Helio Castroneves  

You may not recognize the name “Helio Castroneves” unless you’re a big fan of open-wheel (a.k.a., formula) car racing in North America or follow the hit ABC reality T.V. program “Dancing With the Stars,” but in the world of car racing, Helio has already established himself as a celebrity and star since the early 2000s, when he was signed into the CART (Championship Auto Racing Teams) series by the Penske Racing team.

Helio, born as Helio Castro Neves on May 10, 1975 in São Paulo, Brazil, is considered one of the top drivers in formula racing in both the United States and Canada. His greatest racing-related accomplishments to date include winning the famous annual Indianapolis 500-Mile Race (“Indianapolis 500”) in the years 2001 and 2002 (only the fifth driver in history to win the 500 two years in a row); finishing second in the same race the following year (2003), losing out to fellow teammate and fellow Brazilian (although born in Paris, France) Gil de Ferran; and twice winning the 500’s “pole position.” In fact, Castroneves’ three-race finishing streak from 2001 to 2003 (first place for 2000 and 2001 and second place for 2003) is, at this point, the best in the history of the Indianapolis 500 race history. Scottish driver Dario Franchitti won the most recent (2007) race; Castroneves came in third.

Castroneves started off in racing with the CART series with the Bettenhausen and Hogan teams, but didn’t very well there. Then, in 2000, he was signed with Penske Racing, replacing Canadian driver Greg Moore, who died on Halloween in 1999 after a fatal car crash during the Marlboro 500 race—the finale—in California. Castroneves made great strides with Penske and quickly rose to the top as a front-running driver, but then switched from CART to its rival IRL (Indy Racing League), with whom he is still racing, in 2002. His current teammate is American race-car driver Sam Hornish Jr., also an Indianapolis 500 champion.

Castroneves has also been nicknamed “Spider-Man” (no, not because he looks like Tobey Maguire or swings around the racetrack using spider webs shot from his wrists) for his victory celebration antics: climbing up the debris fence on the track side. NASCAR driver Tony Stewart, likely for lack of originality, copied Castroneves’ “spiderific” move during the Nextel Cup—NASCAR’s top racing series—in 2005.