They race on faith

"People see the glory and the fun, but I've had low times," he says in an interview. "When I first came to America in 1996, I had difficulty with everything." Deciding that racing wasn't for him after all, at the end of the season he returned to Brazil. "I got love and support from my family and had a lot of conversation with myself and the Lord. My mother read the Bible, opening up [ideas] for me. My faith grew stronger," he says.

He came back and ended up vying for the championship. Then in 1998, his team lost its sponsor and his contract wasn't renewed.

"I couldn't believe it was happening again," he says. Signing with another team despite its second-rate equipment, he stuck with it and did well. Yet that team closed down, too. "But I didn't lose faith," he says. Suddenly, he got an offer from Penske.

Of the three races run in 2006, Castroneves has won two and placed second in the third. He's aiming to enter the rarefied world of those who have won three Indy 500s. Only three men have won four: A.J. Foyt, Al Unser, and Rick Mears.

A Catholic who treasures family ties, Castroneves now has his sister traveling with him to handle the business side. His parents are in Indianapolis for Sunday's race.

The six months of travel separate many drivers from family, presenting special challenges. Like other people, Hill says, drivers mostly come to him with personal relationship issues.

In addition, Hornish says, racing is not a normal job: "You are on call at all times, whether it's the team, the league, your sponsors. For example, my grandmother's funeral was on Wednesday, but that day we were supposed to be on track, plus I had PR obligations. So I flew home early in the morning, went to the funeral, and had to leave immediately to come back."

Still, there are many pluses. "I feel incredibly blessed that I get to do what I love," Sharp says. "I have the opportunity to meet lots of people, travel to great places, and be part of a real team concept."

Though he's been hurt, that, too, has been a fortifying experience. In 1997, Sharp had back-to-back concussions six weeks apart, and no one was sure how he would come out of it, he says. "I woke up the next day feeling God's presence around me, with my wife and 2-year-old daughter there. It put everything into perspective."

The front-runner, too, seems to have a clear grasp on what's most important. Hornish has won more events than other current IRL drivers, including the IndyCar championship twice. The 500 is all that's left to conquer.

"As far as my career, it means everything, but in the grand scheme of things, your family, friends, and faith should mean more," he says. "This is a great pastime for a lot of people, it's a great job for me.... But what I like about it is that it's something you can share with other people."

NASCAR, with strong marketing, may have successfully challenged Indy racing. But as Lewis Franck, racing columnist for Sports Illustrated.com, put it on Saturday, when it comes to the Indianapolis 500, "the magic will never go away."

The Indianapolis Motor Speedway was built in 1909 to test cars for the new automobile industry. The 500-mile race was inaugurated two years later on Memorial Day, and has been held annually ever since, except for breaks during the two world wars. The world's largest sports facility, the IMS seats 250,000 spectators, with room for 100,000 or more in the infield. A few statistics:

• The 1911 winner completed 200 laps of the 2.5-mile track in 6 hours, 42 minutes, 8 seconds; the 2005 champion, Dan Wheldon, won in 3 hours, 10 minutes, 21 seconds.

• The IndyCars' Honda engines are fueled by 90 percent methanol and 10 percent ethanol, and next year will run on 100 percent ethanol.

• IndyCars can accelerate from 0 to 100 m.p.h. in less than three seconds.

• At 220 m.p.h., the cars travel slightly more than the length of a football field every second.

• Four women have raced in the 500, from Janet Guthrie (1977-79) to Danica Patrick, who led the race for several laps last year.

• The top 2006 qualifiers, who start the race in the front row, are Sam Hornish Jr. (USA), Helio Castroneves (Brazil), and Dan Wheldon (England).

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