Helio Castroneves turned back the clock and recalled a daring move he made on the streets of Toronto during an Indy Lights Series race in 1996. That time, it didn’t work out so well: He started third, went for the lead entering turn 1 at the start of the race and crashed with a young Brazilian race driver named Tony Kanaan.

Castroneves reached into the Wayback Machine and decided to make the same move at the start of Sunday’s Verizon IndyCar Series Honda Indy Toronto. Starting third, Castroneves ducked out of line, gassed his Chevrolet and passed second-place Graham Rahal and pole sitter Simon Pagenaud to take the lead into turn 1.

This time, the only crash was in turn 3 when Scott Dixon’s car bounced off Graham Rahal’s Honda, then into the path of Will Power’s Chevrolet. Meantime, Castroneves was in front where he stayed for the first 24 laps of Sunday’s 85-lap contest.

“It was a long time ago in 1996 when I was in Indy Lights, and I made a move from third to first, exactly what I did today,” Castroneves told Autoweek on pit lane after the race. “If Simon had braked really deep, I didn’t want to put our race in jeopardy. But it was a great start.

“We keep collecting points and that is very good. And one of our guys (Josef Newgarden) won the race.”

Although Castroneves waited too long to pit and was caught out by the yellow flag following Kanaan’s crash in turn 1 on lap 23, the three-time Indianapolis 500 winning driver finished eighth and is just three points behind Dixon in the battle for the Verizon IndyCar Series Championship.

“My car was really good up front, a little bit difficult in traffic,” Castroneves said. “It’s a shame we got caught out on that yellow (Lap 23), but the car was really good. After that, it was a really hard to drive in traffic. The Hondas were really strong today, and I couldn’t pass them.

“Top eight isn’t what we wanted, but it's good points for us.”

Castroneves believed it was a very positive day not only for his effort but the entire team, except for Power finishing last in the 21-car field after his crash with Dixon. Newgarden won the race, Simon Pagenaud finished fifth and Castroneves eighth for Team Penske.

This could be Castroneves’ final season as a full-time Verizon IndyCar Series driver. Team owner Roger Penske might move him over to a full-time Honda/Acura Sports Car ride beginning next season.

“It always helps to have momentum, but it does not change me in the way I am and the way I drive,” Castroneves said. “If the opportunity presents itself, I go for it.

“Now that we have a little more skin in the game, it’s always good to have that attack mode. It’s still wide open and we have to keep pushing.”

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