By David Morgan, Associate Editor
INDIANAPOLIS – Helio Castroneves will have his work cut out for him if he is to win a record-breaking fifth Indianapolis 500 on Sunday, but the defending winner of the race is ready for the challenge that lies ahead.
When the driver of the No. 06 Meyer Shank Racing Honda crossed the Yard of Bricks last year to capture his fourth Indy 500 win, he joined the likes of A.J. Foyt, Al Unser, Sr., and Rick Mears as the only drivers to ever win the “Greatest Spectacle in Racing” that many times.
Should he win the day on Sunday, he’ll be vaulted into unheralded territory at the Racing Capital of the World, as the one and only driver to win the biggest race in open wheel racing five times.
However, to be able to accomplish that feat, he’ll have to do so from the 27th starting position. In all of his previous Indy 500 starts, Castroneves has only once started further back than that, and has never won from that deep in the field.
“Difficult, but not impossible,” Castroneves said of his chances. “I do have a great team. I do have a great car like I proved last year, so I guess it is a little bit different having four or five cars in front of you compared to 15-20, but I’ve been in this situation before and I know what to do.”
Castroneves will be joined by a number of other heavy hitters to start deep in the field after getting caught out during qualifying. Even though they would rather have better starting positions for Sunday’s race, Castroneves noted that being surrounded by experienced drivers could be an asset when it comes to managing traffic when the green flag drops.
“We have Colton [Herta], we have [Juan Pablo] Montoya, we have [Alexander] Rossi. Marco [Andretti] is there too, and [Scott] McLaughlin. You have a good group of guys. Hopefully if we organize ourselves together, we can actually move to the front. That’s the goal for sure.
He added that having more of the rookies…
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