Helio Castroneves Takes Fourth Indy 500 Victory At Age 46

Brazil’s Helio Castroneves prevailed over Spain’s Alex Palou in a late-race duel to take his fourth Indy 500 victory on Sunday.

With the result, Castroneves joined A.J. Foyt, Al Unser and Rick Mears in the exclusive club of drivers who have won four Indy 500 titles. At 46, Castroneves is the oldest driver in the current IndyCar field and is now also the fourth oldest Indy 500 winner of all time.

Driving a Honda-powered entry for Meyer Shank Racing, Castroneves drove a calm race, hanging just behind the front of the pack for most of the day after starting in eighth position on the third row. He pitted for the final time on Lap 172, with Palou diving into the pits shortly after on Lap 173. Palou exited the puts in front of Castroneves before the pair were joined by Arrow McLaren SP’s Pato O’Ward, who was among the best of the Chevy drivers in race trim, and formed a three-car train.

As the cars in front pitted for the final time on Lap 194, Castroneves inherited the lead of the race with Palou and O’Ward in tow. The Spaniard fought back, though, retaking the lead a lap and a half later on Lap 196. Castroneves then hung in the draft of the Chip Ganassi Racing-prepared Honda before passing Palou around the outside for the final time on Lap 199. The two happened upon a significant amount of lapped traffic on the final lap, but the experienced Castroneves managed to keep Palou at bay to take the checkered flag by around half a second.

“It’s not the end; it’s the beginning,” Castroneves said post-race. “I don’t know if it’s a good comparison, but Tom Brady won a Super Bowl, Phil (Mickelson) won the PGA, and now here you go. The old guys still got it, kicking the young guys’ butts. We’re teaching them a lesson.”

O’Ward, meanwhile, dropped off the back of Palou and Castroneves, eventually losing third position to Team Penske driver and 2019 Indy 500 winner Simon Pagenaud. Ed Carpenter was fifth behind O’Ward, making for three Chevy-powered entries in the top five.

Check out the video embedded below to see full highlights from the 105^th running of the Indianapolis 500. IndyCar heads to Michigan next for the Belle Isle Grand Prix doubleheader, which is held in the shadow of the General Motors Renaissance Center in downtown Detroit.

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