Iowa Corn Welcomes Helio

Celebrity dancing racer Helio Castroneves and former NASCAR champion Rusty Wallace visited with Iowa corn growers and members of the media on Wednesday to promote the Iowa Corn Indy 250 on June 22 at the Iowa Speedway in Newton.

There was no dancing, but Helio did sing the praises of ethanol. “It’s great,” he says. “The IndyCar Series is the one that started 100 percent on ethanol and other series are following as well. I’m very proud to be part of this organization. And ethanol is the main sponsor, we’re here because it’s where they produce ethanol.”

Helio is a two-time Indy 500 winner, but he gained new celebrity as the current “Dancing with the Stars” champion, and he hopes that will also gain new fans for the IndyCar Series from the 22 million people who tuned in to that show. “The funny thing is now, before doing the show I was a driver that can dance, and now I am a dancer that can drive,” he joked.

Besides being former NASCAR champion, Wallace is also an ABC/ESPN commentator, and designer of Iowa Speedway. This will be the second year for the ethanol-fueled race at the new speedway. The premier Iowa Corn Indy 250 last year was the second-most watched IndyCar Series race after the Indianapolis 500. This is also the second year that the IndyCar Series will run on 100 percent fuel grade ethanol.