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IndyCar Star Helio Castroneves Visits The Dallas Cowboys
IndyCar Series star Helio Castroneves exhibited his fancy footwork en route to winning last season’s "Dancing With The Stars" competition and he showed off a few new ones Wednesday during a special visit to the Dallas Cowboys Organized Team Activities session at their Valley Ranch practice facility.
Castroneves got the opportunity to run some routes against Dallas Cowboys cornerback Terence Newman and haul in some passes from quarterback Tony Romo following the team’s practice session. Castroneves, loosely guarded by a playful Newman, ran a post pattern on the first play and found out why Romo is a Pro Bowl quarterback. Romo lofted a perfect deep pass to Castroneves, who hauled it in for his first unofficial NFL reception. Castroneves was not as fortunate on the ensuing play as Newman decided to pressure the "NFL rookie" and tighten the coverage that resulted in an interception as Castroneves was bumped off his route.
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"What a great group of guys," said Castroneves, who will be competing in Saturday night’s Bombardier Learjet 550k at Texas Motor Speedway. "That was actually my first experience playing with professional football players and I had no idea what to expect. It was very cool. They obviously were not playing too hard since they let me catch a few passes. This was an incredible opportunity."
Added Newman: "Helio had a good time out here today. We had some fun with him running some routes and catching and throwing the football. I think he catches it better than he throws it. He could be a nice wide receiver. He’s got some little wheels on him, too. He was rolling pretty quickly out there today."
Upon his arrival, Castroneves was greeted by Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, who welcomed him with a mock dance move in tribute to his "Dancing With The Stars" title. Jones presented him with a personalized No. 3 (his car number) Cowboys jersey that he signed and Castroneves returned the favor by giving the team owner a signed Texas Motor Speedway/Bombardier Learjet 550k racing helmet. At the close of practice, Jones brought Castroneves to the middle of the field and introduced him to the entire team, which was met with applause.
Castroneves later met up and chatted with wide receiver Terrell Owens, whom he visited with during a pro tennis tournament in Key Biscayne earlier this year. He also presented Owens, Romo and Newman with signed race-worn gloves as a gift during his visit.
"Hopefully they can come out to Texas Motor Speedway on Saturday night and let me return the favor and show them an Indy car up close," Castroneves said. "This group of Dallas Cowboys players seems to be a very strong group just like my Team Penske guys. It takes a strong team to be successful."
Newman may take him up on that offer, considering he has become a big race fan. "I love racing," Newman said. "I had the chance to go out to Texas Motor Speedway about three years ago and drive in a stock car. From that moment on, I’ve been hooked. I used to live by the speedway and would go over there every time there was an event there."
PaddockTalk Perspective
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