Castroneves paces second day of Indianapolis 500 practice

One of the major storylines for the 99th Running of the Indianapolis 500 is Helio Castroneves' continuing quest to join the four-time winners club. The answer to that quest is still 12 days from being revealed, but the 40-year-old Team Penske veteran showed off a car on Tuesday that could be up to the task. Castroneves ran the fastest lap in a busy second day of practice for the "500," 227.514 mph in the No. 3 Shell V-Power Nitro+ Chevrolet. Teammate Simon Pagenaud was second in the No. 22 Avaya Team Penske Chevrolet at 227.382 mph. "It was a good day. The Shell V-Power Nitro+ car was super strong, super solid, felt comfortable," said the three-time Indianapolis 500 champion. "Now we've got to just keep working with this new aero kit. Today was basically the second day that we've been working constantly, but I like what I see. Things are looking in the right direction. We're not focused on just the lap, we're focused on the performance of it all." A total of 34 drivers turned 1,958 laps on the 2.5-mile oval under partly cloudy skies. Another full day of practice is on tap for Wednesday from noon to 6 p.m.; gates open at 10 a.m. and admission is $15 with children 12 and under free. Simona safe: Andretti Autosport's Simona de Silvestro had her second fire scare in four years at Indianapolis on Tuesday when her No. 29 TE Connectivity Honda had a fuel leak that lead to a fire shortly after 2 p.m. De Silvestro steered to a stop and climbed out safely but the car sustained significant damage. The Swiss driver sustained second-degree burns on her hands in a 2011 Indianapolis 500 practice crash and also had a car catch fire in 2010 at Texas Motor Speedway. "It's definitely unfortunate because the car is pretty burnt down, and it's really frustrating that it seems like fire follows me. Maybe this time is 'third time's the charm,' and hopefully the team can get the car back together as quickly as possible," de Silvestro said. "Until now, everything was working fine, and it's just annoying because it's a pretty big setback for us, but I have four great teammates and that will make it easier for us to continue moving forward."

Contact:

Suzi Elliott

selliott@brickyard.com

#verizonindycarseries #Indy500