Former Indy 500 winners Castroneves, Pagenaud trying to turn seasons around

INDIANAPOLIS — A crash on the first lap of the IndyCar season-opening race, then again six weeks later on the opening lap at Long Beach.

Helio Castroneves’ miserable start to the season has stretched through all five races, including last week on the road course at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, where an engine failure during practice cost him an entire on-track session.

Now it’s time to prepare for the Indianapolis 500 and Castroneves, one of only four four-time winners, is hoping “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing” is where he and Meyer Shank Racing can turn their season around. Castroneves and teammate Simon Pagenaud are 21st and 23rd in the standings – the second-lowest ranked full-time organization in IndyCar behind only A.J. Foyt Racing.

“I’m not panicked, but I never like to run poorly. Never,” team owner Michael Shank told The Associated Press on Wednesday. “This is not something I take lightly. I want to go over and pound the wall with my head. That’s what I really want to do.

“But we need to show strength within the organization so that we can overcome some of these obstacles. And when we do, it will be super sweet.”

Castroneves has a similar attitude, likening it to what seven-time Formula One champion Lewis Hamilton is going through as Hamilton tries to help Mercedes rebuild its current car into a contender.

“Sometimes there are moments that I think anyone, not only myself, but anyone, they go through a bad situation,” Castroneves said. “But it happens and I don’t put myself into any category like ‘Oh, why me?’ No. I’ve just got to continue moving on and working hard, and sometimes you have to look into other areas and that’s what we are doing now.”

Problem is, MSR is struggling to diagnose why its cars are not