Indy victory not Castroneves biggest win of year

Posted at 12:00am on 25 May 2009

By Steve Keating

INDIANAPOLIS, May 24 (Reuters) - Helio Castroneves captured his third Indy 500 on Sunday but it will not be remembered as the charismatic Brazilian's biggest win of the year.

That distinction goes to his victory in a Miami court last month when he was cleared of tax evasion charges which could have landed him a lengthy prison sentence.

"We talked with Helio about the win of his life a couple of weeks ago and he comes back to show you," team owner Roger Penske told reporters. "Outside he has that (playful) personality where he climbs the fence but inside he's as tough of nails.

"He had to be to go through what he went through the last six months."

The joyous scenes in Victory Lane on Sunday were in sharp contrast to those just a few months ago, when the 34-year-old Brazilian was taken to court shackled hand and foot and charged with six counts of tax evasion and one count of conspiracy to defraud the U.S. government.

With his number one driver in court, Penske had no choice but to put someone else in Castroneves' car to start the season but promised once the case was decided he would be back in the cockpit of the Dallara Honda.

True to his word, the moment the verdict was announced, Penske had Castroneves on a private jet to California and back in a race car for qualifying for the Long Beach grand prix.

"We sat down with Helio and said, 'look, we've got a situation here we've got to deal with and we will stay with you until the final answer'," said Penske.

"As the season was going to start, he understood that we had to put someone else in the car and we said, 'you need to focus on your situation, but the moment we get the word that you're ready to go, we're going to have a car for you'."

"It's worked out, and I think the payoff today is not only for him but for everybody on this team that never, never blinked an eye."

Castroneves rewarded Penske for his loyalty and faith in the best way he could delivering his team owner with a record 15th Indy victory.

"It is a great way to pay them back," said Castroneves. "What a great way to show that I am so honoured to have fans like that. I will never forget so many positive messages.

"I keep telling this to Roger and our partners, to never stop believing in me and to give my life back, to be in the race car again and to be here in Victory Lane and to be here in Indianapolis, winning for the third time is just ... without you guys, I wouldn't be able to do that."

(Editing by Ian Ransom; To query or comment on this story email sportsfeedback@thomsonreuters.com)

Email to a friend