Last year, Helio Castroneves felt that he had a car that could’ve won at the Pennzoil Grand Prix of Houston, however fell short of completing the task as a result of gearbox issues. Those issues, according to Castroneves, were brought forth by the car bottoming out going into the first turn of the 1.683-mile MD Anderson Cancer Center Speedway.
“I’m very pleased that they made some changes,” Castroneves said. “”We didn’t finish last year because of an issue that was outside of our control. Hopefully we’ll continue what we’re doing and continuing on to the championship.”
Beyond simply losing the race, Castroneves lost valuable points towards the championship, which allowed Scott Dixon to grab the title in the final event of the year at Auto Club Speedway.
As a result of Castroneves’ frustrations and other drivers’ comments, Anderson Cancer Center Speedway Director of Operations Martyn Thake said that they surveyed the area in February, finding the bumps, completing demolishing that part of the track before repaving with new concrete.
“We had some smaller bumps between Turns 9 and 10 and we ground those down about an inch to 1½ inches,” Thake added. “We also ground a couple of small places here and there and did spot repairs, including in pit lane.
“We had some areas that had some surface break up and we fixed those as well. We have an advantage with these temporary courses in that we can make improvements and do retro fits every time we build it.”
Currently sitting second in points, Castroneves cannot afford any issues this weekend as he tries to make up the 60 points that separate him and points leader Will Power. Castroneves has yet to win a championship in his career, but those around him feel that he has the ability to do it this year based on his attitude. Rick Mears, who spotted for Castroneves at Indianapolis Motor Speedway last month, says that Castroneves is a very focused and determined driver.
“A lot of people look at him and they see his easy-going, happy personality. And that is who he is, but underneath that is a driver that will do whatever it takes to win,” Mears commented. “You have to have that attitude to win the number of races he’s won.”
Three different times, he has finished in the runner-up position, missing the title by mere points.
Over the course of the second half of the season, the key will be for Castroneves to stick to his guns, posting solid finishes and overcoming adversity in the best ways possible while not wrapping himself up with controversies.
Avoiding issues like he had last year at Houston would be a good start towards the goal at hand.
