Now they know who he is; Castroneves wins in Detroit

DETROIT (AP) -- No more Helio Who?

The racing world learned who Helio Castroneves was Sunday as the dashing Brazilian kept his cool in the Tenneco Automotive Grand Prix of Detroit to earn his first CART victory.

''I knew it would come, but you're still pulling your hair.'' said Castroneves, who has won at all levels on three continents since beginning his career in go-carts at age 12.

Castroneves, heeding constant advice over his radio headset from the Team Penske crew, steered away from trouble, stretched out his fuel supply and beat Italy's Max Papis by 4.415 seconds.

''On the last restart, I put a lot of pressure on Helio and locked up the front tires, and that was it,'' Papis said. ''I couldn't catch him anymore.''

Castroneves, the seventh different winner in seven FedEx championship races this season, took the lead when pole-sitter Juan Montoya went out with a broken driveshaft on the 62nd lap of the 84-lap race and steadily pulled away over the 2.3-mile, 14-turn road course.

It was the fourth time this season that Montoya, the sensational Colombian who won the points series as a rookie last year and took the Indianapolis 500 last month, has been unable to finish.

''When things like this happen, it's out of our hands,'' Montoya said. ''But these things do happen in racing.''

Canadian Paul Tracy, the points leader going into the Detroit race, was pulled from the competition late in the race for a pit-lane violation, his third in three races.

''We've just got a black cloud hanging over our heads right now,'' Tracy said.

Rookie Oriol Servia of Spain, starting 12th, finished third, just ahead of Scotsman Dario Franchitti, winner of last year's Detroit race.

Tracy remained the points leader with 59, five more than Jimmy Vasser, who moved up from third. Brazilian Roberto Moreno went from second to third with 52 points.

''I guess I'm happy we earned some points, but it sure was an ugly way to do it,'' said Vasser, who started 17th and worked his way up to a seventh-place finish.

Castroneves was ecstatic with his win. At times during his victory lap he could be seen pumping both arms in the air, hands completely off the wheel.

Instead of pulling into pit lane, Castroneves stopped on the straight part of the road in front of the pits and jumped out of the red-and-white Marlboro car. Still wearing his helmet, Castroneves leaped up on the high cyclone fence and shook the wire in joy.

He finally jumped back down, ran back across the road, leaping over a cement barrier and into the arms of crew members. Moments later, he ran up on the victory stand, sliding on his knees and pumping his arms toward the sky.

''I did it. I did it,'' Castroneves said through tears. ''I don't believe, but I believe it, actually.''

Castroneves' top previous finishes in three seasons on the CART circuit had been three seconds, including April 16 at Long Beach, Calif. The 25-year-old gave the resurgent Team Penske its 101st win, the second in the last three CART races, and the first at Detroit since Tracy drove for the team in 1994.