By Josh Farmer
INDIANAPOLIS – Helio Castroneves is determined to climb his way through the field on Sunday.
The three-time winner of the Indianapolis 500 presented by PennGrade Motor Oil will start from a career-worst 19th on Sunday. He noted after qualifying that he did not have a good explanation to why the car was down on pace.
“I wish I could tell you,” said the driver of the No. 3 Shell Rewards Chevrolet. “Great balance, actually. We are doing everything we can to go as fast as we can. Unfortunately, this place is difficult. It is hard to find the small details, and we always pay attention to the small details, but maybe it is something outside of our control.”
Starting that deep in the field presents a challenge of racing in traffic, which has not been the norm for Castroneves. He has qualified ninth or better in the last five races.
In spite of that, the 42-year-old Brazilian does not feel down about his starting spot. He does hope that his competitors around him exercise the right amount of patience.
“I’m anxious, but I’m not concerned because things can happen outside my control. I hope everybody understands that if you want to finish first, you have to first finish. Hopefully, everybody has the same mindset and pays extra attention. Don’t rely on your spotter and we can get through it without a problem.”
Having won the Indianapolis 500 three times, Castroneves can enter racing immortality by joining the ranks of four-time winners Rick Mears, Al Unser and AJ Foyt.
“I dream every day, man. Every time I look at this screen here I think ‘It would be great to be in the group with Mr. Mears and AJ Foyt and Al Unser.”
Mears himself will play a crucial role in Castroneves’ quest. Now a consultant to Team Penske, the four-time Indianapolis 500 winner serves as Castroneves’ spotter. While a spotter is an important role in the team, Mears notes that Castroneves is not necessarily dependent on him.
“Helio’s a little bit more old school in that respect, he’s very good about knowing what is taking place around him,” he said.
“I’m just kind of a backup in case he misses something,” said Mears. “He’s not going to need a lot of help. The normal game plan starting at that point, you just have to shop some patience. If something presents an opportunity, take it but don’t force it.
While starting deep in the field is not ideal, Mears noted with time and patience, moving forward is not a problem. Mears was in a similar spot in 1981 when he qualified 22nd. He moved his way forward and had taken the lead on lap 57 before a pit fire a lap later took him out of the race.
“You can win from any seat in the house at this track,” he added. “Qualifying up front is good because it is the safest place to be at the start. If you are in the front row, if something happens on the first turn you’re going to miss it unless you caused it.
“If you can’t and start in the back, you have to watch through traffic, look way ahead. Take your time, avoid trouble and let time chip away while moving forward.”
Each of Castroneves’ wins have unique themes. His maiden win in 2001 was a stellar performance in a rookie debut. In 2002 he fended off a late charge from Paul Tracy and 2009 was an incredible comeback after legal problems nearly derailed his career. If he was to pull off his fourth win on Sunday, he noted that it would be special because of what he had to overcome to get there.
“I think we are going to fight as hard as we can,” he said. “We have a lot of challenge ahead of us, but we have a lot of heart too. This team extracts the best when they are in a pressure situation.”
