Will Helio win??

[rickb99]

Well, trust me I'm not watching. But my 89 year old mother is glued to the TV and will let me know if Helio Castroneves wins Dancing With the Stars!! LOL... Down to last two couples with Marie Osmond a part of the other couple.

So it's a vote between Helio's most excellent dancing and Marie 'public appeal'. Exciting off season stuff huh?

[Ted Idlof]

Open wheel racing needs all the exposure it can get !!!

[Mark H]

You know I don't watch that junk...but on Helio...I remember when he hit the scean, him and Tony K. were billed as the 2 hotest rookies in open wheel. On the covers of magazines, being interviewed at Indy ect. and I said to myself "if this is the future were in trouble". I must admit (being a redneck) I was feeling a little anti-Brazilin.
Looking around seeing Rahaul retire, Stewart gone to NAZCAR, Gordon never making it to Indy (in a proper racing car) and the future in the hands of Chip's F1 driving school- JPM (back then he was Juan Montoya),Zanardi and then da Matta, American open wheel racing looked like a South American social event?
Watching Helio, and trying not to like him, I coulden't? This guy (as he calls TK) is a real NICE guy and not a bad racer to boot..2- 500's. He has realy bested my other favoret Hornish(NAZCAR traitor) I even tried to like Paul Tracy just because he was North American...but I can't. In fact the two are totaly different....I don't think that Tracy is a nice guy...sorry.

Well I still ain't gonna watch but I hope he wins!

[Mike B]

I watched my first, and probably last, episode of Dancing With the Stars last night.
You can't NOT like Helio. He's a genuinely nice guy and loves life. Plus he was a very deserving winner!

Oh yeah, plenty of cleavage, too!

[John LaRue]

Sometime in August everyone on the IRL email gets an message from Helio, he is asking for people to tune in and watch him dance. His writing is like his speech so it was a bit entertaining in itself! Every week of the show he then sends out an email thanking everyone for their support and telling about his adventure. I thought that was pretty neat, but my neice and wife loved them!

The local press and the IRL did a pretty good job during the run of the show maximizing exposure with local tv coverage in Hollywood, gatherings at the Speedway for locals to watch, etc.... Of course, the IRL plays pretty well in the Indy market anyway, but I would venture to say that this is most national exposure any race car driver has received hands down. I believe I heard them say on the news that the ratings were the best for any of the fall tv programs. The real question now is whether the IRL and open wheel racing can capitalize on that and his personality. I can't imagine that there aren't some messages on his machine from down south this morning, he would certainly play well to the sponsors.

[Brad Ellingson]

It really frightens me that Mike B has taken to looking at Helio's cleavage.

[formulasuper]

Helio wins a championship, again. I'm not a dancer but you have to figure there's some kind of connection between his moves on & off the track! Cool Dude for sure!

[Bob Coury]

I never watched the show-until this season. All just because of Helio. I was glad to see him win last night. My older son and I got to speak to him at Homestead a few years ago.He was smiling and just as enthusiastic in person as he was on the show.

Maybe open wheel racing will get a few new fans. (Although I did see a posting somewhere that a person was going to start watching Nascar so they can see him race!)

[rickb99]

It really frightens me that Mike B has taken to looking at Helio's cleavage.

LOLOL

Yes, plenty of that cleavage stuff and seriously twitching fanny's. It's the kind of show where you can't turn to your wife or girl friend and say.. "But dear, I really DO enjoy the dancing" .. Hey, right.

[Mike B]

It really frightens me that Mike B has taken to looking at Helio's cleavage.

I take what I can get. You know that.