A.J. Foyt, Al Unser Sr, Rick Mears—for 30 years, that was the list of four-time winners of the Indianapolis 500.
Sunday, Hélio Castroneves joined the exclusive group after winning the 105th running of the race, tying the record for most wins all-time.
Castroneves, who previously won the race in 2001, 2002 and 2009, secured his first IndyCar series win since 2017.
Castroneves is running in six races for Meyer Shank Racing following a long stint on Team Penske, including spending 2018 through 2020 in the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship for the team.
The 46-year-old Brazillian, now the fourth oldest winner and first over the age of 45 since 1993, has come close to notching the elusive fourth Indianapolis 500 victory since his third win in 2009. The driver has finished in the top ten six times since his last win, including second place finishes in 2014 and 2017.
After Castroneves crossed the bricks at the finish line on lap 200, he partook in his signature celebration of climbing the the protective fence with his team, to the roar of 135,000 fans at the reduced-capacity Indianapolis Motor Speedway, the largest sports crowd since the COVID-19 pandemic began.
Finishing in second behind Castroneves was 24-year-old Spainard Alex Palou, who won his first career race earlier this year in Birmingham, Alabama. Simon Pagenaud, who came in third, won the 103rd running of the Indianapolis 500 in 2019.
Castroneves will next compete at the race at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course on August 14.
