220.[49] Castroneves lost the points lead after coming 18th in Indy Vancouver, but claimed three top sixes in the final six races to finish fourth in the drivers' standings with 141 points.[31]
IndyCar Series[edit]
2001–2004[edit]
He debuted in the Indy Racing League (IRL) in 2001, driving Penske's No. 68 Dallara IR-01-Oldsmobile car,[31][33] at the season-opening Pennzoil Copper World Indy 200 at Phoenix to understand the series before the Indianapolis 500.[50] Castroneves started 17th but retired with engine failure after three-quarters race distance.[47] He qualified 11th for his first Indianapolis 500 and led the final 52 laps to win the race at his first attempt.[51]
Media appearances[edit]
Castroneves was encouraged by Apolo Ohno, an Olympic speed skater, to participate on dance program Dancing with the Stars in 2007.[203] He was accepted onto its fifth season by the casting director and producers, who watched a video of him and his teammate's Hornish driving styles in different locations.[j] He was paired with professional dancer Julianne Hough, with whom he built a rapport due to their similar personalities. He prepared by watching episodes of the fourth season and instruction videos.[k][204] The couple lasted until the finals, which they won with a higher percentage of the public vote than singer Mel B.[205] When he won Dancing with the Stars Castroneves appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show in February 2008.[206] From 2007 to 2010, he was a correspondent on Dancing with the Stars for Entertainment Tonight.[69][207][208]
In 2010, he collaborated with writer Marissa Matteo on his autobiography, Victory Road: The Ride of My Life.[24] Castroneves was inspired to write the book to convey his negative emotions in his tax evasion trial and how he dealt with them.[13] He was selected to be a judge on Miss Universe 2011, a beauty pageant held that September in São Paulo.[209] In 2012 Castroneves appeared on Dancing with the Stars' 15th season and was partnered with Chelsie Hightower. The couple were eliminated in the competition's third week.[210] Castroneves appeared on the December 17, 2012 edition of The Jeff Probst Show,[211] and featured on an episode of Celebrity Wife Swap's third season in 2014.[212] In 2016, he was chosen to take part on American Ninja Warrior,[213] and teamed up with IndyCar drivers Conor Daly, James Hinchcliffe, Tony Kanaan and Will Power on Celebrity Family Feud that same year.[214]