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Team Penske Helio Castroneves Fast Facts:

• Last year in Milwaukee, Castroneves started from the pole for the second consecutive year and went on to lead a race-high 126 laps before his rear wing collapsed, causing him to make contact with the wall on lap 202 and ending his race.  He was placed in 16th position.
• This past weekend, Castroneves started and finished fourth at the 92nd running of the Indianapolis 500.  He has now finished in the top-four in every race this season.  
• Castroneves is currently in second place in the Championship point standings with 176 points, 15 points behind Series leader Scott Dixon.  
• In 2007’s seventeen races, Castroneves finished in the top-three five times and the top-ten 11 times. In addition, Castroneves led laps in nine races, including leading most laps three times (St. Petersburg, Milwaukee and Mid-Ohio).
• Castroneves earned seven poles last season, an IndyCar Series record.  In addition, Castroneves is the IndyCar Series leader in career pole positions with 23; more than double that of any active driver.
• Last season at St. Petersburg, Castroneves started from the pole and led a race-high 95 laps on his way to his second consecutive win at the circuit and his first and only win of the season.  His win from the pole, marked an IndyCar Series record-tying (with teammate Sam Hornish Jr.) six wins from the pole.
• With his 2007 win in St. Petersburg, Castroneves broke Rick Mears’ Penske Racing record of consecutive years with a win for the Team. Mears won at least one race for seven consecutive seasons from 1979-1985; Castroneves has won at least one race every year since 2000. He has earned 18 victories in eight seasons with the Team.
• Castroneves has finished in the top-five in 55 of the 100 (55%) races he’s run since joining the IndyCar Series full-time in 2002 including Miami, St. Petersburg, Japan, Kansas and Indianapolis in 2008; he’s finished in the top-ten in 77 out of 100 races (77%). 
• In 2002, Castroneves scored his second consecutive Indianapolis 500 victory and at age 27, became the youngest driver in history to win the Indianapolis 500 twice and the only driver to win the race in his first two starts.

Penske Racing at The Milwaukee Mile

• Penske Racing has earned six victories at The Milwaukee Mile with four different drivers over four decades, including: Rick Mears in 1978, 1988 and 1989; Bobby Unser in 1980; Al Unser Jr. in 1994; and Hornish Jr. in 2005. 
• The Team has also earned ten poles at the historic one-mile oval, including the last three consecutive poles – Castroneves in 2007 and 2006; and Hornish Jr. in 2005.

Did You Know?

• When competing in Milwaukee in 1998, Castroneves scored his first Indy car podium appearance and finished second. He also earned his first Indy car pole at The Milwaukee Mile in 1999.

Castroneves on the ABC Supply/A.J. Foyt 225:

“Milwaukee is one of those places for me where it seems that I have been able to run well consistently, but I haven’t been able to reach the Winner’s Circle. We’ve led a fair amount of laps there and scored three poles, we just can’t seem to lead that final lap. Last year was a little strange for the entire No. 3 Team, as we led nearly all of the laps in the race before we had a rear-wing malfunction that ended our day.  Hopefully, we’ll be just as strong this year and be able to bring home a win at last.”