Brazilian driver Helio Castroneves is a legend in Indy Car, but the last time he won the Indy 500 was more than a decade ago when he was in his 30s. At 46, Castroneves, won his fourth Indy 500, joining legendary figures like A.J. Foyt. Al Unser and Rick Mears in his Meyer Shank Racing-Honda headed off Alex Palou's Chip Ganassi Racing which featured a duel between the two, with Castroneves overtaking him in the fag end of the race and holding on to a win despite running into traffic.
This win comes after pole-sitting Scott Dixon in the Chip Ganassi Honda to the lead at the start who lost the lead to the Andretti Autosport piloted by Colton Herta. While all of this was happening at the start of the grid, in the mid-pack, Castroneves was making good moves when he passed fellow Brazilian veteran of Indy Car, Tony Kanaan to reach P5 by lap 16 after having started the race in P8.
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— Meyer Shank Racing (@MeyerShankRac) May 30, 2021
Dixon, Alexander Rossi, the 2016 winner of the Indy 500, and Kanaan stooped during a long yellow flag period, which is about when Castroneves started his charge which culminated in a famous victory in front of a packed Indianapolis speedway which also was the most populated sporting event since the beginning of the pandemic hosting 135,000 fans at the massive arena.
After winning the race, one which featured stalwarts like Juan Pablo Montoya, Scott Dixon, Tony Kanaan, Alexander Rossi amongst other Castroneves proclaimed that people who were in their 40s could achieve great things, citing the example of NFL hero Tom Brady who won the Super Bowl at 42.
"You get to that point in your career when people are nice to you, but they are also kind of feeling sorry for you," Castroneves said ."The people like you. They want you to win. But after the years go by and there are no wins to show for it, they definitely forget about you as a contender, until you give them a reason to remember you again. They will not be forgetting me after today," he added.
"The lesson is to never give up, no matter what Father Time or another race team might tell you. Tom Brady, Phil Mickelson, me. Old guys, we rule. And I don't think we are done yet, either," he proclaimed.
His main rival for the fag end of the race was Alex Palou who was 4 years old when the Brazilian won his first Indy 500 in 2001. Castroneves used to be the leader of the pack but in his 40s, he was decidedly part of the mid-pack with oddsmakers in Las Vegas pegging him to 30-1. This was also the fastest Indy 500 with average speeds of 306.885 km/h.
Castroneves was notable for being the first back-to-back wins at the Indy 500 since Al Unser, with him winning in his first two years in 2001 and 2002. But in recent years after driving for the dominant Penske team for years, he was relegated to being a part-time driver.
Interestingly, he still doesn't have a permanent drive with the Meyer-
The 46-year-old becomes the 4th 4-time Indy 500 winner
Shank Racing outfit which started in Indy Car just 4 years ago. He becomes the fourth oldest winner of the 105-year-old race that's part of the haloed triple crown only won by the indomitable Graham Hill former F1 world champion and father of former F1 world champion Damon Hill.
In recent years, F1 supremo Fernando Alonso chased it with his stints at Indy Car to no avail, but if his latest stint with the Alpine F1 team doesn't go well, Castroneves provides an example that perhaps Alonso can still win the Indy 500 once he's done with F1.
Already, even in the F1 grid, the three oldest drivers, Kimi Raikkonen who will be 42 in October, Alonso will be 40 in October and Hamilton will be 37 in January have 10 world titles between them, from the last 15 years, and if the soon to 34-year-old Sebastian Vettel is added to the mix, 14 of the 16 last world titles have been shared by the 4-oldest drivers in F1. This certainly provides a blueprint for the ageing F1 greats considering the sweeping rule changes and budget caps being introduced in 2022.
