Castroneves reaches Nirvana while Daly hits wayward tyre in exciting Indy 500 ‘21
Helio Castroneves joined the exclusive club of four-time Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge winners with a stunning victory Sunday at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Castroneves joined A.J. Foyt (1961, 1964, 1967, 1977), Al Unser (1970, 1971, 1978, 1987) and Rick Mears (1979, 1984, 1988, 1991) as four-time winners of “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing.” The Brazilian’s previous victories came in 2001, 2002 and 2009, all as a full-time driver with Team Penske, the winningest team in Indianapolis 500 history.
Spare a thought for Irish American driver Conor Daly, who led for over 30 laps around the brickyard in his US Air Force backed Chevrolet until being hit by a wayward tyre that came off a competitor’s car. A number of pit stops later, to repair the nose and rebalance the car, he managed to finish a creditable 13th overall. So near and yet so far.
Castroneves drove the No. 06 AutoNation/Sirius XM Honda of Meyer Shank Racing to the team’s first Indy win and first NTT INDYCAR SERIES victory. Castroneves, 46, also became the fourth-oldest winner in “500” history in his first INDYCAR start of the season, as he is scheduled to run only a partial schedule this year.
“It’s not the end; it’s the beginning,” Castroneves said. “I don’t know if it’s a good comparison, but Tom Brady won a Super Bowl, Phil (Mickelson) won the PGA, and now here you go. The old guys still got it, kicking the young guys’ butts. We’re teaching them a lesson.
“What a great team effort. Everyone was in sync. We didn’t make any mistakes. No. 4 – what a moment. I’m just so honored to be a part of this amazing group with A.J. Foyt, Al Unser Sr. and Rick Mears. This is absolutely a dream come true.”
Castroneves, who started eighth, finished a stirring duel with 24-year-old Spaniard Alex Palou over the closing laps by passing Palou with a daring outside move in Turn 1 on Lap 199. He held off Palou’s No. 10 NTT DATA Chip Ganassi Racing Honda to win by .4928 of a second.
The scintillating finish was the climax to the fastest Indianapolis 500 in history, with an average speed of 190.690 mph in a race slowed only twice by cautions for a total of 18 laps, both race-record lows.
2019 Indy winner Simon Pagenaud finished third in the No. 22 Menards Team Penske Chevrolet, .5626 of a second behind Castroneves. Pato O’Ward was fourth in the No. 5 Arrow McLaren SP Chevrolet, while Ed Carpenter rounded out the top five in the No. 20 SONAX Chevrolet.
