No drama this year for Castroneves in Long Beach
Six months of life-altering pressure exploded out of Helio Castroneves.
Acquitted on tax evasion charges, the charismatic Brazilian driver broke down inside a Miami courtroom, relieved the most difficult episode of his life had come to such a joyful conclusion.
Next day, Castroneves was in Long Beach, behind the wheel of his No. 3 Team Penske IndyCar. There was no other place he wanted to be. The cocoon of the cockpit was where he felt most comfortable and the chance to get there was worth the harried, cross-country scramble.
Worth it? Absolutely.
With a choice, though, Castroneves would prefer the way he's headed into this year's Grand Prix of Long Beach: no drama, no emotional seesaw, no rush.
``Certainly, in that situation it was total out of my understanding, language, my world,'' Castroneves said. ``I'm glad to be back in my territory.''
During Castroneves' federal trial, Team Penske temporarily put Australian Will Power in his car. As the end of the trial moved closer, the team had to figure out what to do if suddenly there were three drivers instead of two.
Castroneves is one of the most successful and popular drivers on the circuit - that appearance on ``Dancing with the Stars'' did wonders for his outside-racing appeal - so leaving him without a ride, even for just one race, wasn't an option.
Power had proven himself a capable driver and a dedicated employee who never complained even though the floor mat could be pulled out from him at any moment. He didn't deserve to lose his ride, either.
To make sure both drivers would have something to drive, Team Penske prepared three cars instead of its usual two. The team had never run three cars at the same time and didn't exactly want word to get out because of the sensitivity of Castroneves' case, so there was a lot of don't-let-anyone-know work to be done.
The weeks before Long Beach were used to get the car ready, setting up engine and tire contracts, making sure it would be good enough to run up front, not just roll around the track. Once in Southern California, the team asked the third crew to stay at the hotel while the extra car sat cloaked, away from the tents and haulers so no one would know what was going on.
``I told Will before the weekend that the good news was that he was going to drive, the bad news was that I didn't know what car he'd end up in by Sunday,'' said Tim Cindric, president of Penske Performance Inc.
Word of Castroneves' acquittal came halfway through the first practice run on Friday. The mad scramble was put into motion: a plane to Florida to pick up Castroneves, a third team to the track, the third car under the tent and on the rack.
That early preparation paid off.
Power had the fastest practice time in the No. 3 car, put the 12 on the pole and nearly won the race, finishing second. Castroneves looked like he had been racing all along, not in a court room for seven weeks, earning the best-feeling seventh-place finish he's ever had.
``It was such a difficult nightmare it was definitely great to be back in the game,'' said Castroneves, who went on to win the Indianapolis 500 for the third time later in the season.
Back to this year's race.
With Power on full time, Team Penske took the offseason to reassess the organization, make sure it had the right people in the right places to give all three cars a chance to win races.
One major decision was to move Rick Rinaman, Castroneves' chief mechanic, into more of a global role, overseeing engineering contracts and the three crews.
Losing a veteran from a hands-on leadership position and having several crew members in new positions, Castroneves went through a feeling-out period to start the season, finishing ninth in Brazil, then fourth in St. Petersburg - both races Power won.
The new/old crew started to find a rhythm with Castroneves last week in Alabama and they walked away with the checkers, using an early fuel strategy maneuver to give ``Spiderman'' a chance to climb the fence and hug his daughter as a race winner for the first time.
There's still some kinks to be worked out between Castroneves and his crew, but they're clearly headed down the right path as they race back toward Long Beach, one of his favorite stops on the IRL circuit.
It's sure a lot better than last year.
``There's no comparison, really,'' Cindric said. ``Last year, we had two cars under one tent, another car over here closed up, not knowing what's going to happen. There were a lot of things in the air whereas this year we come in here prepared and it's just business as usual.''
