Castroneves to bring back “Yellow Submarine” Pennzoil look for Indy 500

On Thursday, it was announced that Helio Castroneves will carry the Pennzoil “Yellow Submarine” paint scheme on his No. 3 Verizon IndyCar for the 98th running of the Indianapolis 500. The paint scheme will help the brand celebrate the launch of Pennzoil Platinum® and Pennzoil Ultra Platinum™ Full Synthetic motor oils with PurePlus™ Technology.

“For me, it’s an inspiration,” the three-time Indianapolis 500 winner commented. “Right now, it’s an honor to be wearing the yellow color, not because of Dancing With the Stars but it helps. But just to see this, what an honor having these guys around helping me out to unveil the car. I want to thank Pennzoil with the new product and I’m excited to be representing you guys. It sounds like it’s a good luck charm.”

Castroneves joins legends Rick Mears and Johnny Rutherford as drivers to carry the iconic paint scheme.

“I feel like a small fish in a big ocean right now with those two legends over here,” Castroneves continued. “At the end of the day, Penske has a great history here at the Speedway. I can’t wait to be sitting in that car at the beginning of practice after the Indianapolis GP and I can’t wait to go race with these colors. And a special thanks to Rick for allowing me to use the colors of his helmet. I’m extremely thankful and honored to be wearing not only the Pennzoil colors but Rick’s helmet colors, too.”

Four-time Indianapolis 500 winner Rick Mears says it’s great to have the iconic sponsor and paint scheme back in the series.

” To get it back here in the sport with us with Team Penske and all of the great fortune it brought me, hopefully it will roll right into Helio and do the same for him,” Mears commented.

Three-time Indianapolis 500 winner Johnny Rutherford states the car was named the yellow submarine due to Jim Hall having three cars built in England and brought over to the United States.

“He went to them to try and get them to be a sponsor and of course their colors are yellow. It was just natural,” Rutherford said. “The car was the start of the ground effects and that was a brand new era in racing as having a car you could flat foot around the Indianapolis Motor Speedway at over 200 miles per hour. It was fun, enjoyable, the car was great. It opened up a whole new avenue of the way you drove them and the way things happened.”

Pennzoil has been involved in the IndyCar Series over the years and more specifically with Team Penske. Pennzoil first appeared on an open-wheel car in the 1930s with Russell Snowberger.

“His success over a five year period attracted 27 other race teams and drivers to voluntarily select Pennzoil as a race engine,” Rusty Barron, Vice President North America of Lubricants Marketing, said. “Now, fast forward to the 1980s and the oil used by the team of Johnny Rutherford and Rick Mears was also Pennzoil. It was the same oil that you could by right off the shelf and use in your own car. In the 1990s and the 2000s, that was a time when a specialty blend was made for the team and the engines.”

The new oil – Pennzoil Ultra Platinum – will be used in the Chevrolet motors across the series this year.