The Brazilian joined A.J. Foyt, Al Unser Sr. and Rick Mears, his former mentor at Team Penske, as the only four-time winners of”The Greatest Spectacle in Racing.” Mears was the last driver to join the club in 1991.
Castroneves won his third 500 in 2009 and has been pursuing win No. 4 ever since.
At 46 years old, in his first season no longer driving for Roger Penske, he hauled off Alex Palou to win the 105th running of the race facing 135,000 fans — the maximum at any sports event in the world as the pandemic began 18 months ago. The number represented 40 percent of the speedway’s capability and has been agreed upon by health professionals.
One year before, no lovers were permitted to get the race which was postponed from May to August. This year, actors were back and fans were everywhere and they were treated to a win by a few of the most well-known drivers in Indy 500 history.
