Winners turn on the water

Popular Helio Castroneves won his third Indianapolis 500 on Sunday in a lackluster race that generated enough money for the Brazilian driving and dance champion to get caught up with his federal tax bill.

He cried so much after his victory that officials almost needed rain tires so his car could be safely pushed to the winner’s circle.

Castroneves was acquitted of federal tax evasion charges April 17, and the feds dropped a final count two days before the race. Castroneves still owes the IRS a couple of million, but the check might be in the mail after he won a race-record $3 million for his Penske Racing team.

Castroneves and his No. 3 team dominated by winning the pole, the pit crew competition and the race.

About 600 miles to the southeast in Concord, N.C., David Reutimann, 39, only dominated a caution lap when crew chief and apparent meteorological expert Rodney Childers instructed him to stay on the track while leaders pitted on lap 222 — 178 laps short of the scheduled 400.

The race was washed out before it began Sunday, and it barely passed the needed halfway point the next day.

Reutimann was 14th in his No. 00 Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota when the last yellow flag waved for a light rain. The 13 cars ahead of him made pit stops that eventually sent his car to victory lane.

But a win is a win, whether it’s because the team had the fastest car, best pit strategy or a direct line to Mother Nature.

Most fans remember that Matt Kenseth won this year’s Daytona 500, but how many recall that rain cut it short by 48 laps?

It was Reutimann’s first Sprint Cup win, the first for Michael Waltrip as an owner and the first for Childers as a crew chief.

NASCAR.com quickly sent an e-mail blast that new Reutimann souvenirs soon would be available. It would be appropriate for the line to include umbrellas and slickers.

Three rain delays Monday left plenty of time for reflection, and here are some of those thoughts …

Unfortunately “Digger” didn’t drown in his hole during the heavy downpours. The cartoon gopher is the mascot for Fox’s track-level camera.

Fortunately, the overrated rat will go into hibernation after Sunday when Fox airs its last race of the year.

We can only hope the annoying rodent becomes animated road kill Sunday. Now that’s a T-shirt I’ll buy. …

It was a great weekend at Indy for teams owned by Sam Schmidt. The Henderson resident won Indy Lights races at the speedway Friday and Saturday with driver Wade Cunningham before Alex Lloyd finished 13th in the 500. …

Other Las Vegans also fared well. Paul Tracy placed ninth and Alex Tagliani 11th, which earned him the top rookie honor. …

Congratulations to Danica Patrick for a poised 500 and a third-place finish that was her best since she placed fourth as a rookie in 2005.

But she needs to drop the talk about moving to NASCAR. She couldn’t handle it physically. She is a good athlete, but at 100 pounds she doesn’t have the upper body strength to handle a 3,400-pound stock car.

Former 500 and IndyCar season champion Dario Franchitti couldn’t make it in NASCAR and returned to IndyCars this year.

Sam Hornish, another former Indy and open-wheel champion, is still trying to become a consistent top-20 finisher in the Sprint Cup series.

As good as Patrick is wheeling a 1,565-pound open-wheel racer, she never will approach the IndyCar success enjoyed by Franchitti and Hornish.

She needs to remain in IndyCar. If she goes anywhere, she might be competitive in Formula One.

Jeff Wolf’s motor sports column is published Friday. He can be reached at 702-383-0247 or jwolf@reviewjournal.com. Visit Wolf’s motor sports blog at lvrj.com/blogs/heavypedal/ throughout the week.