Motor Racing – Does Helio Castroneves Have a Lock on Indy?

Motor racing bettors know that when it comes to Indianapolis, Helio Castroneves is always going to be a threat, but does he have a lock on Indy, after visiting the winner’s circle three times? That is the question being asked right now after Castroneves set a blistering pace in qualifying, grabbing the pole in the world’s most prestigious race with the best speeds of the week. Currently, Castroneves is the NASCAR betting favorite at +250.

The Indianapolis 500, which always goes off on Memorial Day weekend, is scheduled for noon on Sunday at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, which is also known as the "Brickyard." ABC will televise the event live. Gentlemen – start your betting engines!!

INDIANAPOLIS 500
Sunday, May 30 – Noon ET (ABC)
Indianapolis Motor Speedway

Betting Odds to Win

Alex Tagliani +2000
Dan Wheldon +2500
Danica Patrick +3000
Dario Franchitti +400
Ed Carpenter +5000
Helio Castroneves +250
Hideki Mutoh +3000
Justin Wilson +10000
Marco Andretti +2000
Mike Conway +10000
Raphael Matos +5000
Ryan Briscoe +400
Ryan Hunter-Reay +3500
Scott Dixon +350
Takuma Sato +10000
Tony Kanaan +2500
Vitor Meira +4000
Will Power +600
Field (Any Other Driver) +2000

Castroneves won the pole at Indy this past week, averaging very close to 228 miles an hour for his four laps. It is the fourth time he has won the pole at Indy, and the 16th for the dominant racing team of Roger Penske, who also won last week’s NASCAR All-Star Race with Kurt Busch. Penske also sends Ryan Briscoe (+400 in the betting odds) and Will Power (+600) into the fray.

The strategy was simple; in fact, easier said than done. It was to go out there and run a speed that the other drivers could not get to. he did just that, easily knocking Alex Tagliani (20/1 in the betting odds) off the pole.

Castroneves won this race as a rookie in 2001, and aside from a race in Phoenix where he dropped out early, that was the only IndyCar event he took part in that year. He started riding regularly on the circuit the next season, winning Indy and finishing second in the overall points standings. Even though he won the Indy 500 for a third time in 2009, he still hasn’t captured that elusive overall points championship. This year he is 3rd in the standings.

Not only does Castroneves have a chance to become just the fourth driver to win Indy four separate times (AJ Foyt, Rick Mears and Al Unser are the others), but he comes home with the checkered flag on Sunday he will be the first one ever to win the race in back-to-back years, not once but twice.

Castroneves has always been a consistent driver on the Indy circuit. In fact, he holds the record for the most top-ten finishes in the IndyCar Series, with 93, and has won 30 poles in his career, which is also a record. He is a crossover star now too, ever since he won on the fifth season of "Dancing With the Stars." He needs to get over the hump and win that IndyCar title, but his biggest opponent recently may have been the IRS. Last year Castroneves was indicted on six counts of tax evasion, something that prompted Penske to replace him temporarily with Will Power on the team, as the Internal Revenue Service claimed he owed $2.3 million in back taxes. In the end, he beat the case on all six counts.

You may not have been betting on him then, but you may want to bet on him Sunday.