Castroneves eyes third straight Indy 500 win

INDIANAPOLIS May 3, 2003; The AP reported that The Indianapolis 500 embraces tradition, from the nostalgic "thump-thump" as cars cross the brick-covered start-finish line to the winner's milk-chugging in Victory Lane.

Helio Castroneves introduced a new ritual the past two years: his "Spiderman" climb on the steel mesh fence along the main straightaway.

As practice begins for this year's race, Castroneves is in a position to break tradition by winning a third straight Indy 500.

"The first time, in 2001, I did not know what it would be like. I had no pressure," he said. "The second time, I do believe I had pressure because I was the defending champion of the place."

And this year?

"I'll come back and know what to do, or I'll be more nervous than ever. Who knows? It's just a matter of being patient and putting yourself in a situation that is exactly what you did in the previous years, and do it again."

Practice for the 87th Indianapolis 500 begins Sunday. Qualifying will be May 10-11 and May 18, with the fastest 33 cars at the start May 25.

Of the 680 drivers who have raced at Indy, only four other than Castroneves have won consecutive races. The closest anyone came to a third straight victory was in 1972 when Al Unser Sr. finished second, more than three minutes behind Mark Donohue in the first win for car owner Roger Penske. Bill Vukovich won in 1953 and 1954 and was killed in a crash while leading the 1955 race.

Until last year, when Castroneves gave Penske a record 12th victory, no one had successfully defended his Indy championship since Unser 31 years earlier.

"I knew about the racetrack, I knew about the history," said the Brazilian driver who turns 28 on May 10. "I knew everything except winning the second time. And when it hit me, for sure it was something definitely emotional, as you saw how happy I was climbing the fence again."

Four other former winners are entered this year, with Arie Luyendyk and Al Unser Jr. trying for a third Indy victory and Buddy Lazier and Kenny Brack each trying for his second. Eddie Cheever, the 1998 champion, isn't driving this year, instead devoting his attention to being the car owner for rookie Buddy Rice.

Michael Andretti, who has led more laps than any other Indy non-winner, plans to retire as a driver after the race and turn his full-time ride over to rookie Dan Wheldon, who's also entered.

"I've had an amazing run over the past 19 years, and now it's time to focus on being a team owner," said Andretti, co-owner of the new Andretti Green Racing. "The only thing that I have not yet done is win the Indy 500. I am determined to give it one last shot this year."

Two Andretti Green drivers are recuperating from injuries. Dario Franchitti was ruled out of the race because of a back injury from a motorcycle accident in Scotland, while Tony Kanaan broke his wrist in a crash at the last IRL race in Japan.

Robby Gordon, a regular in NASCAR's Winston Cup series, will take Franchitti's spot at Indianapolis, then try to do "The Double" for the third time by driving in the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte, N.C., that night.

Kanaan is expected to be ready by race day, although Andretti might bring in another driver for qualifications. His father, Mario, planned to make himself available, if necessary, until he decided to stay retired after a crash in a private test last week.

Among the rookies is A.J. Foyt IV, grandson of the four-time Indy champion. The younger Foyt won last year's inaugural Infiniti Pro Series, the IRL's developmental league.

"It would mean a lot to me and my whole family because the Indianapolis 500 has meant so much and done so much for my grandfather and our family," said Foyt, who turns 19 on race day and would be the youngest driver in Indy history.

His grandfather was the oldest -- 57 in his last race in 1992 -- and retired before qualifying in 1993 after a record 35 straight starts. "He tells me to make sure the car is doing what I want it to do, to make sure it feels good every moment, and if it doesn't to come into the pits right away," said Foyt, who drives for his grandfather's Foyt Enterprises with teammate Shigeaki Hattori. "At these speeds, too much can happen too quickly to take chances.

"After I turned a 228 mph lap in testing, though, he told me over the radio, 'Congratulations, you finally went faster than I did at Indy.'"