HELIO CASTRONEVES

Al Unser, one of only four drivers to win the Indianapolis 500 a record four times, died Thursday following years of health issues.

He was the second driver this season to walk away from Team Penske. 60 for Meyer Shank Racing, where he will reunite with former Penske teammate Helio Castroneves to drive for this year's Indy 500 winning organization. He joins Brad Keselowski from the NASCAR team in the rare club of Penske drivers who leave of their own accord. "My time driving for Team Penske was incredible but that's come to an end now and this really seemed to be the best fit for me. There's a crop of young drivers waiting for promotion from Indy Lights, and this IndyCar season proved to be a true changing of the guard.

The IndyCar Series speeds into its season finale at Sunday riding a myriad of gains that have America's top open-wheel series feeling confident about its future.

Colton Herta cruised to an easy victory at Laguna Seca on Sunday while Alex Palou moved one race closer to the IndyCar championship.

Alex Palou recovered from first-lap trouble at Portland International Raceway to win for the third time this season and reclaim the IndyCar points lead.

The IndyCar championship flipped leaders Saturday night when Alex Palou was collected in an early three-car accident that moved Pato O’Ward to the point following O’Ward’s runner-up finish to winner Josef Newgarden at World Wide Technology Raceway.

IndyCar Indianapolis GP Auto Racing Helio Castroneves, of Brazil, waits in the pits before a practice session for a IndyCar auto race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Friday, Aug. 13, 2021, in Indianapolis. Organizers said ticket sales for Saturday's doubleheader — the IndyCar race and Xfinity's Pennzoil 150 — are ahead of last year's pace. The 28-car starting grid will be the largest for an IndyCar race, other than the traditional 33-car field for the Indianapolis 500, in a decade. “If this is successful it could pave the way for some really, really cool opportunities,” NBC analyst Jeff Burton said. Saturday’s races will be shown back-to-back on cable channel NBCSN while the NASCAR Cup Series race will be broadcast on network television Sunday.

The Indianapolis Motor Speedway will be the busiest track in motorsports this weekend.

Helio Castroneves walked into an empty, mostly quiet Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Friday morning. The four-time Indianapolis 500 winner knew it wouldn't last long. With drivers from NASCAR's top two series and the IndyCar Series all in town for a rare crossover weekend, Castroneves expected things to quickly shift into high gear at the busiest venue in motorsports.

IndyCar Indy 500 Four-Time Winner Auto Racing Winner of this year's Indianapolis 500 auto race, Helio Castroneves, right, gathered with other four-time winners, from left, A.J. (AP Photo/Doug McSchooler) (Doug McSchooler)INDIANAPOLIS — (AP) — Helio Castroneves celebrated his record-tying fourth Indianapolis 500 victory in May. George Levy, president of the Florida-based Hall of Fame, said half of the 200 ballots come from journalists and historians and the other half is comprised of Hall of Fame members. In addition to the four Indy wins, he's the last back-to-back winner in 2001-02, was the 500 rookie of the year in 2001. Castroneves' six career CART wins and 25 IndyCar wins give him 31 overall, tied with Paul Tracy and three-time Indy winner Dario Franchitti for No.

Helio Castroneves earlier this year became the first foreign-born, four-time winner of the Indianapolis 500.

Josef Newgarden is the toast of Nashville.

Helio Castroneves will race for a record fifth Indianapolis 500 in 2022 with Meyer Shank Racing. Castroneves, who won his tying fourth Indy 500 in May, has agreed to a full season ride with Meyer Shank. Foyt, Al Unser and Rick Mears as the only drivers to win the Indianapolis 500 four times. Castroneves joined the other members of the Indy four-timers club and flashed their Indy 500 rings during a group photo with the Borg-Warner Trophy on the Brickyard. Don’t get me wrong, for me to win a championship, I’ve got to win an Indy 500.

Helio Castroneves might skip trying to scale the Korean War Veterans Memorial Bridge the way he climbs fences when he wins at other race tracks.

IndyCar Indy 500 Four-Time Winner Auto Racing Winner of this year's Indianapolis 500 auto race, Helio Castroneves, right, gathered with other four-time winners, from left, A.J. Castroneves won the race in 2001, 2002, 2009 and 2021. (AP Photo/Doug McSchooler) (Doug McSchooler)INDIANAPOLIS — (AP) — Helio Castroneves is taking his sweet time getting his mind around the spoils of winning his fourth Indianapolis 500. The Brazilian driver's fourth Indy 500 victory two months ago took 12 years to achieve, and the reality of being mentioned alongside the drivers he idolizes still has him pinching himself. Roger Penske, the motorsports titan who earned nearly half his record 18 Indy 500 wins with Unser, Mears and Castroneves in particular, also praised Castroneves even though win No.

There was a special gathering in Indianapolis this week: Helio Castroneves, A.

IndyCar has signed a multi-year extension with NBC Sports that guarantees a majority of the racing schedule will air on its main NBC channel.

Michael Shank will use IndyCar's monthlong break to work on the long-term future of his race program.

Ray Evernham and Tony Stewart took great care in extending invites to the made-for-TV league they had co-created. Never did they expect the reigning Indianapolis 500 winner to be in the field for the inaugural race. Helio Castroneves has no full-time job this season so joining SRX was a no-brainer.

IndyCar Indy 500 Auto Racing Helio Castroneves of Brazil celebrates on the yard of bricks at the start/finish line winning the Indianapolis 500 auto race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Indianapolis, Monday, May 31, 2021. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya) (Paul Sancya)Helio Castroneves had hoped his fourth Indianapolis 500 victory would lead to a seat this weekend at IndyCar's doubleheader in Detroit. The team has a six-race plan with Castroneves that launched at the Indy 500 and delivered MSR its first IndyCar victory. His next scheduled IndyCar race is at Nashville in August. I feel like he’s been kind of pushed to end his IndyCar career,” Sebastien Bourdais said Monday.

Helio Castroneves is trying to get back into the IndyCar Series fulltime.

Americans get a head start on summer with a massive increase in airport traffic and crowds flocking to beaches and tourist destinations.

At 46, the Brazilian race-car driver also became the fourth-oldest driver to win the Indy 500. Castroneves crossed the finish line less than a half-second ahead of 24-year-old Alex Palou.

IndyCar Indy 500 Auto Racing Helio Castroneves, of Brazil, celebrates after winning the Indianapolis 500 auto race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Indianapolis, Sunday, May 30, 2021. “You’re a legend.”Castroneves became the fourth-oldest winner in Indianapolis 500 history, behind Al Unser (47, 1987), Bobby Unser (47, 1981) and Emerson Fittipaldi (46, 1993). Castroneves spent more than two decades driving for Team Penske and won three Indy 500s with the team. He hired Castroneves for the Indy 500 to complement the one-car Meyer Shank Racing team. This year, celebrities were back and fans were everywhere and they were treated to a win by one of the most popular drivers in Indy 500 history.

This year, celebrities were back and fans were everywhere and they were treated to a win by one of the most popular drivers in Indy 500 history.

IndyCar Indy 500 Auto Racing Scott Dixon of New Zealand leads the field through the first turn on the start of the Indianapolis 500 auto race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Indianapolis, Sunday, May 30, 2021. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings) (Darron Cummings)INDIANAPOLIS — (AP) — Helio Castroneves joined the exclusive club of four-time Indianapolis 500 winners Sunday, and then scaled the fence at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in front of the largest crowd since the start of the pandemic. Castroneves won his third 500 in 2009 and has been chasing win No. This year, celebrities were back and fans were everywhere and they were treated to a win by one of the most popular drivers in Indy 500 history. ___More AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing and https://twitter.com/AP_SportsCopyright 2021 The Associated Press.

The Indianapolis 500 has welcomed back 135,000 fans, the most at any sports event in the world since the pandemic began 18 months ago.

Helio Castroneves has joined the exclusive club of four-time Indianapolis 500 winners.

Scott Dixon slammed the brakes on IndyCar’s current youth movement by winning his fourth Indianapolis 500 pole by a mere 0.03 seconds in qualifying.

Team Penske had an uncharacteristically slow first day of Indianapolis 500 qualifying and Will Power will have to avoid being bumped from the 33-car field when the lineup is finalized.

When Helio Castroneves arrived at for testing Thursday at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, he went right to Team Penske garage, said hello and quickly moved along.

Wayne Taylor left General Motors after 28 years at the end of last season to become a factory Acura program. "We won it with Ricky, and Jordan won the GT class with Corvette, and then the Wayne Taylor Racing program won it overall. Albuquerque won in 2018 driving a Cadillac; Ricky Taylor won in a Cadillac for his father's team in 2017. AdWhen Taylor switched to Acura, he released van der Zande, who was grabbed by Ganassi as the team returned to sports car racing after a one-year hiatus. “Looked like we had the race won right there.

The seven-time NASCAR champion is beginning a new chapter of his career — at 45 years old — in unfamiliar race cars. He was tabbed to start the most prestigious sports car race in America for his Action Express team and Johnson had just one goal for his first stint in the Cadillac. 48 over to teammate Simon Pagenaud and then turned to Kamui Kobayashi, the two-time reigning winner of the Rolex 24, for an animated debrief. AdElliott seemed despondent after his first run in his first sports car race. 31 Action Express entry had slipped to last in his class after the driver change between Elliott and Mike Conway.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Formula One driver Kevin Magnussen will move to the IMSA sports car series in 2021 driving for Chip Ganassi Racing. “If you are in professional racing anywhere in the world, you know the name Chip Ganassi and what it represents in motorsports,” Magnussen said. Van der Zande is a two-time Rolex 24 at Daytona winner, most recently in January when teamed with Ganassi driver Scott Dixon. Lineups for the 2021 IMSA season are rapidly coming together with a flurry of announcements over the last week. “We have not been shy about our attack on the IMSA GTD championship for 2021,” team co-owner Jimmy Vasser said.

Marco Andretti packs up his gear following practice for the Indianapolis 500 auto race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Indianapolis, Thursday, Aug. 13, 2020. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)INDIANAPOLIS The horsepower boost sent speeds skyrocketing over 233 mph early on Fast Friday at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The Andretti Autosport cars quickly jumped to the top of the board with Marco Andretti logging a lap of 233.491 miles per hour (375.77 kilometres per hour). It's the fastest lap in a practice which is considered unofficial since Sebastien Bourdais went 233.116 mph in 2017. The first thing you need is speed and then you need to put the four laps together," Andretti said.

Scott Dixon, of New Zealand, pulls out fo the pits during a practice session for the Indianapolis 500 auto race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Wednesday, Aug. 12, 2020, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)INDIANAPOLIS Scott Dixon, already off to a tremendous start to the IndyCar season, quickly set the pace on the first day of practice for the Indianapolis 500. Dixon turned a lap of 224.047 mph (360.57 kph) around Indianapolis Motor Speedway in the two-hour session for veterans. He has won the Indy 500 once in his career. The day was scheduled to conclude with a 150-minute open practice session.

Two-time and defending champ Josef Newgarden, who won the second race of the Iowa doubleheader, has yet to turn 30. Pagenaud, who like Newgarden drives for Team Penske, won the first Iowa race on Friday night. The natural ebb and flow of sports dictates there must be a wave of youngsters waiting to replace them. Not surprisingly, Ferrucci was fired by his Trident Racing team. Take the doubleheader this weekend, where Herta and VeeKay were in contention Friday night before a caution flag waved.

The 58th running of the Rolex 24 at Daytona roars to life Saturday at Daytona International Speedway. DAYTONA BEACH Hate to interrupt all the fun, but the reason were all here cranks to life about 1:30 Saturday afternoon. Shortly after lunch Saturday, all of the festivities slip under a 24-hour blanket of background noise as the 58th version of the Rolex 24 begins logging miles at Daytona International Speedway. He eventually walked away and was OK.A similar wreck on the opposite side of the track brought a premature end to the days lone 60-minute Rolex 24 practice Friday morning. Regardless of what happens Saturday and Sunday, the 2020 Rolex 24 might eventually be remembered for what happened the day before the big race.