Daytona Beach, FL: Going into the 2008 IndyCar Series season, Helio
Castroneves and Ryan Briscoe will be flying the Team Penske colors.
Castroneves is the team's veteran while Briscoe will be the new kid on
the block.
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Ryan Briscoe and Helio Castroneves. Photo by Chris Jones - IRL.
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Briscoe is replacing Sam Hornish Jr., who convinced the Penske
organization to let him join the stock car side of the house.
Briscoe drove Team Penske's American Le Mans Series LMP2 Porsche
sportscar in 2007. He also competed in the Indianapolis 500 for the
second time, driving a car fielded by Penske's son Jay and businessman
Stephen Luzco. The talented Australian driver started seventh and
finished a solid fifth in the rain-shortened race.
"It all started two years ago when Wayne Taylor (Briscoe's agent)
contacted us and asked if we had any opportunities available for Ryan
(Briscoe)," said Tim Cindric, Team Penske president. "We needed a driver
for our ALMS car and decided to give him a test. He did very well and
Porsche agreed that he was the right choice."
Cindric said Briscoe's performance in last year's Indianapolis 500
convinced the team they had a bright prospect in their midst. "With the
limitations on testing, the program at Indianapolis gave us a race under
out belt and a lot more. We learned we had the right guy and he could
hit the ground running, if we had a need."
While the Hornish Jr. move to NASCAR was finalized, Briscoe was waiting in
the wings as a replacement.
Leading up to the decision, Briscoe had one final hurdle to clear -- a
test on the notorious Milwaukee Mile. "I don't think he has ever been to
Milwaukee without crashing, so we took him there for a test," Cindric
said. "Ryan (Briscoe) did well at Milwaukee and he turned lap times
comparable to those of Helio (Castroneves)."
At the test Cindric also learned the two drivers were the same size.
"Ryan forgot to bring his uniform and we loaned him one of Helio's. It
fit perfectly, so for 2008, we just ordered two more uniforms identical
in size to Helio's but with Ryan's name on them."
Looking ahead, Cindric believes the two drivers are a perfect fit -- not
only in size but in skill level for the Penske IndyCar team.
