By Bruce MartinSportsTicker Contributing Editor

INDIANAPOLIS (Ticker) -- Although Helio Castroneves won the Indianapolis 500 last year in his first attempt, it was anything but easy for the young Brazilian from Marlboro Team Penske.

It was the end result of long hours of testing and seemingly longer hours of traveling for the driver who had to split time between preparaing for the 85th Indy 500 and his duties as a full-time CART driver for team owner Roger Penske.

That meant extensive testing in between the early-season CART races before traveling the globe in May to race in CART events at Nazareth, Pennsylvania and Motegi, Japan while practicing and qualifying before race day at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

During that time, Castroneves even learned a little humility by getting personal with the first turn wall. After leaving black scuff marks on the white walls at the Brickyard, he was sent back with a bucket of white paint by Penske Racing president Tim Cindric.

"They told me when a rookie brushes the wall, you have to paint it," Castroneves recalled. "It wasn't a Picasso, but it was a Picastroneves."

Castroneves' victory here last year was a motor racing work of art. And it allowed Penske to add a record 11th Indy 500 win to his already impressive gallery. The exuberant driver is back, trying to become the first driver since Al Unser in 1970-71 to win back-to-back Indy 500s.

Last year's victory was one that will stand out in the memory of all who saw it because Castroneves added his own flair to winning the world's biggest race by scaling the fence at the start-finish line in what has become the his unique victory celebration.

"The most fun part was when the team climbed the fence with me," Castroneves recalled. "To see the expression on the faces of the fans on the other side of the fence was memorable. People were taking pictures with their cameras. I want to see those pictures from the other side of the fence.

"I saw kids with open mouths kind of in shock thinking, `What are you guys doing?' I saw people screaming like crazy. I saw a young lady trying to take a picture of me on the fence. She was shaking, so I don't know if it was a good picture or not. I remember seeing the disabled guys in the handicapped section and the looks on their faces after I won. It was phenomenal."

When Castroneves won the Indianapolis 500, he did it as a member of the CART series. But this year will be different because Marlboro Team Penske is part of the Indy Racing League.

"That is one of the things I thought about when Roger decided to move to the IRL -- I thought what were the good points and the bad points," Castroneves said. "Sure, we will miss the road courses, but I have a chance to be in the IRL and defend my win in the Indianapolis 500 more prepared. That is what counts and that is why it was a good decision."

Whether Castroneves actually is happy to be away from CART is not known. After all, that series features road and street racing, which were the roots of his racing career. So far, however, the talented driver has become a favorite in the IRL.

"When Roger told the team we were moving to the IRL, I stayed with the team because without a good team there is not much the driver can do," Castroneves said. "I've been in that situation before. I felt Roger Penske and Marlboro Team Penske have given me a lot of credibility and support and I'm giving back what they want. If you ask for this, you have to give them what they want."

Castroneves' road to an Indianapolis 500 win began when he was racing go-karts in Brazil. His boyhood friends included current Formula One driver Rubens Barrichello and last year's IRL Rookie of the Year Felipe Giaffone.

"I was the redneck of that gang because I came from the countryside and those guys came from the capital," Castroneves said. "They were like the New York guys and they tried to push me out, but, hey, results speak for themselves.

"I talk to Rubens and spent time with him at the United States Grand Prix last year. All of the drivers who are successful, we all get together because at one time in our careers, we will all race together. It's nice to maintain that. It's good that you have friends all over the place."

Castroneves was racing go-karts when fellow Brazilian Emerson Fittipaldi won the 1989 Indy 500 in one of the great all-time duels. With two laps left, Fittipaldi and Unser were at the height of a 15-lap battle that determined the outcome of the race. The cars entered the third turn side by side before touching.

Fittipaldi was able to maintain control, but Unser crashed. Fittipaldi drove to the checkered flag behind the pace car as the race ended under caution, but he became the first driver to earn more than $1 million for the victory.

Castroneves joined the Indy Lights Series and came to the United States in hopes of following the path blazed by Fittipaldi and others.

"When I came to America, it was in 1996 and that was the first year of the IRL. I went to Indianapolis and was doing a short program as a young driver from Brazil looking at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway," Castroneves said. "I remember when I looked at the Borg-Warner Trophy in the museum, I said, `Hey, one day I'm going to race here and win the race and my face will be on that trophy.'"

The Borg-Warner Trophy is motor racing's equivalent of having a hockey player's name etched onto the Stanley Cup. Fittipaldi's likeness appears twice for wins in 1989 and 1993.

Once Castroneves came to the U.S., Fittipaldi served as his mentor, first at Bettenhausen Motorsports in CART and later at Hogan Racing.

"I met Emerson in Miami and he called me one day and was saying he had heard about me," Castroneves recalled. "I guess somehow we were in a situation where it would be very good for us to work together. I worked very hard to be in a situation like that.

"It's tough when you are the new Brazilian driver and if the results didn't show up, nothing Emerson could say would change it. I was very happy that I was racing for Tony Bettenhausen. It's such a shame he is not here. Who knows, maybe one day CART would be back or we would get together. But I ended up joining the IRL and got my chance."

Fate played a huge factor in enabling Castroneves to make the next step in his racing career.

After several rough seasons, Penske Racing was about to return to glory in 2000 when Roger Penske hired Gil de Ferran and Greg Moore to be his drivers. But that promise turned to sorrow when Moore was killed in the final race of the 1999 season when he crashed at California Speedway in his final race for Players-Forsythe Racing.

Penske called upon Castroneves to take what would have been Moore's ride. The young driver quickly fit in while de Ferran began a quest that ended with CART titles in 2000 and 2001.

But even before the 2000 CART season was over, Penske was making plans to return to auto racing's greatest stage, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, where the team owner had won a then-record 10 Indy 500s.

"I tested at Indy in 2000 with the Treadway team and then I tested later that year with our team," Castroneves said. "Then I tested at the beginning of the year and went to the Rookie Orientation Program. By the time I got through ROP, I was in the mind-set that we were testing. It wasn't that bad to pass that."

Before going through ROP, Penske Racing decided to compete in the Phoenix IRL race as a tune-up for the Indy 500. It was a chance for the team to familiarize itself with IRL cars before Indy.

"Believe it or not, it was extremely important the race we did at Phoenix to win the Indianapolis 500," Castroneves admitted. "We learned a little bit about the cars, we learned a little bit about the engines. I think the improvement on the engines is the most important thing we did. I think approaching the timing to pass people, in all of those situations, that was very good."

The greatest challenge was yet to come. Opening Day at Indianapolis coincided with a CART race at Nazareth Speedway. After competing in a 225-mile race in Pennsylvania, Castroneves, de Ferran and the rest of the team flew to Indianapolis to take laps on opening day.

It was the first of many miles Team Penske logged last May.

"The most difficult time was leaving Nazareth, going to the track, changing clothes inside the plane, getting out of the plane in the driving suit and practicing the final hour at Indianapolis on opening day," Castroneves said. "Then, after we qualified that week, we flew to Japan for the race at Motegi.

"Going from there to Japan and then coming back after the race from Japan and arriving at 8 a.m. that day and 10 a.m. we were at the Speedway for practice, we didn't even know where to go. I got a ticket that morning and I was so upset. I was still sleeping. When we went to the race car, we were drowsy. I was seeing double-vision and we still had the last day of practice time. That was very difficult. It was hard work for everyone. But hey, it paid off at the end of the day."

During the many laps Castroneves ran in practice, he discovered just how tricky the first turn could be. "That turn 1, I don't know what is going on there, but it was amazing," he said. "I had been testing for two weeks there and I was doing stuff to get more comfortable for the track. You know, the weather and how to look at the flags for where the wind is blowing. I went so fast and thought it would be a great lap, but I kissed the wall. It was a very strong hit. That got my attention because it was right before qualifying.

"I though, `Gosh, just what I need now before qualifying, I have trouble.' To go flat-out there, you take out so much downforce to go fast, the car is sliding and loose. It was a good thing that I started doing stuff to find that out. It taught me some respect. It was like, `Hey, buddy, don't think you can go flat-out around this place. You better take it easy.' That's what I learned."

Four-time Indianapolis 500 winner Rick Mears once said going into the first turn at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway is like going down a hallway at 200 miles an hour and doing a hard left turn into the closet.

"Paul Tracy told me when I was talking about turn one and he said, `You don't understand, when you go to start the race and the stands are full of people, that is when you will see what is different,'" Castroneves said. "We have spent the whole month seeing just silver stands. All of a sudden, it's colorful with people.

"He was right. When I came out of the garage and saw the stands full of people and hearing them talking, I was like, `Gosh, I want to get out of here.' I was scared, but thank God I went through with it. When it's empty, it's impressive. But to see 400,000 people on race day is really something."

Throughout last year's Indianapolis 500, Castroneves was able to drive to the lead pack of cars from his 11th starting position. He clearly understood the strategy, that victory often doesn't go to the driver who leads early but to the driver that remains in striking position before making a late charge.

"I followed what Rick Mears said," Castroneves said, referring to the Penske Racing consultant. "My car wasn't the fastest. I was very good in traffic, but I just couldn't run away from people. I was taking it easy and Michael Andretti passed me, but that was only lap 70 and there were still 130 laps to go.

"When I got in second place behind Tony Stewart and he was leading and I was second, I was running really close to him. I thought we were looking good. When I got the lead, it started raining and I told myself I had to hold my horses because it was still going to be interesting."

The day took an unusual turn when the race was red-flagged briefly. Once the rain subsided, it was evident the race would resume quickly.

By then, Castroneves was in the lead.

"When the rain started coming over, I was thinking there were 50 laps to go and we were past the halfway point of the race," he said. "I saw the dark clouds here and the clear sky over there. I was like, `Please dark, come over on this side some more. I don't care if they said I won because it was raining.' When I saw a little spot of sun on the right side of the track, I remember Tim Cindric was smiling and my father was smiling and it was, `Guys, it's not over with yet.

"When I got out of the race car that was a tough thing. When you cool down and go back inside the car, it doesn't feel the same. It felt weird. I just kept going and my car was very strong after that point."

When the race restarted, it became a battle between Castroneves and teammate de Ferran.

The CART champion made a daring attempt to pass Castroneves on the outside of the first turn, but the leader was able to hold his line.

"I thought, `All right, he's not going to try anything,'" Castroneves said. "Normally, when you see the nose of the guy, it's fine. But when I saw his helmet, I was like, `You're going too close now. Hold on.' I really left him room on the outside because I didn't know how close he would be. Looking in the mirror, he wasn't there. I thought he's still right beside me. I did that turn 2 flat-out. I didn't care what happened, I had to get out in front of him.

"On the last lap, I didn't see if it was a white flag, blue flag or whatever, I just saw two guys, and Gil was close. I had to dive in between them to put room between me and Gil. He got in a bad position and that is when I saw I was going to win this race."

A lot went through Castroneves' mind in the final laps. He remembered Fittipaldi crashing while leading with 16 laps to go in 1994.

Castroneves kept it steady and saw de Ferran in his rear-view mirror when he won the biggest race of his career. And the driver was able to leave the indelible image of climbing the fence after taking his victory lap.

"Tim Cindric was on the radio and said, `Go back to the winner's circle.' But I was screaming and crying and excited and I was trying to undo my head rest," Castroneves said. "I was still turning a pretty good pace and I felt my head go back. Mark Dismore was congratulating me, I let him get out of the way and I stopped on the front stretch and climbed the fence.

"The officials told me I had to go back to the car. I got in and went back around to victory lane."

It was in victory lane where the talented Brazilian got to enjoy the unique American tradition of drinking a bottle of milk and kissing the Borg-Warner Trophy.