Indy 500 notebook

Castroneves climbs back on fence after pit crew win

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) -- Helio Castroneves was back on the fence again Thursday.

Only this time, it wasn't his victory celebration; it was his team's.

Castroneves' crew won the Pit Stop Challenge by defeating Jeff Ward's crew by nearly two seconds in the finals.

But Castroneves' celebration, which helped him earn the nickname "Spiderman," was slightly different than the one he introduced to Indianapolis after winning last year's Indianapolis 500.

Castroneves said that because it was a pit competition, "you want to make sure you climb the fence on the inside." Last year, Castroneves and his crew climbed the outside fence at the 2 1/2-mile oval to celebrate his win.

It was the seventh time Roger Penske's team has won the competition since 1981, the first time since 1988. Penske's crews also won from 1981-83 and 1985-86.

Twice after winning the pit competition, in 1981 and 1985, Penske's teams have gone on to win the 500. Bobby Unser won in '81, Danny Sullivan in '85.

Castroneves hoped the victory on "Carburetion Day" was a dress rehearsal for Sunday's race, in which he will try to become the first back-to-back winner at Indianapolis since Al Unser in 1970-71.

But Castroneves also wanted his crew to savor its victory.

"The Indy 500 is the best race in the world," Castroneves said. "But for those guys here, winning Indy is good, too. For these guys to win here, it's tops."

It was Ward's first competition. He defeated Jimmy Vasser's crew to reach the finals and also knocked off Robbie Buhl and Ganassi teammate Bruno Junqueira, the pole-sitter, to advance.

Castroneves defeated teammate Gil de Ferran to get to the finals and also beat former Indy champ Buddy Lazier.

"They put their effort in to make eight-second stops every time," Penske racing president Tim Cindric said. "They don't just happen, they've worked hard all week."

Forty-five and counting

His first race came in 1958 and he then raced in 35 straight races. He's been back as a team owner for the last 10 years.

The 45 straight races is an Indy record, one that likely will go unbroken -- except by Foyt, who has no intention of slowing down.

His records, however, aren't just based on longevity. He's one of three four-time winners, along with Al Unser Sr. and Rick Mears.

He also won the 1999 race with Kenny Brack as the driver, and the crew chief for Greg Ray believes the stars may be aligned right for another Foyt victory.

"The first Star Wars movie came out in 1977, the year A.J. won his fourth," Bill Spencer said. "And Star Wars Episode I was released in 1999 when Kenny Brack won. I think we may have something going here."

Still working

Dismore, who will start in the middle of the 11th and final row, already has overcome some obstacles.

After a crash early in the month left him with a concussion, Dismore missed 10 days of practice and managed to put his car in the race.

On Thursday, though, he was still working on speed and setup and trying to make up for lost time -- something the six-time Indy starter knows won't be easy.

"Right now we're just trying to come up with a good race car, and it's hard to do on Carb Day when you've only got two hours of practice time," he said.

Dismore was the slowest of the 33 cars on the track, with a fast lap of 218.674 mph. He ran 47 laps, more than anyone else.

Just checking

Roger Penske's team just wanted to make sure that nothing was wrong.

"It's a new engine, so we want to make sure it's working fine," Castroneves said. "The car is idling, so we wanted to work on it."

Castroneves ran 17 laps and was the day's ninth-fastest at 224.191.

Pit stops

 

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