Just absolutely amazing, Tony, thank you so much. “What a great - thank you, SRX, everyone here. “This is fantastic,” Castroneves said after ascending the catch fence and pouring a drink over pit reporter Matt Yocum’s head.
#HELIO CASTRONEVES SERIES#
He held off fellow NTT Ind圜ar Series veteran Tony Kanaan before pulling away to win and perform his signature fence climb afterward. 06 came to life late in the feature, helping him power through the field. He kicked off 2022 with his first victory in the star-studded league, with the win coming at Five Flags Speedway in Pensacola, Fla.Ĭastroneves, scheduled to run part time in SRX this year, won the second heat of the night, and his No. If there was ever a time to make those NASCAR dreams a reality, it was now, and he wasn’t missing a chance to win in through Donald Hawk and SRX even on a weekend he wasn’t scheduled to compete.Helio Castroneves finished in the top five in half of last year’s six Camping World SRX Series races. Hawk has the connections to make it happen.įor his part, Castroneves has long wanted to make a start, or multiple starts in NASCAR, but was always denied by longtime boss Roger Penske during his tenure at Team Penske across both the Ind圜ar Series and IMSA.Ĭastroneves won his fourth Indianapolis 500 last year as a part-timer for Meyer Shank Racing and returned to the paddock full-time in 2022 as a 47-year-old. He previously served as manager of Alan Kulwicki Racing and Dale Earnhardt Inc. "Now, he he’s got to make it happen on his end but it’s so cool to be here and what a great opportunity."īefore taking the SRX job, Hawk spent 14 years at Speedway Motorsports, most recently as chief racing development officer. "This year, for me to race SRX, Hawk said ‘look, win a race and I’ll help you find a ride for Daytona, and I told him we had a deal," Castroneves said. Speaking of opportunities, Hawk now has to pay up on that promise to Castroneves. "I start in the back and raced my way to the top.
"I get there, and everyone is like, ‘what are you doing here,’ and it was kind of funny," Castroneves said. an hour prior to the start of practice. Tim Bryant, general manager of Five Flags Speedway, was tasked with finding a vinyl company to print the decals and everything came together early on Saturday morning. It just a matter of Tony Eury Jr., Clinton Cram, Jeff Fultz and the FURY Race was Cars team getting the machine prepared overnight in advance of his arrival. "We landed and Ashley says we have a car for you, and everything else," Castroneves added. The plane took off and Rogero-Butcher went to work.Īs it so turned out, one of the backup cars on the premises was actually the car he raced full-time last year. "I asked Ashley when I needed to be at the track, and she says ‘you’re not supposed to be here,’ and I tell her I’m already on the plane."
"I kept bringing up Pensacola and no one really responded to me, so I bought my own ticket, got everything ready to go and got on the plane," Castroneves said. CT on Friday night, asking if there was a way to get Castroneves in the race. So, they cut a deal in January: Run as many races as he could, and if Castroneves could win one of them, Hawk would call upon his vast NASCAR connections to get him in a car at Daytona in exchange.Ĭastroneves went out of his way to do his part this weekend, making a last-minute decision to buy a commercial flight ticket into Pensacola without even knowing if the series would have a car available for him to race, since he wasn’t on the initial 12 car entry list for Five Flags Speedway.Īshley Rogero-Butcher, the SRX operations director sent Hawk a text at roughly 9:30 p.m.
#HELIO CASTRONEVES FULL#
More importantly, the four-time Indianapolis 500 winner also left the Florida Gulf Coast with the promise of something else he has wanted for well over a decade … a NASCAR opportunity.īackstory: When Castroneves returned to full-time NTT Ind圜ar Series competition this spring, it meant he couldn’t run the full SRX campaign, but new league CEO Donald Hawk really wanted to keep him in the mix as frequently as possible. Hélio Castroneves was not originally scheduled to compete in the Superstar Racing Experience opener at Five Flags Speedway on Saturday night but left with the trophy anyway.
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