Milwaukee Mile - IndyCar Series Driver-Turned-Dancer Helio Castroneves Reaches "Dancing With The Stars" Finals
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE MILWAUKEE MILE AMERICA'S LEGENDARY OVAL Media Contact: Jim Tretow, Milwaukee Mile VP - Media & Comm., (414) 453-5761 x2222, jtretow@milwaukeemile.com "Dancing With The Stars" Finalist Racing In IndyCar Series at The Milwaukee Mile June 1st Castroneves Reaches Finals in Popular TV Show, Performing Tonight MILWAUKEE, Wis. (November 26, 2007) - While still in search of his first Milwaukee Mile IndyCarR Series victory at The Milwaukee Mile, two-time Indianapolis 500 race winning driver Helio Castroneves will try to add another title to his collection, that of a ballroom dancing champion. Castroneves relocated from his Florida home to Los Angeles shortly after the IndyCar Series season concluded in early September to train with professional dancer Julianne Hough to compete against eleven other celebrities on the wildly popular ABC-TV show "Dancing With The Stars." One of the most engaging and spirited drivers in American motorsports, the native Brazilian has gone through grueling 10-hour days of rehearsals with Hough, literally learning new ballroom dances from week-to-week. The two-time Indianapolis 500 champion has even postponed his wedding to concentrate on his efforts to perform at the highest level. What began as a group of twelve celebrities has been whittled down to three finalists. Weekly viewership is now topping an estimated 20 million. The show airs live in the Milwaukee area on WISN-TV 12. He has dominated the weekly eliminations to reach tonight's competition, to be shown live at 9:00 p.m. Castroneves and Hough will perform the Quickstep and Jive tonight, the last two of eleven dancing styles they've had to execute to near perfection. The "Dancing With The Stars" season finale is scheduled to air tomorrow night (Tuesday, November 27), with what will be paired down to two remaining couples, each performing a final dance. Combined fan voting and the judge's votes of the last performance will determine the champion. Castroneves is up for the "Disco Ball Trophy" against two other celebrities and their dancing partners - singers Marie Osmond and former Spice Girl Melanie Brown. Voting for Castroneves can be done by calling (800) 868-3409, or via on-line vote at www.abc.com/primetime/dancingwiththestars. "Can you believe we are in the finals? Not bad for a race car driver! If anyone has asked me in the beginning of the show if I would do the finals, I would say: "Are you crazy? I am race car driver with NO experience in dancing," the Team Penske driver said. "I like to have fun, enjoy and have a good time. Any competition you enter you want to win, but right now I want to have as much fun as possible and that's going to bring out my gamesmanship." Castroneves will be bringing his "A" game to The Milwaukee Mile on Sunday afternoon, June 1st, as he'll race wheel-to-wheel in an Indy car at over 170mph in the ABC Supply / A.J. Foyt 225 IndyCar Series race. While leading this event one year ago, Castroneves' race car suffered a rear wing support failure within the closing laps, ending a stellar driving performance and any chance at victory. Guaranteed, Castroneves would like nothing more than to make room in his trophy case for his first Milwaukee Mile crystal trophy come this June. Tonight, he hopes to dance his way into contention to place it right next to his "Dancing With The Stars" championship trophy. He's shown he has the talent and competitive drive to win them both. For tickets and information on Helio Castroneves competing in the ABC Supply / A.J. Foyt 225 IndyCar Series race weekend May 31 - June 1 at The Milwaukee Mile, visit the speedway's website, www.milwaukeemile.com <http://www.milwaukeemile.com/> . # # # NOTE: If you would prefer a higher resolution image to publish, please contact The Milwaukee Mile's Jim Tretow - jtretow@milwaukeemile.com Photo caption: Helio Castroneves at the June 3, 2007 Series event weekend at The Milwaukee Mile Photo credit: Russ Lake/Milwaukee Mile