Helio Castroneves, who spent the past seven months fighting for his freedom against tax evasion charges, was acquitted two days before the Long Beach Grand Prix. The charges, stemming from business decisions he made when only 19 years old, carried heavy penalties: fines and jail time for himself, his sister, and his manager.
After a long and emotionally draining trial, Helio was exonerated. He was back in a race car that same day.
Helio took seventh at Long Beach, second at the Road Runner Turbo Indy 300, and now has won the pole for the Indianapolis 500, beating Penske teammate Ryan Briscoe (224.083) and Ganassi-Target drive Dario Franchitti (224.010) with an average speed of 224.864 mph.
A tearful Castroneves told reporters after qualifying ended, “This is what I know how to do; this is my life. I have to thank all the fans; without you guys I wouldn’t have had the strength to do this.”
The day started fast, but wind and low temperatures dropped speeds during the middle of the day. Teams made early runs and then sat, waiting, watching track conditions and competitors’ times, ready to take another run if conditions improved.
The tension stays high, because a team has to discard its previous time to take another run. A driver could qualify early, get pushed down the list by later drivers, and decide to requalify; but if the driver fails to qualify, he or she cannot use the earlier, better time.
Qualifying in Indy is a multi-part affair. The first day of qualifying, Pole Day, determines the top eleven cars in the field. After that drivers who failed to make the cut can still qualify for the lower 22 spots.
Tony Kanaan made several attempts in his car and his back-up car, and finally in teammate Hideki Mutoh’s back-up car, looking for the right setup. When he finally got a good result in Mutoh’s car, he was disqualified; the car was several ounces underweight. Kanaan eventually went back out and qualified sixth.
Graham Rahal made a good run early, taking fifth, but decided to scrap his time because the car’s setup was not suited to racing (the car has to start the race in the same condition in which it qualified.) Rahal went out later in the day and took fourth.
The weather improved late in the afternoon, and lap times started dropping. Teams who had thought they were safely ensconced in qualifying slots had to go back out and run again. Helio stayed in the pits until 4:30 p.m., watching and waiting. When he made his run, the wind was near zero. Helio was hitting 229 mph on the straights, faster than any other driver.
Ryan Briscoe, who was already in second, made a risky final attempt—jeopardizing his spot—hoping to take the pole. However, he was unable to beat his teammate’s time.
Former Indy 500 winner and series champion Dan Wheldon failed to qualify in this session as he lost control and hit the wall, damaging the rear of his racecar. He will have to try to qualify in one of the next sessions.
Danica Patrick went out a bit too early, while the wind was still a factor; she qualified tenth. Danica could have made a last-minute run to try to improve her position. Instead, she gave up her place in line so other drivers would have a chance to make the field.
