Wednesday, May 7, 2003 | 9:32 a.m.
Brian Hilderbrand covers motor sports for the Las Vegas Sun. His motor sports notebook appears Friday. He can be reached at [email protected] or (702) 259-4089.
Helio Castroneves will be a busy man this month as he begins his quest to become the first driver to win three consecutive Indianapolis 500 races.
And he couldn't be happier. Most drivers in his position might tend to limit their exposure to the fans and media, but Castroneves is basking in the spotlight.
"I'm willing to do everything because it's an opportunity of a lifetime and you have to enjoy it," Castroneves said. "I'm really enjoying the moment and hopefully we're going to win the third time but if not ... you have to enjoy the moment."
That philosophy has guided him throughout his racing career and has helped make him a huge fan favorite in open-wheel racing. He endeared himself to racing fans in 2000 when he celebrated his first career victory in the CART series by climbing the catch fence at the Detroit Grand Prix, earning the nickname "Spiderman." He has repeated that post-victory celebration each of the past two years at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
"The reason I'm like that is because I love what I do," Castroneves said of his tendency to wear his emotions on his sleeve. "When you do something that you love, it's not work, it's not a job, it's a pleasure.
"It's so hard to get in this position -- in any kind of profession -- when you achieve moments of greatness, I don't waste any time to show my feelings -- as I guess everybody saw already."
Castroneves, 27, might already own two Indy 500 championship rings -- in his only two starts at the Brickyard -- but he isn't lacking motivation as he prepares for this year's race.
"It's not bad but I'm never satisfied; I want to achieve my goals and obviously Indianapolis is one of them and the championship is another one," he said. "Records are made to be broken and right now I'm in a situation that I might be doing another one. Hopefully we can do that. If not, it's not meant to be.
"But there are so many variables in motor racing that you never know what's going to happen. But I do have a fantastic team behind me and I'm very glad to be part of Marlboro Team Penske. The odds might be good (because) the two times that I was there I won, but you can't underestimate that speedway; that place is incredible. It's a special place and so far it has been nice to me, for sure."
Gil de Ferran was second fastest at 230.873 mph while 2002 Indy 500 co-Rookie of the Year Tomas Scheckter was third at 230.823.
A.J. Foyt Racing's Shigeaki Hattori became the first driver to crash during practice for the Indy 500 and was hospitalized with a concussion and a broken little finger on his left hand.
Herta, 32, also will serve as the team's backup driver for the Indy 500 in case a rain delay forces Robby Gordon to leave for the NASCAR Winston Cup race in North Carolina later that day.
A two-time CART champion, Zanardi will run 13 laps at speed in a racecar fitted with hand controls. Lee Dykstra, CART's director of technology, and Adam Schaechter, who was a race engineer at Mo Nunn Racing when Zanardi raced with the team in 2001, developed the car. The Ford-Cosworth/Reynard will be painted to match the No. 66 car that Zanardi was driving when he crashed on lap 142 of the 2001 event in Lausitz.
"I am honored to serve as the grand marshal for the German 500 and look forward to seeing all of the Champ Car fans again," Zanardi said. "It was always nice to be cheered by the crowd and it will be great to hear those cheers even through a symbolic effort such as this."
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