Nobody has won three Indy 500s in a row, but he likely has the best shot anyone has had.
By BRUCE LOWITT
Published May 23, 2003
INDIANAPOLIS - Al Unser Sr. couldn't do it. Neither could Billy Vukovich, nor Mauri Rose, nor Wilbur Shaw. Now Helio Castroneves, the only driver to have won his first two Indianapolis 500s, is going for three in a row.
"Records are meant to be broken; that is why we are here in this life," said the 28-year-old native of Sao Paulo, Brazil. "Maybe it will be me. But if it's not, it will be somebody else some other time.
"So far, I'm very fortunate, very blessed, to win Indy in my only two appearances. I'm ready to do it again. To win it three times in a row, I believe it's in my reach. It doesn't mean I will, but I have a chance of winning."
A chance better than most to be first at the end of Sunday's 200th lap. For openers, Castroneves is driving for Roger Penske, whose team has won a record 12 Indy 500s.
"I'm sure (other teams) are gunning for us; we're gunning for the other 32 cars also," Penske said. "But what we did in the past is of no benefit, except for the experience, as we come into this year's race."
After starting 11th as a rookie and 13th last year, Castroneves is starting first. "For sure, starting from the pole, I believed I'm going to be the hunted, not the hunter," he said. Sixteen winners have come from that inside front-row position, more than from any other, five more than from the second-best No. 2 slot in middle of the front row. And in case you're looking for yet another reason to believe Castroneves will make it three in a row, consider this: Castroneves drives car No. 3. The last time a car No. 3 started this race on pole was in 1991, driven by Rick Mears. He won. For Penske. An unfortunate circumstance brought Castroneves and Penske together. Penske, running the CART series in 1999, had signed Canadian Greg Moore to join his other driver, Gil de Ferran, for the 2000 season. But Moore was killed in Fontana, Calif., in the final race of '99.
About the same time, the team Castroneves drove for was disbanding. "Gil and I talked," Penske said, "and he said Helio would be a perfect guy to get on our team. They had known each other and had raced each other. We were looking for a world-class driver and Helio was available. ... It's been a great relationship."
Castroneves can't escape the constant reminders that he could make history Sunday, but he doesn't dwell on it.
"I can't just think about what's going to happen at the end of the race," he said. "Five hundred miles is very long. That's where my focus is. It's a three-hour race, maybe 31/2, with six or seven pit stops. There are so many variables."
The previous four back-to-back winners came close - sometimes heartbreakingly so - to making it three straight, and sometimes even more than that.
The most tragic end to a quest for a three-peat belonged to Vukovich. It actually began in 1952; he led 150 laps and was well in front when his steering broke. He won the 1953-54 races and was running away from the competition in '55 when he was caught up in a crash in the 57th lap. His car flipped end over end, sailed over the outer wall and exploded into flames when it landed. Vukovich died instantly.
With luck, Shaw could have been a five-in-a-row Indy champion. After winning in 1937, he was second to Floyd Roberts the next year before taking the 1939-40 races. And Shaw was leading the 1941 race when he crashed 49 laps from the end.
Rose, the 1947-48 winner, was running a close second in 1949 when, just eight laps from victory, his day ended with a broken magneto strap.
Unser won in 1970-71. He was second in 1972, with an asterisk. He finished third behind winner Mark Donohue but moved up when Jerry Grant was penalized for using teammate Bobby Unser's fuel.
By the way, Donohue's victory gave team owner Roger Penske his first Indy 500 championship. Sunday, with Castroneves and de Ferran driving his cars, Penske goes for a baker's dozen.
Unser, who later drove for Penske, says Castroneves has everything going for him Sunday.
"He's a very strong driver and he's got the strongest team, so the odds of him doing it are very high," he said. "Eventually it's going to happen. Records are made to be broken; otherwise nobody would bother keeping track of them."
