Drive-for-five continues for Castroneves

Helio Castroneves’ ‘Drive For 5’ continues. The four-time Indianapolis 500 winner wanted nothing more than to go back-to-back at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway with the Meyer Shank Racing team, but the sequel to their amazing result in 2021 will need to be matched at the future edition of the race.

The 47-year-old has plenty to be proud of after turning a disappointing qualifying result of 27th into a run that ended with a seventh place for the No. 06 Honda entry, and it’s in there—the overcoming of long odds—where Castroneves found solace in how the event reached its conclusion.

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“Satisfied with the result,” Castroneves told RACER. “Obviously we didn’t have the speed that we wanted all month, but we maximized the tools that we had to finish in the top 10. Great teamwork; great pit stops. This is definitely a boost for the rest of the season.”

Castroneves knew the day would be about making improvements rather than chasing down and passing eventual winner Marcus Ericsson from Chip Ganassi Racing.

“Look, Ganassi came here with five cars, really strong, and they got it with one,” he added. “It’s happened before with different teams; they did their homework, and they deserve to be the winner. We tried everything we could, but the car’s balance was very good. I could do almost everything we wanted, except speed-wise. Hopefully we’re going to come back next year and make some changes.”