SPARTA, Ky. - The man Indy Racing League fans
lovingly call "Spiderman" once again is at the top of the IndyCar Series
standings.
But forgive Helio Castroneves if he's not yet
planning a fence-conquering victory climb — such as the one he famously unveiled
after winning his first Indy 500 in 2001 — if he finally wins the points
title.
Castroneves leads Marlboro Team Penske teammate
Sam Hornish Jr. by eight points heading into Sunday's Meijer Indy 300 at
Kentucky Speedway, with Dan Wheldon and Scott Dixon within 31 points of the
lead.
And while Castroneves knows winning a season
points championship is the only hole in his otherwise sparkling resume that
includes two trips to Victory Lane at the Indy 500, he's been around long enough
to know how quickly things can change.
"A championship is something I really want,
we're close," Castroneves said. "But it's challenging. You think you're having a
great year, and then it's like all of a sudden, 'Oh.'"
Castroneves would know. He finished second to
Hornish in the 2002 points race and was third in 2003 before sliding down to
sixth last season as the Toyota engines used by Team Penske strained to keep up
with the teams using Hondas.
In a way, the ingenuity Team Penske had to use
while playing catch-up paid off when the entire IRL switched to Honda engines
this season.
Instead of finding an extra tenth of a second
where they could to keep up, Castroneves and Hornish now find themselves using
that extra tenth of a second to pull ahead. As a result, they've dominated the
series this season, winning seven of the circuit's 11 races and grabbing seven
poles.
"Before, Honda was the dominant power in IRL
and we were competing hard to just get thirds and sevenths," Hornish said. "Now,
we haven't been to a place (this year) where we haven't been competing for a
win."
That leaves it up to the drivers — and a little
racing luck — to determine the champion.
Castroneves and Hornish have been trading the
points lead for most of the season, though Hornish seemed to have a firm grip on
the top spot before the Firestone Indy 400 at Michigan on July 30. But a broken
water pump sent him to a 19th-place finish, erasing a 30-point lead.
"To go from 30 points up to eight points behind
is a pretty big hit in one race," said Hornish, whose three wins this season
include the Indy 500. "But the key from here on out is going to be consistency,
the one who manages to stay consistent is the one who is going to win."
Unlike their 2002 season points battle, when
Hornish won the final two races to hold off Castroneves, this championship chase
is different.
Then they were rivals, now they're teammates,
making for a slightly more complex relationship. While they compare notes before
every race, things change when the green flag flies.
"On one hand, there's nobody you want to beat
more than your teammate," Hornish said. "But if you can't win, you want him to
win more. The way I look at it, I want to fight him tooth and nail."
It could make for some interesting racing over
the next month. Hornish has run very well at tracks such as the 1.5-mile
tri-oval at Kentucky Speedway, success Castroneves attributes to the way Hornish
attacks the course.
"He likes to drive really on the edge,
especially in the ovals, and at ovals it tends to be hard to do that,"
Castroneves said. "But there's no question he's a talented driver and we push
each other a lot."
The winner may be whoever pushes back.
While some of the IRL tracks — such as Michigan
— require teamwork to get to the front, tracks including the Kentucky Speedway
allow for a little more individuality.
"It's a place where you can go on your own,"
said Castroneves, who has finished fifth three times in four starts at Kentucky.
"It's about getting the right setup."
Hornish had the right setup three years ago,
winning from the pole. He hasn't cracked the top five in two starts at the track
for Penske. He finished 14th in 2004 and seventh last year.
Scott Sharp, a good friend of Castroneves who
shared the inaugural IndyCar Series points title with Buzz Calkins in 1996, said
it'll be interesting to see how the season plays out.
"More often than not, on two-car teams your
biggest competitor is the guy next to you," Sharp said. "And it's easy to see
that it could happen over there. There is a lot expected out of both of those
guys ... but when it gets down to it, there can only be one champion and (each
driver) wants to be the one."
Despite his close calls, Castroneves said he
doesn't feel any added pressure to win the series. He knows he's got a good car,
a good crew and a good chance. That's all he can ask for, well that and a fence
to climb if he manages to hold onto the top spot after the checkered flag at the
season-ending Peak Antifreeze Indy 300 at Chicagoland Speedway on Sept. 10.
"Trust me man, I can find any fence," he said
with a laugh. "After winning the race, finding a fence is a good problem to
have."
