Hélio Castroneves, Brazilian race car driver
Hélio Castroneves (Portuguese pronunciation: [ˈɛlju ˈkastɾu ˈnɛvis]; born Hélio Alves de Castro Neves; 10 May 1975) is a Brazilian auto racing driver. He has won the Indianapolis 500 a record equalling four times: in 2001, 2002, 2009, and 2021. He won the 2021 24 Hours of Daytona with Wayne Taylor Racing and the 2022 24 Hours of Daytona with Meyer Shank Racing, and was runner-up in the IndyCar Series drivers' championship in 2002, 2008, 2013, and 2014. He won the IMSA SportsCar Championship in 2020. Castroneves began competitive go-karting at age 10, before progressing to car racing, in the Formula Chevrolet Brazil, Formula 3 Sudamericana, the British Formula Three Championship, and Indy Lights. He entered Championship Auto Racing Teams (CART) in 1998 with Bettenhausen Racing and with Hogan Racing in 1999, achieving one second place each with both teams. Castroneves moved to Team Penske in place of Greg Moore for 2000 and 2001, winning three races in both years.
He debuted in the Indy Racing League (IRL) in 2001, competing in two races and winning the Indianapolis 500. Castroneves drove full time in the IRL from 2002, winning the Indy 500 for a second straight year and finishing runner-up to Sam Hornish Jr. in the championship. He finished third in 2003 and 2006 and was runner-up to Scott Dixon in 2008. During the 2009 season, he won the Indianapolis 500 for the third time, and was fourth three times over the next four seasons, before coming second to Dixon in 2013, and his Penske teammate Will Power in 2014. Castroneves achieved one further series win in 2017 before leaving full-time IndyCar racing to make his IMSA SportsCar Championship debut with Penske at the 2017 Petit Le Mans, paired with Ricky Taylor. He won one race and finished seventh in the 2018 Prototype standings and improved to third with five podiums in 2019. In 2020, he would win three races in a row and his first auto racing title.
Castroneves is one of the most popular drivers in IndyCar for his personality, and his celebration of climbing the fencing beside a track after a victory, for which he was sometimes nicknamed "Spider-Man". Castroneves won the fifth season of Dancing with the Stars with professional dancer Julianne Hough.