Drive for 5: Helio Castroneves makes another attempt at Indy 500 history

Helio Castroneves won the first time he raced in the Indianapolis 500. He won his second one the following year, and a quest for history began in earnest following that 2002 triumph.

He had to wait a little bit before the third came and that was in his ninth. And he drank the milk in his history-tying fourth in his 21st Indianapolis 500.

Unsuccessful in three attempts for a history-making fifth Indy 500 victory, Castroneves is back for more. He ranked in the top 10 in opening-day practice Tuesday for the Indianapolis 500, which will be his 25th.

If Castroneves captures his fifth Borg-Warner Trophy this year, would it finally be his last start in the race?

"I'm going to come back and try for six," Castroneves said with a little bit of a laugh. "I want a statue."

Going for a statue likely wasn’t on Castroneves' radar when he first won the Indy 500 as a 500 rookie in 2001 (it was his fourth open-wheel season but 2001 was his first Indy 500 amid the split of open-wheel racing series). 

His 2001, 2002 and 2009 wins came for team owner Roger Penske, with a 2007 notable victory of a different sort — in "Dancing With The Stars" — between the second and third wins. 

After driving for 20 years in INDYCAR for Penske, Castroneves landed a ride with Meyer Shank Racing for 2021. And he promptly won in a year that was a partial schedule for him that eventually turned into two more full-time seasons before now doing a schedule of select races.

Ask Castroneves about why at age 50 he continues to try for that fifth win, and he will give a variety of answers as he tries to break a tie for the most 500 wins with A.J. Foyt, Al Unser and Rick Mears.

First comes the Meyer Shank team, which fields cars for Felix Rosenqvist and Marcus Armstrong