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IndyCar: Helio Castroneves to return to Team Penske for 2020 Indy 500

By Asher Fair

INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA - MAY 24: Helio Castoneves of Brazil, driver of the #3 Pennzoil Team Penske Chevrolet prepares to drive during Carb Day for the 103rd Indianapolis 500 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on May 24, 2019 in Indianapolis, Indiana (Photo by Clive Rose/Getty Images)
INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA - MAY 24: Helio Castoneves of Brazil, driver of the #3 Pennzoil Team Penske Chevrolet prepares to drive during Carb Day for the 103rd Indianapolis 500 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on May 24, 2019 in Indianapolis, Indiana (Photo by Clive Rose/Getty Images) /
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Helio Castroneves is set to make his 11th attempt to become the fourth four-time Indy 500 winner with Team Penske in the 2020 IndyCar season.

Helio Castroneves has confirmed that he is slated to compete in the Indianapolis 500 for the 20th time in the 2020 IndyCar season, and he has confirmed that, once again, he is slated to do so driving for Team Penske behind the wheel of the #3 Chevrolet.

The 44-year-old Brazilian won the Indy 500 in his first two attempts back in 2001 and 2002, and he added a third victory in the 200-lap race around the four-turn, 2.5-mile (4.023-kilometer) Indianapolis Motor Speedway oval in Speedway, Indiana back in 2009.

He has made 10 attempts to become the fourth four-time winner of the “Greatest Spectacle in Racing” since winning for the third time at the Brickyard 11 years ago, but he has fallen short every time.

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Only A.J. Foyt, Al Unser and Rick Mears have won the race four times, and Castroneves is one of seven additional three-time winners. He has finished in second place three times, including twice since he last won in 2009 (2003, 2014 and 2017), and by a combined split-second of just 0.560 seconds.

In his 19-race Indy 500 career, Castroneves has only finished outside of the top 15 on four occasions, but two of those occasions have come in the last two years. He crashed in 2018 after spending the entire race running in the top 10, and he was unable to recover from a pit incident and an ensuing penalty in 2019, finishing in 18th place, one lap off the lead lap.

His average finish in the race is 8.63, and that includes eight top four finishes and six additional top 10 results.

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The 104th running of the Indianapolis 500 is the sixth race on the 17-race 2020 IndyCar schedule, and it is scheduled to take place on Sunday, May 24. NBC is set to broadcast this race live from Indianapolis Motor Speedway beginning at 11:00 a.m. ET.