Growing up in São Paulo, Brazil, it’s fair to say Helio Castroneves didn’t spend a lot of time around the sport of hockey.
“Cold and Brazilians, they don’t get along,” Castroneves joked. “We’re used to the tropical weather.”
But that doesn’t mean the four-time Indianapolis 500 champ – and Dancing With The Stars winner – can’t appreciate the coolest game on earth.
He proved it Thursday as he toured Nationwide Arena ahead of the Blue Jackets’ game against the Washington Capitals, spending much of his time learning about the game. Castroneves quickly went from asking about the finer points of players’ sticks to wielding one of his own, taking the ice with Blue Jackets alumni to shoot some pucks and try his hand at a much different sport than he’s used to.
The Meyer Shank Racing driver learned there are at least two similarities between racing and hockey – the need for speed and the need for teamwork.
“I’m super excited because I’m a big fan of a lot of sports, and obviously hockey is one of them,” Castroneves said. “Everyone specializes in your own area, and I’m here just trying to understand and learning information about the hockey stick, the puck, the whole strategy, how you have to do it.
“Believe it or not, there are some similarities in racing – the way the drivers get comfortable, the way you position yourself in the car, the setup. At the end of the day, it’s very, very similar – and it’s still a team sport for us. In our case, it’s the mechanics, the race team, the strategist, they all work together so that we can get toward the goal, which is winning.”
Castroneves and Meyer Shank teammates Felix Rosenqvist and Marcus Armstrong – along with Rosenqvist’s No. 60 CBJ-branded IndyCar – had a full day at Nationwide Arena on Thursday. Castroneves chatted with Blue Jackets players and management in the morning, returned with Rosenqvist and Armstrong in the evening for a pregame meet-and-greet with fans, then headed to the concourse to sign autographs.
Their question-and-answer session broached subjects as diverse as their favorite racetracks, their thoughts on Columbus and what they knew about hockey. The three then dropped a ceremonial puck before the game before Rosenqvist and Armstrong tried their hand at shooting pucks during an intermission contest on the ice.
Castroneves also addressed the Blue Jackets in the locker room before the game, extolling the virtues of teamwork and reminding the players to always have fun (and listen to your coach, which Dean Evason was happy to hear).
CBJ wing Mathieu Olivier has gotten into racing through the wildly popular Netflix series Drive to Survive, which features Formula 1 racers, and said he’s gained a measure of respect for everything that goes into putting together a championship racing outfit.
“It’s really fascinating to me what those (drivers) go through and how they train and how they prepare and everything that’s important, down to the decimal point of pounds they have to gain or lose,” said Mathieu Olivier, who presented Castroneves with a No. 6 CBJ jersey in the locker room after morning skate. “It’s really cool.”
Meyer Shank Racing is based in Pataskala and has 35 years of racing experience, branching into IndyCar in the 2010s. Their first victory came in the 2021 Indianapolis 500, when Castroneves took the checkered flag and the Borg-Warner Trophy for the fourth time, tying him with A.J. Foyt, Al Unser Sr. and Rick Mears for the most in the history of the Greatest Spectacle in Racing.
Castroneves became part owner of the team in 2023 and said that while he’s attended hockey games before, doing it in the hometown of his team – and enjoying the red carpet rolled out by the Blue Jackets – made this one special.
“The other ones were different; it was promoting a race,” Castroneves said before the game. “Here, it’s close to our hometown, our home team, Meyer Shank Racing based in Ohio. Watching the home team play, it’s going to be different. It’s a special feeling. I’m obviously going to be cheering, rooting, and hopefully I’ll be the good luck charm.
“I want to thank the Blue Jackets and this entire organization for not only inviting me but allowing me to be special and spend time with the players. It was absolutely an honor.”
