Helio Castroneves

At 48 years old, Helio Castroneves has this physical status:

Hélio Castroneves (Portuguese pronunciation: [lju kastu.com]; born Hélio Alves de Castro Neves; 10 May 1975) is a Brazilian auto racing driver. He has competed in the Indianapolis 500 for the fourth time: in 2001, 2002, 2009, and 2021. He won the 2021 24 Hours of Daytona with Wayne Taylor Racing and the 2022 24 Hours of Daytona with Meyer Shank Racing, and was runner-up in the IndyCar Series drivers' championship in 2002, 2008, 2013, and 2014. In 2020, he captured the IMSA SportsCar Championship. Castroneves started competitive go-karting at the age of ten before progressing to auto racing in Formula Chevrolet Brazil, Formula 3 Sudamericana, British Formula Three Championship, and Indy Lights. He joined Championship Auto Racing Teams (CART) in 1998 with Bettenhausen Racing and Hogan Racing, 1999, winning one second place each on both teams. Castroneves since 2000 and 2001 competed for three titles in both years, winning three races in both directions.

He debuted in the Indy Racing League (IRL) in 2001, winning two races and winning the Indianapolis 500. Castroneves set a record in the IRL from 2002, winning the Indy 500 for the second year in a row 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. He won the Indianapolis 500 for the third time in 2009 and then came fourth three times over the next four seasons before finishing second to Dixon in 2013 and Penske teammate Will Power in 2014. Castroneves won their first series in 2017 before returning to Penske to make his IMSA SportsCar Championship debut with Penske at the 2017 Petit Le Mans. He won one race and finished seventh in the 2018 Prototype standings, rising to third place with five podiums in 2019. He will win three races in a row in 2020, his first auto racing title.

Castroneves, one of IndyCar's most popular drivers, and his celebration of scaling the fence after a victory for which he was often referred to as "Spider-Man". Julianne Hough, a professional dancer, won the fifth season of Dancing with the Stars.

Early and personal life

Castroneves was born in So Paulo, Brazil, on May 10, 1975, to automobile dealer Hélio Castro Neves and former school teacher Sandra Alves de Castro Neves. Katiucia, his company's secretary, has an elder sister. The family moved to Ribeiro Preto, an agricultural town about 150 kilometers (240 km) northwest of So Paulo, to help his father find work in the area's flourishing ethanol processing industry. He was educated in the So Paulo school system. Castro Neves shifted to Castroneves in 2000 to prevent the media from misidentifying him as "Helio Neves" or "Helio Castro." Castroneves' daughter, Adriana Henao, is his long-time companion.

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Karting career

Castroneves watched his father's minor stock car team race on weekends by being tricked into a car's trunk with racing overalls and helmet, allowing him to join a circuit. He was given a child-sized motorcycle for frequent driving on the streets of his gated neighborhood, and asked his father about a go-karts at age seven. Castroneves started racing at a karting track in So Paulo on his 11th birthday and started his first go-kart from race car racer Alfredo Guaraná Menezes. His mother, who hated racing, advised him not to worry about schooling and enrolling him in less demanding sports, such as association football, judo, swimming, tennis, and volleyball. Before telling his mother that he wanted to concentrate on racing, Castroneves played those sports infrequently. He was inspired by Ayrton Senna, a three-time Formula One world champion.

In early 1987, his father enrolled him in the Karting State Championships in So Paulo. Castroneves won his first trophy mid-year by bettering himself as his father sold his Rio de Janeiro home to create and finance a karting team based on his son's name. He was taken off full-time schooling to learn more about karting from his father and team members at age 13. Castroneves' mother disapproved because she knew he might have quit karting and was worried about him not having a back-up plan. At age 14, Castroneves won the 1989 Brazilian National Go-Kart Championship. He and his family first started watching Championship Auto Racing Teams (CART) and Formula One racing on television around this time. Castroneves performed weightlifting and tennis to build his physique from 1989 to March 1990.

He forfeited the Brazilian National Go-Kart Championship in 1990 and travelled to Italy to acquaint himself with the more advanced and exciting European go-karts. A mix-up of his registration documents with the Confederaço Brasilera Automobilismo (English: Brazilian Autosport Confederation) and talks with the Commission Internationale de Karting in Switzerland barred him from entering until a fellow karter sustained an arm injury. Castroneves came in 16th place in the race. He competed in the 1991 Karting World Cup in France without issues, finishing 25th and winning more races in Brazil.

Junior car racing career

Castroneves, who were born 16 years old in late 1991, have pushed into auto racing, competing in Formula Chevrolet Brazil, a series of finishing go-karters. His parents hired a trainer to help him lift weights for improved vehicle control and took him to a local recreation center. Negotiations to drive for the Arisco team fell apart when the team asked for $200,000 in sponsorship, requiring his father to spend $250,000 on his team. Castroneves, who was driving a Copral-Berta-Chevrolet vehicle, was the championship runner-up with one victory and 92 points in the eight-round championship. He began racing in Formula 3 (F3) Sudamericana in 1993, driving a Ralt RT34-Mugen Honda with Copral and then the funded Amir Nasr Racing Team. Castroneves' five-year-old car was unused and had no aerial to contact his team by radio. He was the runner-up to Argentinean driver Fernando Croceri with four victories, eight podium finishes, and 57 points.

Castroneves qualified to the Brazilian Formula Three Championship in 1994 with the Amir Nasr Racing Team, finishing second overall with three victories, four pole positions, and 52 points from eight races. In the British Formula Three Championships, Castroneves raced a Dallara F395-Mugen Honda car for Paul Stewart Racing in 1995. His father obtained loan support from a Brazilian bank, and from 1995 to 1995, he sold his company assets, private company, and Katicia's university apartment to support his son's education. Castroneves came third in the drivers' championship with 169 points, six podiums, and a victory at Donington Park. He came third in the Masters of Formula 3 at Circuit Zandvoort and crashed out of the Macau Grand Prix.

A Philip Morris International executive asked Castroneves if he wanted to attend a four-day Indy Lights (CART's developmental series) testing session at Phoenix International Raceway's oval track against nine other drivers in November 1995. Despite the fact that he did not complete the test due to exhaustion, he decided to drive Tasman Motorsports' third car with partial funding from the team and the remainder from a corporate sponsor after another year in F3 was ineffective financially. The No. 5 is the No. 66 on the highway. Castroneves won at Circuit Trois-Rivières in 1996 and posted seven top-tens for seventh overall with 84 points. A sequence of accidents and Castroneves' lack of English frustrated him, and he briefly spoke to a sports psychologist for support during the season.

He stayed with Tasman Motorsport in the 1997 season, but was informed that his sponsor was no longer available, causing Katicia to shift him to several Brazilian firms. Horne and team owner Steve Horne decided that if he win five races, Horne will keep all prize money until Castroneves paid him what he owed, effectively driving for free. The No. 6 is the No. 3 on the road. Castroneves, a 29-year-old Lola T97/20-Buick car, was runner-up to teammate Tony Kanaan, winning three of the twelve races, six top tens, four pole positions, and 152 points. Emerson Fittipaldi, the two-time Indianapolis 500 champion, became Castroneves' boss and sponsorship finder on June 11, 1997.

Sports car career

Castroneves made his endurance racing debut in the 2006 Mil Mili Brasil, winning after 374 laps in a joint GTP1-class Aston Martin DBR9 with Nelson Piquet Jr. and Christophe Bouchut. He entered Michael Shank Racing's No. 107 at the 2007 24 Hours of Daytona (part of the Rolex Sports Car Series). Hornish, Oswaldo Negri Jr., and Mark Patterson are among the 60 Riley Daytona Prototype (DP) cars that finished ninth, with Hornish, Oswaldo Negri Jr. and Mark Patterson finishing ninth. Castroneves, two months later, ruled the No. 2 in the United States. Timo Bernhard and Romain Dumas of Penske have paired in the Le Mans Prototype 2 (LMP2) category of the 12 Hours of Sebring (part of the American Le Mans Series), finishing third in class and fifth overall. He returned to Rolex Sports Car Series to share the No. In the 2008 24 Hours of Daytona, 9 Penske-Taylor Racing Riley DP car with Ryan Briscoe and Kurt Busch was the most popular in the series. After starting third, the team finished 13th. Penske's No. was published in the 2008 Petit Le Mans and the 2008 Monterey Sports Car Championships. At Petit Le Mans, 5 Porsche RS Spyder Evo cars with Briscoe won the LMP2 class.

If you want to work full time on your motorcycle, Roger Penske asked Castroneves in 2016. Although Castroneves wanted to stay in IndyCar, he sought advice from Indianapolis 500 winner Rick Mears because he had doubts about staying at Penske. Castroneves were advised by Mears that Penske will remain at Penske due to Roger Penske's persona. Many teams were close to being employed, but Castroneves opted to remain with Penske out of loyalty. He rode the Petit Le Mans in the final race of the 2017 season in a Acura ARX-05 vehicle in the Daytona Prototype International (DPi) class. He qualified the No. 1, working with Montoya and Simon Pagenaud. After a collision with Matteo Cresson's Ferrari, Oreca 07-Gibson LMP2 car is in pole position, finishing the race third.

In October 2017, he officially joined Penske's 2018 IMSA program. Castroneves was joined by Ricky Taylor for the entire season, and Graham Rahal for the 24 Hours of Daytona, the 12 Hours of Sebring and Petit Le Mans. He used Dane Cameron and Montoya to his benefit, and he and his race engineer and Taylor communicated regularly. After Castroneves and Action Express Racing's Felipe Nasr collided in the 16th hour, their car started second in the Daytona race and finished ninth. He retired after six hours of Sebring after starting third at Sebring as a result of a lack of oil pressure. Taylor and Taylor led the Acura Sports Car Challenge in Mid-Ohio, winning their first series title. In the Chevrolet Sports Car Classic at Detroit, he finished second and earned four top tens and finish second. Castroneves ranked seventh in the Prototype drivers' standings with 243 points and was third in the North American Endurance Cup.

He stayed at Penske in the new DPi class for the 2019 season. In the No. 8 race, he partnered Taylor once more. In the season-ending Petit Le Mans, 7 cars were joined by Rossi at the 24 Hours of Daytona and 12 Hours of Sebring and Rahal. Castroneves and his co-drivers completed the rain-shortened Daytona season-opener third place from starting third. In the upcoming BUBBA Burger Sports Car Grand Prix in Long Beach, Taylor and Sebring finished second, with him finishing second in the DPi standings for the fourth time. Castroneves and Taylor claimed two third positions in the Chevrolet Sports Car Classic and Petit Le Mans, as well as a second second place in the Monte Cruz Grand Prix at Laguna Seca. With 284 points, he came third in the DPi standings and was joint fifth with Oliver Jarvis and Tristan Nunez of Mazda Team Joest in the North American Endurance Cup.

Castroneves stayed with Penske's IMSA program in 2020. In the No. 57, he was partnered with Taylor once more. Rossi was among the 7 cars competing in the endurance races. Castroneves' team was disassembled in the fourth hour of the season-opening 24 Hours of Daytona after a collision with Harry Tincknell, who limited them to finishing 22 laps behind in eighth. He won two races in the Rain-Burned Road Race Showcase at Road America, starting from pole position, the Grand Prix of Road Atlanta, and the Sports Car Challenge at Mid-Ohio. Castroneves and Taylor won the championship in Sebring, his first in auto racing, by a single point over Briscoe and Renger van der Zande.

He won the 2021 24 Hours of Daytona as an endurance racer in the 2021 IMSA SportsCar Championship, sharing the No. 208. With Filipe Albuquerque, Rossi and Taylor, ten Wayne Taylor Racing's Acura ARX-05 car will be delivered. In the No. 2 in the Castroneves, Olivier Pla was substituted by the Castroneves. He shared his Acura ARX-05 DPi car with Montoya and Cameron at the season-end Petit Le Mans. MSR has enticed him to announce its No. 134. 60 Acura ARX-05 entered the Endurance Cup in the 2022 IMSA season, with full-season racers Tom Blomqvist and Jarvis. Castroneves won the 2022 24 Hours of Daytona in the final laps of the event for the second year in a row. Despite being scheduled to compete in both the 12 Hours of Sebring and the IndyCar round in Texas, which were both held at the same time, Stoffel Vandoorne pulled him out of the Sebring series due to logistical difficulties, and he was later eliminated from the competition.

Motorsports career results

(key) (key word: Roughing pole positions denotes pole position) (little number denotes finish position)

(Key) (Key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (A small number denotes finishing position)

(key) (races in bold indicate pole position) (key) (notes finishing position) -

* The season is still in progress.

+ Not Eligible for points

Ineligible for championship points.

(Bold – Pole position) is the most important) (Bold – pole position). Most laps led (most laps), but they were not led.)

(Key) – Most laps led – Heat 1 champion Dennis Ross, a 128-year-old boy. 2 – Heat 2 champion.

* Season still in progress

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