David Burd, wtop.com
WASHINGTON – It’s not every day that you get to meet a three-time Indianapolis 500 winner, but it wasn’t hard finding race car driver Helio Castroneves.
He’ll be competing this weekend in the Baltimore Grand Prix.
According to Helio, the speeds will reach up to 170 mph on the straightaways, and 50 mph going through the curves. He told me an astonishing fact: The speed limit on pit row is 60 mph.
Helio is built like a fighter pilot, compact and under 6 feet tall. You have to be compact to fit into an Indy car. But everyone surrounding us on pit row really didn’t care about Helio’s racing wins — they just wanted to know about “Dancing with the Stars.”
Helio will be making another appearance on “DWTS” soon.
I asked him what his wife thought about him going back a second time. He said his wife was a very confident woman and would be cheering him on.
Lastly, I always want to know what car drivers drive when they’re not on the track.
“A Chevy Tahoe,” he said, laughing. He has a daughter now and needs the room.
We all wish you good luck this weekend, and of course, good luck on “Dancing with the Stars.”
Follow WTOP on Twitter.
(Copyright 2012 by WTOP. All Rights Reserved.)
