What It's Like to Win a Fourth Indy 500

A.J. Foyt said the crowd at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway was never louder than it was after Helio Castroneves won the Indy 500 last year, becoming just the fourth person to win the race four times. And he would know—this year is Super Tex's 67th consecutive at the Speedway.

That crowd probably had a lot of pent-up energy—the 105th running of the Indy 500 was one of the first large-scale sporting events with in-person attendance since the COVID-19 pandemic began. But Indy fans know their history, too, and a lot of them knew seeing Helio take the checker was one of the great moments in the history of the race. Castroneves had just joined Foyt, Rick Mears, and the late Al Unser Sr. in the very exclusive four-timers club. People knew this was a feat many wouldn't see in their lifetimes.

Last year, Castroneves was making a one-off appearance with the upstart Meyer-Shank Racing, his first at Indy without Team Penske, his racing home for nearly two decades. Despite three previous victories, he was not the favorite for the win. Only after qualifying—where he took 6th with a 231.164-mph run—Helio knew he had a real shot. "By Monday after qualifying, I was like, 'Wow, this is amazing,'" he says. On that Friday's Carb Day, he did just two runs. "I said, 'That's it guys. I don't want to run anymore. We have it in the right spot.'" Instead, Helio directed the team to practice pit stops, and they were rewarded with the 6th fastest pit stop of the race.

The moments after taking victory are somewhat of a blur to Castroneves. Mario Andretti kissed the Brazilian driver on the head, and Helio didn't even realize it. "I had no idea," Castroneves said. "He actually called me the other day. 'Hey, I just want to tell you, man, that kiss, it's making a lot of noise.' I was like, 'I didn't even know you kissed me, Mario! I had no idea.'"

In the year since the win, Helio has had a number of interactions with fans for whom the victory was profound. On a flight, he met an NBC producer who worked the race broadcast, where she revealed that she was the one whose job it is to "push the button" to go to commercial. But in the ecstatic celebration after the win, kept her finger off the button. "I'm like, 'Are you kidding me? Let me tell you, first of all, you made this happen. You created an amazing opportunity for millions and millions of people,'" Castroneves told her. Apparently she got in some trouble for not cutting to commercial, but still felt it was worthwhile.

And just a few months ago, Helio was signing autographs for fans during IndyCar's visit to the Barber Motorsports Park in Alabama. One fan was in the grandstands, and had video of Castroneves climbing the fence. "Her father said, 'You know, we've had the same seats for many years. Normally, when the race is over, we're trying to beat the traffic. That day, nobody—and I'm talking about people beside me—wanted to leave. Everybody wants to see you and wants to see the winner. And it was so cool,'" Castroneves remembers

The importance of the fourth win was not lost on Helio. He's not just one of the best to ever fly around the Speedway, he's a fan as well. "I respect the place," he told Road & Track in an interview earlier this month. "First time I went there, I was like, 'This is a tough one,' and I did my research. Back then, we didn't have YouTube or Google or anything like that, so I spoke to those guys a lot, Rick Mears, Al Sr., trying to understand what they did to win."

Some time before last year's race, Helio bumped into Al Sr. at a Ruth's Chris. "I was like, 'I'm ready, man.' He said, 'I know you can do it,' Castroneves recalled. "I put my hand on his shoulders, and I felt how fragile he was. I thought 'Wow.' And as soon as I won, I said, 'I don't know how long those guys are going to be here,' and I wanted to take a picture with all four of them."