DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Helio Castroneves appeared to be nearing the end of his storied career when Roger Penske ran out of space for him after 21 years, three Indianapolis 500 victories and an IMSA Sportscar Championship.
Convinced he still had plenty of racing left in him, Castroneves looked for new rides. He teamed up with Wayne Taylor Racing to win his first Rolex 24 at Daytona last year, failing in four attempts with Penske, then Meyer Shank Racing took him back to Indianapolis and Castroneves broke through for his fourth win.
That win helped develop a full program with Shank for the upcoming IndyCar season, and on Sunday Castroneves added a second straight Rolex watch to his collection at Daytona.
It captioned a spectacular day for IndyCar, which had 12 drivers in the field of 235 of the world’s top endurance racers. Five IndyCar drivers left the race wearing Rolex watches and seven podium finishes overall.
The yield could have been higher, but teams that included reigning IndyCar champion Alex Palou, six-time series champion Scott Dixon, Marcus Ericsson and Jimmie Johnson were eliminated. Indy Lights champion Kyle Kirkwood, who will make his IndyCar debut this season, saw his team finish fourth.
It was a statement for IndyCar, which considers itself the most competitive series in motorsport at the highest level, but is struggling to convince race fans around the world that it has the same cache as Formula 1 or NASCAR.
“The Indy car is a lot more difficult to drive, so we’re physically fit enough to drive the Indy car and it makes it a lot easier when we get here,” said Colton Herta, the final driver of the winning team in the LMP2 class.
IndyCar beats both F1 and NASCAR in terms of versatility with road and street courses as well as ovals and the famous Indianapolis 500. Last year’s series featured nine different winners in 16 races, with four drivers taking to the winning ways for the first time in their IndyCar career and had four winners who were 24 or younger.
Johnson, the seven-time NASCAR champion, retired at the end of the 2020 season to pursue his childhood dream of driving Indy cars. He is scheduled to compete in his first Indy 500 this May at the age of 46; Incidentally, Castroneves will be 47 years old when he attempts to claim a record fifth win.
Romain Grosjean last year became the third F1 driver to join IndyCar since 2016 and was so enthusiastic that he has since relocated with his family from Switzerland to Florida for a full season with Andretti Autosport. Ericsson joined IndyCar in 2019 and finished sixth in the championship race last season. Alexander Rossi won the 100th edition of the Indy 500 as a rookie in 2016.
“I think coming to IndyCar last year…it was definitely a season I’ll remember for a long time,” Grosjean said. “I came to IndyCar not knowing if I would like the championship, if I would like the car, the tracks, American life.”
His presence helped IndyCar grow in France, much like Palou is fueling interest in Spain and Pato O’Ward is rising to stardom in his native Mexico.
Grosjean said that televising IndyCar races around the world would be a huge help for the series, but he also knows that behind-the-scenes documentaries like Netflix’s Drive to Survive can fuel tremendous growth.
“I know France did 100% (more) watching last year, so they doubled their output. Still not F1, but it’s getting there,” said Grosjean. “But I think there’s still a perception… what is IndyCar? Is it like the GT cars that race on ovals? Oh no, this is NASCAR. For people who aren’t a hardcore fan, they still get it a bit wrong. “
Still, two of IndyCar’s bright, young stars have been eyeing moves elsewhere.
O’Ward, who turns 23 in May, tested the McLaren F1 car in December and the team could use him during practice at select races this season. Herta, who turns 22 in March, would have moved into F1 with Andretti if Michael Andretti had successfully bought a team last year.
They teamed with IndyCar rookie Devlin DeFrancesco for the LMP2 victory, achieved with a brilliant drive from Herta. He travels to Sweden this week to represent the United States in the Race of Champions.
Many believe Herta is America’s best hope to break into F1, but the FIA’s ruling body doesn’t rate competition in the US series very highly. Herta and O’Ward don’t have the super license the FIA needs to compete in Formula 1.
“To me it’s ridiculous that someone who’s finished fourth and third in the IndyCar Championship can’t get 40 (required FIA) points for the super license,” O’Ward said.
Herta showed his skills against an elite field at Daytona and now has another chance to build his reputation this weekend by taking on a crowd of F1 drivers on the frozen Baltic Sea.
“We’re driving on ice and it’s like nine world rally champions, so I definitely have a lot of catching up to do,” he said.
And like O’Ward, he aspires to at least give Formula 1 a try, although he loves driving IndyCars.
“I would be lying if I said I didn’t want to go into Formula 1,” said Herta. “I think people forget that I’m 21 years old and I can come back in five years and still do 15 years in IndyCar and be 40. So I would definitely try it if I get the chance.
“But I’m definitely not disappointed with IndyCar. I like this series more than any other series in the world and I really enjoy racing in it.”
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