FanHouse RogerPenske

INDIANAPOLIS -- After parking his race car in front of the main grandstands -- still emotional after claiming a dramatic third Indianapolis 500 victory -- Helio Castroneves tried to climb out and celebrate.

"A yellow shirt [security] guy kind of pulled me in, he was literally holding my helmet and myself there in the car,'' said Castroneves, laughing about the scenario. "Finally I saw the team come to me and I said, 'I'm sorry, I've got to get out.' "

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Roger Penske is the most successful team owner in Indy car history with driver Ryan Briscoe earning Penske's 139th victory two weeks ago in the IndyCar Series opener at St. Petersburg. Penske has won the Indy 500 a staggering 14 times. His NASCAR team has 63 victories, including the 2008 Daytona 500. His sports car team won the historic 12 Hours of Sebring last year.

Penske sat down in his motor coach for a wide-ranging interview on topics as diverse as what keeps him motivated to Danica Patrick's flirt with NASCAR to the future of his NASCAR driver Sam Hornish Jr.

Excerpts from my interview with Penske after the jump.

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- Sure, NASCAR has the high-wattage personalities. Drag racing has the raw speed and IndyCar racing can't be beat for pure, wheel-to-wheel excitement.

But this weekend's Rolex 24 at Daytona International Speedway represents the truest form of racing in America and is arguably the toughest 24-hour race in the world.

The starting grid is eclectic and richly-talented; the racing diverse and pure - right turns, left turns, high-speed high-banks and tricky chicanes; the conditions unique - daylight, moonlight, rain or shine.

They're not the cream of the crop, but they have solid footing in the Top 35 heading to Martinsville. They don't have to worry about qualifying, but they need to make adjustments if they want to secure their spot in the Chase. Here are your teams in the middle of the road:

Chip Ganassi / Felix Sabates: Two teams solidly in the Top 35--the #40 in 11th and the #42 in 19th. Their third team, the #41 isn't faring quite as well in 29th, but they're inside for at least one more week.

The CGRFS cars have gained an average of 3.3 positions from the end of last season.

While the teams cars are on the rise, so is one of the team's stars. Juan Pablo Montoya's entry into NASCAR is one of the most talked about stories in all of auto racing--there's the F1 angle, the international angle, the diversity angle and the he'll push anyone and anything out of his way to win angle ...

Ganassi is also off to a good start in the Indy Racing League, which kicked off Saturday and saw the third one-two finish for Ganassi drivers Dan Wheldon and Scott Dixon.