INDIANAPOLIS — Last month, Helio Castroneves was acquitted of federal tax evasion charges. Sunday, he completed a tale of redemption that’s almost too farfetched to believe.
After starting Sunday’s Indianapolis 500 from the pole, Castroneves regained the lead on lap 142, then pulled away late to win the race for the third time, holding off Dan Wheldon and Danica Patrick, who recorded the best finish by a woman.
Castroneves wasn’t able to hold back the tears, which flowed down his cheeks as he crossed the finish line at venerable Indianapolis Motor Speedway, which is celebrating its 100th year. On April 17, the Brazilian was acquitted of all but one charge of tax evasion that could have ended his racing career and sent him to jail for six years. The remaining count was dropped Friday.
“Normally I scream,” said Castroneves, who became the third driver in the past four years to win from the pole and led a total of 66 laps. “But this time I had no words, I just let it go. It was a very special moment, the celebrating lap. It’s a great way to come back.”
Patrick, meantime, came in third, one spot better than where she finished as a rookie in 2005. Patrick challenged Wheldon momentarily on a restart with 17 laps remaining, pulling alongside the Englishman. But she wasn’t able to maneuver past him.
“I had a really strong car,” Patrick said. “It was a great race for the fans, and I’m happy for Helio; he was super fast all day.”
Wheldon added: “Unfortunately we didn’t have quite enough for Helio and the whole Penske organization. They should be very proud.”
Castroneves is the ninth driver to win the race three times and is one away from joining open wheel racing royalty, A.J. Foyt, Rick Mears and Al Unser.
“Wow,” Castroneves said. “Such incredible names. I feel blessed to be in that category.”
On the final lap, Team Penske president Tim Cindric radioed Castroneves, “White flag, bring it home.” Which is exactly what he did, much to the approval of the approximately 200,000 fans on hand.
After completing a cool-down lap, Castroneves jumped out of the car, ran over to the concrete wall and celebrated the way he did in 2001 and 2002: by doing his best Spiderman impression.
Tony Kanaan, the best driver in the race who has not won it, endured more misfortune when a mechanical failure caused him to crash on lap 98. Kanaan’s record streak of leading at least one lap in seven straight 500s came to an end.
Indy 500 at a glance
Winning strategy: Helio Castroneves started from the pole and led the first seven laps, then he laid back for a good part of the afternoon. Finally, on a restart after the sixth of eight yellow flags, Castroneves surged past Scott Dixon to reclaim the lead with 59 laps to go. It was his the rest of the way.
Patrick comes close: With only 17 laps to go, only two former winners — Castroneves and Dan Wheldon — stood between Danica Patrick, IndyCar racing’s glamour girl, and the biggest victory of her life. While she didn’t get the win, Patrick eclipsed her historic fourth-place finish as a rookie in 2005 by crossing the strip of bricks in third.
Crash course: On the first lap, Mario Moraes — with plenty of room down low on the track — came up high and touched wheels with Marco Andretti between Turn 1 and Turn 2. The last time an accident occurred so early in the race was 2001, when polesitter Scott Sharp crashed on Turn 1.
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