Get to know Indy 500 driver Helio Castroneves and his No. 06 Meyer Shank Racing race car
Helio Castroneves goes for a record fifth Indianapolis 500 title in 2025 on the 2.5-mile Indianapolis Motor Speedway oval.
The 50-year-old Brazilian driver won in 2001, '02 (his first two starts), '09 and '21, tying him with A.J. Foyt (1961, '64, '67, '77), Al Unser (1970, '71, '78, '87) and Rick Mears (1979, '84, '88, '91) for the most Indy 500 wins. Castroneves has finished in the top 10 on 12 other occasions in 24 total starts.
Castroneves is scheduled to start 22nd for the May 25 race with a qualifying speed of 230.978 mph over four laps. He won pole position four times (2003, '07, '09, '10).
Starting grid: A complete guide to the 33-car starting lineup for the 2025 Indianapolis 500
2001: He led 52 laps as an Indy 500 rookie, beating Team Penske teammate Gil de Ferran by 1.7 seconds. He took his first IMS 'Spider-Man' climb on the fencing near the start/finish line.
2002: Castroneves makes it 2-for-2 in controversial fashion, holding off Paul Tracy when a caution on the 199th lap halted the racing action. Tracy filed an appeal, but IndyCar (then the Indy Racing League) upheld that Castroneves led when the lights turned yellow.
2009: Castroneves wins from pole position, beating Dan Wheldon — himself a two-time race winner — by 1.9 seconds. Danica Patrick finished 3rd, the highest by a woman in race history.
2021: Castroneves joins Foyt, Unser and Mears in career wins, edging Alex Palou by one-half second in the fastest Indy 500 ever (190.690 mph). Castroneves' first three wins came with Team Penske, this one with Meyer Shank Racing.
In 2007, Castroneves won the Mirror Ball trophy in the fifth season of DWTS with professional dancer Julianne Hough.
The 109th running of the Indianapolis 500 takes plays Sunday, May 25, 2025.
The green flag drops at 12:45 p.m. ET.
These drivers are in the race for the first time:
Buy Indy 500 tickets on StubHub
TV: Fox. Will Buxton is the play-by-play voice, with analysts James Hinchcliffe and Townsend Bell.
IndyCar Nation is on SiriusXM Channel 218, IndyCar Live and the IndyCar Radio Network (check affiliates for each race)
The 2025 IndyCar Series schedule includes 17 races, all televised on Fox. (Times are ET; %-downtown street course, &-road course, *-oval)
March 2, St. Petersburg, Florida % (Winner: Alex Palou)
March 23, Thermal, California & (Winner: Alex Palou)
April 13, Long Beach, California % (Winner: Kyle Kirkwood)
May 4, Birmingham, Alabama & (Winner: Alex Palou)
May 10, Indianapolis &, 4:30 p.m.
May 25, Indianapolis 500 *, 12:45 p.m.
June 1, Detroit %, 12:30 p.m.
June 15, St. Louis *, 8 p.m.
June 22, Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin &, 1:30 p.m.
July 6, Lexington, Ohio &, 1 p.m.
July 12, Newton, Iowa *, 5 p.m.
July 13, Newton, Iowa *, 1 p.m.
July 20, Toronto %, noon
July 27, Monterey, California &, 3 p.m.
Aug. 10, Portland &, 3 p.m.
Aug. 24, Milwaukee *, 2 p.m.
Aug. 31, Nashville *, 2:30 p.m.
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Indianapolis Star
3 hours ago
- Indianapolis Star
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The motivation for McLaughlin, who grabbed his first two career IndyCar wins on ovals last year at Iowa Speedway and The Milwaukee Mile, is somewhat similar to Newgarden, as a driver who opened the 2025 campaign with serious title aspirations after a pair of back-to-back third-place championship finishes, but who after crashing out of the Indy 500 on the parade laps and suffering a mechanical failure at The Thermal Club has two finishes of 27th or worse this year. Unlike Newgarden, McLaughlin otherwise has had solid performances throughout the season with four top-6s, though a 12th-place finish at Detroit earlier this month after a stop-and-go penalty for avoidable contact with Nolan Siegel piled on a second consecutive disappointment on top of the debilitating one at the 500. 'I don't believe that it's not my year yet, but I certainly need to get on the train and start winning races and getting some consistency back,' McLaughlin said. 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- Chicago Tribune
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