INDIANAPOLIS — Hélio Castroneves joined an elite club of winners Sunday afternoon, becoming the fourth four-time Indianapolis 500 champion.
When the perennial fan favorite took to Victory Circle, he gave immediate thanks to the crowd of 135,000 people cheering his victory inside IMS.
"I love Indianapolis you guys don't understand. The fans, they give me energy. I'm serious they don't understand. This is absolutely incredible," Castroneves said in the moments after his win.
Those packed inside the Brickyard, the most amount of people at a sporting event since the pandemic began, weren't the only ones cheering his victory.
Fans across the world were sending love right back to Spider-Man online.
People praised Castroneves' joyful post-race celebration...
..and also relished this sweet moment between Mario Andretti and Castroneves after the race.
Race fans also pointed out that while the amount of young talent in the field dominated conversation before the race, it was fitting the 46-year-old Castroneves came out on top.
Castroneves is the fourth driver to win the Indy 500 after turning 46, alongside Al Unser, Bobby Unser, and Emerson Fittipaldi.
Fans also praised the nature of the race itself, which was marked as the fastest-ever in Indy 500 history.
Castroneves passed Alex Palou, 24, with two laps remaining to beat him by 0.4928 seconds to take home the record-equaling win. Congratulations Hélio!