Ryan: All hail Helio Castroneves, trophy hunter extraordinaire in motorsports

DAYTONA BEACH, Florida – So what highly coveted auto racing trophy is ahead for Helio Castroneves, the reigning big game hunter of motorsports who keeps ticking off the world’s greatest races?

The past 364 days now have included the Rolex 24 at Daytona, the Indy 500 and the Rolex 24 at Daytona — again (on Sunday with another extraordinary finishing kick that was nearly the equal of his calculated closing flourish at Indy last year).

And the next marquee target?

The natural answer – and one Castroneves mentioned multiple times postrace Sunday at Daytona – is the 24 Hours of Le Mans, where he already seems ticketed for an inaugural appearance in his late 40s (and a shot to join 2019 Rolex 24 winner and two-time F1 champion Fernando Alonso in winning two of the world’s biggest endurance races).

But let’s get creative!

We are just beginning…