His dance passed last inspection

Who would have guessed that Helio Castroneves, the two-time Indianapolis 500 winner who competed on television’s “Dancing with the Stars,” would actually win the prime-time contest?

The Brazilian and his partner, Julianne Hough, captured the winner’s trophy in the show’s season finale Tuesday night. They topped two other couples in voting by a panel of judges and the show’s viewers.

Castroneves, 32, was praised for his energy and optimism, which helped when a judge called one of his dance routines “flat-footed.”

But Castroneves and Hough earned a perfect score of 30 for their final dance.

Castroneves’ success on the dance floor isn’t entirely surprising. The 5-foot-8 driver for Penske Racing is known for his athleticism and tough workout regimen. Plus, he was paired with Hough, who won last season with Olympic speed skater Apolo Anton Ohno.

It was Ohno who, after meeting Castroneves and learning of his interest in the show, proposed Castroneves as a contestant.

Although Castroneves’ decision to compete initially drew snickers in speedway garages, the racing world is happy to exploit his strong finish.

Example: Infineon Raceway in Sonoma plans to let fans on the track Aug. 24 in hopes of breaking the Guiness world record for the most people dancing to Chubby Checker’s “The Twist.” The record is 1,691.

Castroneves will be there, too, because that afternoon he has to return to his day job -- in a 200 mph race car.

Trivia time

This year’s Cy Young Award winners were the San Diego Padres’ Jake Peavy in the National League and the Cleveland Indians’ C.C. Sabathia in the American League. When was the last time a starting pitcher from each of those teams won the Cy Young Award?

The Play

This is the 25th anniversary of what many consider the most famous moment in college football -- California’s miraculous comeback against Stanford on Nov. 20, 1982.

With four seconds left, the Golden Bears used five laterals on a kickoff return to score a touchdown -- after running through the Stanford band, which had come on to the field -- to turn defeat into a 25-20 victory.

It has become known simply as “the Play.”

The stunned Stanford team included a senior quarterback named John Elway, now in the NFL Hall of Fame.

Another former pro quarterback, Joe Kapp of the Minnesota Vikings, was Cal’s coach that day.

As Kapp later told Sports Illustrated, “The game is 60 minutes, not 59 minutes and 56 seconds.”

Trivia answer

Gaylord Perry, in both cases. He won the AL Cy Young Award with the Indians in 1972, and the NL Cy Young with the Padres in 1978.

Junior ride

In reviewing Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s season this year, publicists for stock-car racing’s most popular driver noted some of his accomplishments and acknowledged his setbacks.

Earnhardt had 12 top-10 finishes in the season’s 36 races but no wins, finished 16th in the NASCAR Nextel Cup points and failed to finish nine races, one of the worst “did-not-finish” records among leading drivers.

Through it all he feuded with his team owner and stepmother, Teresa Earnhardt, then announced he would leave for another team, Hendrick Motorsports, in 2008. He’ll also leave behind Budweiser as his main sponsor while changing his car number to 88 from 8.

And before he announced each step, the media speculated wildly about what he might do, where he might go.

In fact, his publicists said with a wink, Earnhardt’s $5,221,970 in race winnings this year (before adding year-end-points bonus cash) “matched exactly the number of rumors and hyperbolic media reports about the driver and team this season.”

No footing

Conditions at Heinz Field in Pittsburgh couldn’t have been much worse Monday night when the Steelers eked out a 3-0 victory over the winless Miami Dolphins.

Rain and a new layer of sod made footing nearly impossible. Lightning chased the players off the field during pre-game warmups and delayed the opening kickoff. That meant no national anthem or player introductions.

Steelers kicker Jeff Reed made the winning field goal with only 17 seconds left. The Associated Press noted that it was the first time in 64 years than an NFL game went that long without any points, and it was the lowest scoring Monday night game since the prime-time series started in 1970.

And finally

Chivas USA, fresh from a strong season in Major League Soccer, plans a benefit game Dec. 2 against a team of Mexican soccer legends at Santa Ana Stadium.

Tickets are $20 for adults and $15 for kids 2 to 16. Proceeds from the game will go to victims of recent flooding in the southeastern Mexican states of Tabasco and Chiapas.

james.peltz@latimes.com