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©1999 SpeedCenter Publishing November 8, 1999, Reading, PA - Helio Castro-Neves has joined Marlboro Team Penske to drive alongside teammate Gil de Ferran in the 2000 CART FedEx Series, Roger S. Penske announced today. Both drivers will pilot identical red and white Marlboro Honda Reynards as they compete in the 20-race series for the PPG Cup. "Carl Hogan announced at Fontana that he would not be competing in the CART FedEx Series in 2000 had disbanded his Team. As we regroup following the tragic loss of Greg Moore, we are fortunate to have a driver of Helio's caliber available to join our Team," Penske stated. The 24-year-old Castro-Neves will be starting his third year of CART competition. In 1999 he scored his first career CART pole at Milwaukee while competing for Hogan Racing in the #9 Hogan Racing Mercedes Lola. He started from the front row a total of three times (second in Portland and Nazareth) and finished in the top 10 six times. His best finish was 2nd in St. Louis. In his rookie season (1998) in Champ Car racing, he raced for Bettenhausen Motorsports, scoring points in eight of 19 starts and led more laps than any other rookie on the circuit. Prior to racing in CART, Castro-Neves raced in the 1997 PPG-Dayton Indy Lights Championship where he scored three victories, four podium finishes and four poles to finish 2nd in the series. Penske Racing holds numerous all-time records with 202 major race wins. It is the most successful Champ Car racing team in history with 99 race wins, highlighted by 10 Indianapolis 500 Mile race victories, nine National Championships and 119 pole positions.
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