IndyCar’s Helio Castroneves returns to ‘Dancing With the Stars’
Helio Castroneves is a three-time winner of the Indianapolis 500. Now the Brazilian driver wants to be a two-time winner of “Dancing With the Stars.”
Castroneves joins other former winners and fan favorites in this season’s contest that starts Monday night on ABC. But he’ll have a different partner as he seeks a second mirror ball trophy.
When he won the show’s fifth season in 2007, the effervescent Castroneves was paired with professional dancer Julianne Hough. This time his partner is Chelsie Hightower as Castroneves faces such celebrity rivals as Bristol Palin, Emmitt Smith and Kirstie Alley.
Hightower is “an amazing talent,” Castroneves said. “She only wants to dance. She pushes [me] to the limit.”
Castroneves, who drives for Team Penske, just completed the Izod IndyCar Series season with a fifth-place finish at the season’s last race, at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana. He finished fourth in the championship standings.
Then the 37-year-old turned his full attention to the dance floor.
“I am very proud of winning ‘Dancing With the Stars,’ ” Castroneves said. “My trophy is right there between my three Indy [500] trophies. To balance it out, we need another mirror ball trophy.”
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