Third Time, He's Charmed

Acquitted of Tax Evasion Charges, Castroneves Triumphs Again

INDIANAPOLIS, May 24 -- 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 scored the best finish for 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 on 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. IndyCar racing's most popular driver, she challenged Wheldon momentarily on a restart with 17 laps remaining, pulling alongside the Englishman. But she wasn't able to maneuver past him on the narrow, flat 2.5-mile oval.

"I had a really strong car for the last few stints and would have loved to see the last 35 laps raced green," 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 500-mile 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 told Castroneves over the spotty radio, "White flag, bring it home." Which is exactly what he did, much to the approval of the approximately 200,000 fans who cheered as he crossed the finish line. 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 and climbing the chain link retaining fence, pumping his fists as the fans roared.

Castroneves said he battled a balky radio system that broke up on the backstretch, making communication with his team difficult. The gearbox in his car also popped into neutral each time he pitted.

"I couldn't hear how many laps to go," he said. "I tried to keep looking to the number of laps, and he keep telling me ten. Then I didn't know if it was ten or seven or I was just so confused. So I'm just like, okay, forget it, keep going."