AP photo Helio Castroneves, of Brazil, looks down pit lane following practice for the Indianapolis 500 auto race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Indianapolis Aug. 21.

ESCANABA –Since 2000, it could be said that the face of Team Penske has been Helio Castroneves.

After this past Saturday night, that is no longer the case.

This weekend’s 12 Hours of Sebring, an IMSA sanctioned event, was the last for Castroneves with Team Penske. A 20-year journey comes to a close, and what a journey it was.

While the actual event did not go well for the Castroneves and his team, finishing 11 laps down in the eight position — in class and overall — they did clinch the championship. A fitting way to close out an illustrious career with Penske, even if it was in sports cars.

A championship is something that eluded Castroneves in his full-time INDYCAR days with Penske. He came close on numerous occasions, though, finishing second four different times (2002, 2008, 2013, 2014).

Castroneves is probably most well-known for his three Indianapolis 500 victories (2001, 2002, 2009). In addition to the win, he was named the Indianapolis 500 Rookie of the Year in 2001.

The search for the coveted fourth win, something only three drivers have achieved (A.J. Foyt, Al Unser Sr. and Rick Mears), will continue with a new team.

The relationship between Penske and Castroneves began in the shadow of the late Greg Moore.

As the 1999 season came to a close the young phenom Moore signed to join Penske for the 2000 season. During the last event of the season, however, Moore was killed in a devastating accident just ten laps into the race.

In the weeks following the passing of Moore, the Penske team made the decision to fill the vacancy with Castroneves.

Prior to signing with the team, Castroneves’ best finish was second — something he achieved on two occasions.

During his first year with Penske, Castroneves found victory lane three times.

He drove full-time for Penske until 2017 when it was announced he would be one of the drivers for the then newly formed Acura Team Penske entries in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship.

Since then, he has driven just five INDYCAR races for Team Penske; the 2018, 2019 and 2020 Indianapolis 500s and two Indy Grand Prix’s at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course.

The writing for Castroneves’ eventual departure from Penske came at the penultimate event of the 2020 INDYCAR season, the Harvest Grand Prix held at the IMS road course.

There, Castroneves was a substitute driver for Arrow McLaren SP driver Oliver Askew, who was suffering from lingering concussion-like symptoms following a heavy crash in this year’s Indianapolis 500.

It was the first time Castroneves race in a non-Penske INDYCAR since his tenure with the team began. By the time the race took place, it was also well-known that the Acura-powered Penske entries in IMSA would be shutting down at the end of the season.

For 2021, Castroneves will join Meyer Shank Racing for six events, including the 105th running of the Indianapolis 500.

It won’t be the first time Castroneves has worked with the team, however. Back in 2007, Castroneves joined the MSR team in the Rolex 24 Hour Race at Daytona.

Helio will race alongside teammate Jack Harvey, who is entering just his second full-time season in INDYCAR.

For the still-growing MSR team, the addition of a proven driver to the already impressive Harvey will help them find success in the years ahead.