![]() Three of them have been first-time winners and four are drivers aged 24 or younger.Ĭastroneves found himself in a closing duel with one of the young stars, 24-year-old Spaniard Alex Palou, but he passed Palou for good with two laps remaining and beat him by 0.4928 seconds for the victory. Mickelson at 50 became the oldest major winner last week at Kiawah Island, S.C.Ĭastroneves’ win was a stark contrast to the recent theme of young drivers taking over Ind圜ar, which now has six different winners through six races this season. The older guys are still kicking the younger guys’ butts.”īrady, a seven-time Super Bowl champion, capped his first season with Tampa Bay by leading the Bucs to their first championship in 18 years at 43 years old. 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. “I don’t know if this is a good comparison, but Tom Brady won the Super Bowl and Phil Mickelson won the golf so here you go. He debuted in the Indy Racing League (IRL) in 2001, competing in two races for Penske and winning the Indianapolis 500. “I’ve run two races this year and won two races, I’d say that’s pretty good,” said Castroneves, who noted this might be the year for aging veterans. Castroneves managed a season-best seventh in the Indy 500 (recovering from a crash in testing) and only two other top 10s in 17 starts. 06 Dallara-Honda after finishing 18 th in the 2022 standings, a career worst for the Brazilian over a full year in Ind圜ar. “I love Indianapolis! You guys don’t understand it! The fans, you give me energy,” Castroneves said.Ĭastroneves was also part of the winning Rolex 24 Daytona sports car team in January, taking the prestigious sports car event for the first time. Castroneves signed a one-year deal to return to Meyer Shank Racing’s No. and Rick Mears, his former mentor at Team Penske, as the only four-time winners of “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing.” Mears was the last driver to join the club in 1991. But he was eventually phased over to the sports car program, where he won the IMSA championship last season before Roger Penske shuttered the team and made the business decision to cut Castroneves loose.Ĭastroneves had been trying since 2009 to join A.J. “You’re a legend.”Ĭastroneves became the fourth-oldest winner in Indianapolis 500 history, behind Al Unser (47, 1987), Bobby Unser (47, 1981) and Emerson Fittipaldi (46, 1993).Ĭastroneves spent more than two decades driving for Team Penske and won three Indy 500s with the team. “I was looking up and down ‘Who is the 06?’” Power told Castroneves in a victory hug. Third-place finisher Simon Pagenaud (left), the 2019 Indy 500 winner, made his way to the frontstretch to celebrate with Helio Castroneves, his former Penkse Racing teammate, telling him, "Helio, I was coming for you, but if it couldn't be me, I'm so happy for you!" Paul Sancya/Associated PressĪlmost every member of Team Penske rushed out to meet Castroneves, including former teammate Will Power, who saw the final scoring pylon and had no idea his longtime friend won. ![]()
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