IndyCar star pleads not guilty to tax evasion charges
The world of IndyCar has been rocked by the fall from grace of Helio Castroneves, who faces serious jail time after being indicted on six charges of tax evasion and conspiracy for purportedly failing to report more than $5m in income to those meanies at the IRS. Each count carries a maximum five-year prison sentence.
Castroneves, who found nationwide fame in the States after winning the 2007 series of Dancing with the Stars, pleaded not guilty to the charges and is currently out on bail after fronting up a $10m bond. The terms of Castroneves’ bail allow him to race in the States but not abroad, meaning he will almost certainly miss a race later this month in Australia.
Enjoy two thrilling finishes from the weekend’s Stateside racing
Great action from Nascar this weekend, when Jimmie Johnson held off Tony Stewart to win the Chevy Rock & Roll 400 by less than a second. Johnson’s win secured him third seeding in the Chase for the Sprint Cup, behind leader Kyle Busch and Carl Edwards.
Sunday’s IndyCar event saw an even closer finish, and a new champion for 2008. Watch it after the jump…
IndyCar pace setter wins third race of season, in Texas
Scott Dixon, winner of this year’s Indy 500, stretched his lead in the IndyCar championship with a split-second victory over Helio Castroneves at the Texas Speedway last weekend.
The picture is deceiving, as both cars were cruising at around 90mph when they crossed the start/finish line - a late crash involving Marco Andretti and Ryan Hunter-Reay meant that the race ended under waved yellow flags; so Castroneves was not allowed to overtake Dixon.
Many disgruntled fans were seen leaving the Texas track even before Dixon took the chequered flag. This is a big problem for IndyCar; the series should not allow its races to finish under a yellow flag - it’s the second time in a week that a late crash has forced an IndyCar race to end like that. Ryan Briscoe won in Milwaukee under the same conditions; on that occasion Dixon was the frustrated driver stuck in second place.
Wednesday’s practice session for this weekend’s Indy 500 was wiped out after heavy showers turned the track into a slippery oval of death. With more rain forecast for the next few days, teams are understandably concerned that a lack of track time will affect their chances in Sunday’s race.
Helio Castroneves, twice a winner in the big one at Indianapolis, admits that the situation sucks: “With only one day of track time under our belts, we’re not quite where we want to be with the car,” he said. “Hopefully we’ll get some clear weather before Pole Day (Saturday) so we can fine-tune the qualifying trim. We had a productive day yesterday, but we certainly still have some work to do before qualifying.”
We rank the hottest racers and riders in the world of motorsport
1. Kimi Raikkonen (F1)
Drove what he claimed was his best race to win in Spain last weekend, and could have gone faster if necessary. Leads the F1 drivers’ championship and now looks totally at ease in his Ferrari. A worthy No.1 in our inaugural rankings.
2. Troy Bayliss (World Superbikes)
Continued his relentless charge towards a third Superbikes world title with back-to-back wins at Assen. The 39-year-old Aussie is now 70 points ahead of his nearest rival, an uprecedented lead at this stage of the season.
