Last dance at Indy for Castroneves in his drive for five with MSR?

Four-time Indianapolis 500 winner Helio Castroneves will likely make another Speedway run in 2027 and continue his pursuit of becoming the only driver to secure five victories in IndyCar’s biggest race.

The Brazilian’s most recent run in the No. 06 Meyer Shank Racing Honda had an unfulfilling outcome as a mechanical issue forced an exit from the race with six laps to go and a finish of 25th, while teammate Felix Rosenqvist drove to victory.

Team co-owner Mike Shank says the deal for Castroneves to contest another “Drive for 5” at Indy is getting close on the commercial side, but stopped short of confirming the minority owner of MSR for his 27th month of May.

“I’d say 98 percent,” Shank told RACER. “We’re not all the way there yet on Helio, but 98 percent he will be in that car.”

Provided everything comes together for Castroneves to return for the 500 alongside Marcus Armstrong and Mick Schumacher next year, it could mark the 51-year-old’s last Indianapolis run – at least in a MSR car – as the team expands from two to three full-time entries in 2028 with the addition of Honda’s manufacturer car. Asked if he saw MSR bringing a fourth Indy-only car to the big race, Shank was clear on the team’s future plans.

“There’s no way that we run more than three cars,” he said. “When we go to three in ’28, we won’t run a fourth. We’ve just got to stay in our lane here.”