Helio Castroneves Pics

Helio

Castroneves

10 May 1975

69

Slim

Brown - Dark

Brown - Dark

São Paulo, Brazil

Taurus

Hispanic

Roman Catholic

Winner of 5th season of Dancing with the Stars

Male

Brazilian

Actor/Actress

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Hélio Castroneves (born Hélio Castro Neves on May 10, 1975 in São Paulo, Brazil) is one of the top drivers in North American open-wheel racing, first in the CART series and now in the IndyCar Series. He won the Indianapolis 500 in both 2001 and 2002, becoming the fifth driver to do so in consecutive years, and finished second to teammate and countryman Gil de Ferran in 2003. Castroneves also won two pole positions for the race, including one in 2007. Aside from success in racing, he won the fifth season of the American reality TV show Dancing with the Stars with partner Julianne Hough. Castroneves currently resides in Miami, Florida. After being occasionally misidentified by U.S. media as "Helio Neves" he at first changed the spelling to Helio Castro-Neves and then to the current spelling. He has one sister, Katiucia. Castroneves was first recognized while driving for Steve Horne`s Tasman Racing team in Indy Lights, interestingly as teamate to fellow Brazilian and future IndyCar champion Tony Kanaan. After showing potential but lacking reliability while with the Bettenhausen and Hogan teams, Helio was signed by Penske Racing in CART in 2000 following the death of Greg Moore who was killed during the last race of the 1999 season in California. Moore had signed on with Penske but never had the opportunity to race with the team. Castroneves immediately became a regular front-runner. He switched with the team to the rival IRL for 2002, and has remained there ever since, now teamed with Ryan Briscoe. Racing fans have given Castroneves the nickname "Spider-Man" because of the form of victory celebration he introduced, in which he climbs the track-side debris fence, a practice since adopted by NASCAR driver Tony Stewart in the 2005 Nextel Cup season. In Fall 2007, Castroneves became a contestant on ABC`s Dancing With the Stars television program in the United States, paired with season 4 champion, Julianne Hough. On a show based on judges scores and fan votes, he was announced the season 5 winner on November 27, 2007, beating out Spice Girl Melanie Brown and famous singer Marie Osmond. Castroneves` performances have been mentioned on SPEED TV`s The Speed Report. Castroneves has been engaged to jewelry saleswoman Aliette Vazquez from Florida since November 2006. However, after winning Dancing with the Stars, Castroneves and Vazquez have called off their engagement and are no longer together.

Helio Castroneves

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Hélio Castroneves (born Hélio Castro Neves; May 10, 1975 in Ribeirão Preto, Brazil) is a Brazilian auto racing driver currently competing in the North American IndyCar Series. In IndyCar competition, Castroneves has 14 wins and 28 poles, and has never placed lower than sixth in the standings in a complete season of racing. Prior to IndyCar, Castroneves competed in the CART championship with a highest championship points finish of fourth.

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