Helio Castroneves is a man in full at Indy 500 as a businessman and budding team owner

INDIANAPOLIS – Helio Castroneves does his homework.

It’s perhaps most overlooked about the effervescent “Dancing With The Stars” winner. The goofy cartoon character who can stroll into a Southern California steakhouse in disguise but then immediately command the room. The fence-climbing ball of energy who wakes up with a smile on his face according to teammates.

Everything – even a mastery of the majestically difficult Indianapolis Motor Speedway – seems to come easy.

But the Brazilian actually is working harder than ever into his late 40s to maintain his razor-sharp skills on the track while also plotting a long-term future in racing.

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“It’s funny that I love the feeling that I have to keep proving it,” Castroneves told NBC Sports recently.

Wait, winning four Indy 500s — and having a shot to be the first to win a fifth in the race’s 106th running May 29 — hadn’t proved enough?

“I know, I know,” Castroneves said with a laugh. “But it’s proving to myself that I know I can be better and that motivation to keep trying to find the limit. That’s why I keep finding ways. If it’s not only in the race car, it’s making the sponsors and the team united or better or going to the next level.

“I feel that responsibility.”

A captivating mix of big-game auto racing hunter (an Indy 500 and two Rolex 24 wins in the past 16 months) and savvy businessman (the car dealership he co-owns with Roger Penske is part of a burgeoning portfolio), Castroneves remains among the most appealing stars of the NTT IndyCar Series two decades into his career.

Recen