Castroneves

That attitude and approach from Castroneves has been helpful as Pagenaud — one of the drivers collected with Castroneves in the season-opening first lap crash — has dealt with his disappointing start.

All but Castroneves has won the IndyCar Series season title, and Castroneves has won the 500 three times.

Castroneves then tried to talk to Floyd Mayweather’s team, but said Thursday he couldn’t get a deal done with The Money Team Racing in time for next month’s Daytona 500.

Shank liked that Castroneves and Pagenaud had a previous working relationship and friendship, and it’s paid dividends for Pagenaud as this season has not produced the results they expected.

With 17 Indy 500 wins coming in, Penske's team is always a pre-race favorite, and with Pagenaud, series leader Josef Newgarden and former 500 winners Will Power and Helio Castroneves in the field, that was the case again.

And with legions of Newgarden, Power, Pagenaud, and Castroneves fans, the series could easily repel a fanbase it’s worked hard to develop.