Los Angeles,Monday:Brazilian veteran Helio Castroneves returned to the winner’s circle for the first time in three years by capturing IndyCar’s Iowa Corn 300 race on Sunday.
Castroneves led 217 of 300 laps, edging out JR Hildebrand by 3.96 seconds to snap a drought that had stretched back to his last victory in Detroit in 2014.
The 42-year-old Castroneves celebrated his win on the Iowa Speedway oval in Newton, Iowa, by leaping from his car and scaling the safety fence in front of the grandstand. He then clambered down and said “I am not as young as I used to be.”
Hildebrand was second and Ryan Hunter-Reay was right behind him in third place.
The victory was Castroneves’s 30th, allowing him to pass Rick Mears for 12th spot on the all-time indy car list.
Castroneves career has spanned two decades and he is the only active driver to have won the Indianapolis 500 three times. But despite all the experience and all the hardware, he says winning makes him feel like a rookie again.
“It is just like winning for the first time, man,” he said. “What a day. This is like, so cool.”
It was Penske’s first win over the 0.89 mile oval in 11 races at Iowa Speedway.
Castroneves hadn’t won in over three years but he has had good success this season and says he never lost hope. AFP
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