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Castroneves Rockets To Emotional Indianapolis 500 Victory

Indianapolis, Ind. ? Helio Castroneves added another chapter to his Hollywood-style comeback story with an emotional win in the 93rd Indianapolis 500. With destiny on his side, the flashy Brazilian rocketed into the lead on the 142nd lap and held off all challengers to win his third Indianapolis 500.

In winning for the third time, Castroneves joined an elite corps of nine other drivers. His third victory came in his ninth Indianapolis 500, and no other driver has won that soon. He also became the 20th driver to win the race from the pole position.

Castroneves also won in 2001 and 2002.

The winner drove one of three Team Penske cars, and the powerful team scored its record 15th victory. The Penske group has won five of the last nine Indianapolis 500s.

After taking the checkered flag, Castroneves waved vigorously to the massive crowd during his cool-down lap. Upon reaching the finish line, Castroneves and his Team Penske crew proceeded to do their celebratory fence climb much to the delight of the fans. Thereafter, the winning team made their way to victory circle where the victory shed tears of joy before climbing from his car.

?This is incredible,? he said. ?I think my tears speak for everything. I just have to thank the Lord for giving me this opportunity, to be strong and to have the family that I have. I want to thank Roger (Penske), Tim (Cindric), my guys, my sponsors and everybody because they gave my life back.?

Regarding the long race on a warm Indiana day, he stated, ?We were having all sorts of problems with the radio and then we had a little issue with the gearbox on the pit stops. We were just feeling the car toward the end, and we were just taking it easy. I knew what I needed to do and once I got to the front, it was never look back.

?What a day. This place is magical. Things are just starting to fall into place, and this is the best month of May ever. Wow! Three! I can?t believe it.?

Castroneves led 66 laps, including the first lap and the all-important final lap. Dan Wheldon drove superbly from the 18th starting position to finish second in the National Guard Panther entry, ending up nearly two seconds behind Castroneves. Even though Wheldon and others gave it their all as the race wound down, they were no match for the fleet winner.

?I?m incredibly excited,? Wheldon said. ?Unfortunately, we didn?t have quite enough for Helio (Castroneves) and the whole Penske organization. Tit would be more frustrating if I had something for Helio, but I don?t think we did.?

Addressing his strong finish, he added, ?There are not many races that I?ve done where I can honestly say that the team executes 100 per cent, but I have to say they did today. They were phenomenal. We had a difficult month, but we got the best out of everything.?

In finishing third, Danica Patrick scored her best finish in the 500. Much to the delight of the crowd, she hounded Wheldon toward the end but couldn?t make the pass.

The guys did a great job in the pits, but I blew it one time (having pitted beyond the reach of her refueler). I would like to have seen the last 35 laps run under green, as my car worked well the longer we ran. But it was a great day, and I am happy with the outcome.?

Fourth place went to Townsend Bell, who came from 24th in a KV Racing Technology car.

Will Power, in another Team Penske car, ended up fifth in only his second 500 race.

2008 ?500? winner Scott Dixon led the most laps, 73, but after losing the lead to Castroneves on the 143rd go-around and a slow pit stop, he dropped back to sixth place at the finish, one position ahead of teammate Dario Franchitti.

?We fumbled on that stop,? he said. ?With the competition being so tight, you give up a few seconds here and there, and that?s nearly your day. It?s just too tough when everybody at the end is full fuel; it?s too tough to pass. I was looking pretty good for a while, but it was a tough day.?

Franchitti, the 2007 victor, led 50 laps and also ran second to Dixon for a while but an errant pit stop ruined his chances for another victory. ?Everybody has to be flawless, and we had problem in the pits. But one mistake, unfortunately, is very, very costly. The Target car was pretty bloody good today. When I managed to take the lead and was running away, I had a big smile on my face, I can assure you. That was cool. When we got back in the pack, it was really difficult. But that’s the Speedway.?

Ed Carpenter earned eighth place with Paul Tracy ninth and Hideki Mutoh 10th.

The top-finishing rookie was Alex Tagliani, who gained 11th place after starting in the 33rd and last starting spot.

Ryan Briscoe, an early contender and leader of 11 circuits, was set back by a bad set of tires. Thinking a tire was going flat, he pitted and lost a lap. To re-gain track position, his team short-pitted his car, advancing him to the second spot, but he was forced in for fuel near the end. The talented driver ended up in 15th.

Crashes dimmed the chances of 10 drivers. A two-car crash on the first lap between Marco Andretti and Mario Moraes started the action and a violent crash on the 174th lap, involving Vitor Meira and Raphael Matos, sent Meira to the hospital. According to medical reports, Meira sustained a fractured L1 and L2 vertebrae. No surgery will be required but he will be fitted with a back brace, and is expected to be hospitalized for approximately two days.

Meira and Matos locked wheels with the Meira car going onto its right side, riding the wall for a sizable distance before dropping back onto the track right-side up.

The safety crew removed Meira from his car and he was taken to Methodist Hospital complaining of lower back pain.

Earlier Meira had a scary pit fire on the 134th lap with flames engulfing the car. His crew and others doused the car with water, and the young driver returned to the race.

Race contender Tony Kanaan had a hard crash in turn 3 when a suspension part broke. ?I hit the wall head-on,? he said. ?I closed my eyes, as I knew it was going to be a big one. I?m pretty much beat up, and I am going to be sore tomorrow. I have to thank the safety crew that I can walk to my motor home.?

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