INDIANAPOLIS — Hélio Castroneves announced he will continue pursuing the elusive fifth Indianapolis 500 win for the next couple of years.
The four-time winner of the Greatest Spectacle in Racing made the announcement Friday morning at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Castroneves said he will no longer race full-time in IndyCar, with Tom Blomqvist becoming the full-time driver for Meyer Shank Racing, in which Castroneves is now a minority owner and will serve as a driver coach for the team.
According to the NTT INDYCAR Series, Castroneves has won 31 races, received 50 NTT P1 Awards and made 94 podiums in his career.
Blomqvist, who won the 2022 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship and the 2022 and 2023 Rolex 24 At Daytona with Meyer Shank Racing, signed a multiyear agreement to drive the team’s first of two full-season entries beginning in 2024.
"We are thrilled to bring Tom over to our INDYCAR program full time starting next year and to be able to keep Helio as a key part of our program moving forward and go for a fifth Indianapolis 500 victory next year," team co-owner Mike Shank said in a news release. "I feel like all the planets aligned for us to be able to do this, so I’m really grateful for us to be making this next step as a team. Helio brings so much to what we do overall as a team, both in terms of our competition package and all of his experience, as well as how he’s able to engage with our partners. So having him transition to this role is really exciting for everyone involved."
Castroneves finished 15th in the 107th Running of the Indy 500.
He is aiming to become the first driver to win five Indy 500s. In addition to the 2001 and 2002 wins, Castroneves finished first in 2009, then set off a wild celebration in 2021 when he became the fourth four-time winner in race history, joining A.J. Foyt, Al Unser and Rick Mears.
