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Helio Castroneves Wins Third Indianapolis 500 Sunday, May 24, 2009 INDIANAPOLIS — Helio Castroneves has won his third Indianapolis 500, beating 2005 winner Dan Wheldon by more than 2 seconds. Danica Patrick was third, the best finish by a woman at Indianapolis. Castroneves, who started from the pole, had a half-second lead over teammate Ryan Briscoe before a hard crash by Vitor Meira and rookie Raphael Matos brought out the yellow caution with 26 laps to go. Briscoe had to come in for fuel, moving Wheldon up to second and Patrick third. The green came out after 183 of the...

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) -- A fellow IRL driver says Danica Patrick has what it takes to succeed if she switches to the paint-swapping world of NASCAR and she's plenty aggressive in open-wheel racing when it's ``the right time of the month.'' Ed Carpenter, who trails Patrick by four slots in the IRL IndyCar Series' points race, made the comment when asked how Patrick might handle NASCAR racing during a radio appearance to promote Saturday night's Firestone Indy 200. ``I think Danica's pretty aggressive in our cars,'' Carpenter said Wednesday on WGFX-FM in Nashville. ``I mean, you know especially if you...

September 11, 2005 By Bruce Martin SportsTicker Contributing Editor JOLIET, Illinois (Ticker) - Not even a penalty imposed after a pit-stop violation could keep Dan Wheldon from claiming his IRL-record sixth checkered flag of the season in Sunday's Peak Antifreeze Indy 300 at Chicagoland Speedway. In addition to breaking Sam Hornish Jr.'s record set in 2002, Wheldon virtually locked up the series title. He now leads defending IRL champion and Andretti Green teammate Tony Kanaan by 102 points with two races left. All Wheldon has to do to clinch the championship is run a practice lap at Watkins Glen International...

INDIANAPOLIS -- Everywhere Danica Patrick goes at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, the crowds follow. There's the camera crew documenting every move of her first month at the 2½-mile track, and a curious media corps -- from ESPN to People magazine -- that continually peppers her with questions. When she finally gets a break from that, the autograph seekers are waiting. It can be trying even for a veteran. But Patrick, a rookie, sees it as a chance to prove herself.