Castroneves aims to make Indy history

The Brazilian took victory on his first appearance at the famous speedway in 2001, and added a second victory last year, albeit in slightly contentious circumstances, when a late yellow flag prevented Paul Tracy from passing him.

"Obviously, Indy is a very special place to me," said Castroneves. "This year will be even more amazing as I try to go for a record third consecutive win. I'm trying not to think about the three-peat and just enjoy every minute of the month. Records are made to be broken and if it's meant to be, it will be."

Penske has entered four cars for the race, two each from IRL IndyCar Series chassis constructor's Dallara and G-Force, to ensure that Castroneves and team-mate Gil de Ferran can run the fastest chassis and stand the best chance of victory in the event.

"The team has been working very hard in preparing the cars for the month," said Castroneves. "We'll start off running both the Dallara and the G-Force and hopefully make a decision early in the week so that we can get to work on out qualifying and race set-ups. I've enjoyed tremendous success at the Speedway and I only hope it continues this year."