Hélio Castroneves
| Hélio Castroneves | |
|---|---|
Castroneves at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway for Carb Day for the 2009 Indianapolis 500.
|
|
| Nationality |
 Brazilian |
| Born | Hélio Castro Neves 10 May 1975 Ribeirão Preto, Brazil |
| IndyCar Series career | |
| Debut season | 2001 |
| Current team | Team Penske |
| Car no. | 3 |
| Starts | 234 |
| Wins | 23 |
| Poles | 39 |
| Fastest laps | 19 |
| Best finish | 2nd in 2002, 2008, 2013 & 2014 |
| CART/Champ Car World Series | |
| Years active | 1998–2001 |
| Teams |
Bettenhausen Racing Hogan Racing Team Penske |
| Starts | 79 |
| Wins | 6 |
| Poles | 7 |
| Best finish | 4th in 2001 |
| Previous series | |
| 1993–1994 1995 1996–1997 |
Formula 3 Sudamericana British Formula Three Championship Indy Lights |
| Awards | |
|
2001, 2002, 2009 2001 |
Indianapolis 500 Winner Indianapolis 500 Rookie of the Year |
Hélio Castro-Neves (Portuguese pronunciation: [ˈɛlju ˈkastɾu ˈnɛvis]; born 10 May 1975), better known as Hélio Castroneves, is a Brazilian auto racing driver competing in the IndyCar Series. In IndyCar competition, Castroneves has 23 wins and 38 poles, and placed second in the season standings four times, third two times and fourth four times. Prior to IndyCar, Castroneves competed in the CART championship, with a highest championship points finish of fourth; he recorded six wins and seven pole positions in the series.
Castroneves won the Indianapolis 500 in 2001, 2002 and 2009, making him one of only nine total drivers, and the only active driver, to have won at least three. He finished second to teammate and countryman Gil de Ferran in 2003. Castroneves has won four pole positions for the Indy 500, including back-to-back poles in 2009 and 2010 for the first time since Scott Brayton. He is also one of only five drivers – along with Wilbur Shaw, Mauri Rose, Bill Vukovich, and Al Unser being the other four – and the only active driver to win the Indy 500 in back-to-back races.
Born in Ribeirão Preto, São Paulo, Brazil, South America, Castroneves started his career in karting, and later raced for the Paul Stewart Racing team, and finished third in the 1995 British Formula 3 Championship.
After being occasionally misidentified by US media as "Hélio Neves" he at first changed the spelling to Hélio Castro-Neves and then to Hélio Castroneves. He has one sister, Katiucia. Castroneves was first recognised while driving for Steve Horne's Tasman Racing team in Indy Lights, interestingly as teammate to fellow Brazilian and future IndyCar champion Tony Kanaan.
...
Wikipedia