- Associated Press - Friday, August 30, 2013

BALTIMORE (AP) - Helio Castroneves doesn’t have particularly fond memories of his two races in Baltimore.

Castroneves, the current leader in the Izod IndyCar point standings, enters Sunday’s Grand Prix of Baltimore looking to pad his lead over Scott Dixon.

Problem is, Castroneves has finished 17th and 10th here over the past two years.

The first race in 2011 was especially troublesome.

“My first year here, we were looking very strong up until unfortunately the warm up, which I’m sure a lot of people remember,” Castroneves recalled Friday. “Tony Kanaan lost the brakes and I kind of worked as a shock absorber to help him out and absorb the impact. Because of the rules _ and I still don’t understand why they have these rules _ if you change the car you have to start in the back. So when we started in the back, we got caught in some of the scenarios. It was just an unfortunate situation. “

Castrneves scrambled to a top-10 finish in 2012, and now he’s seeking the checkered flag in the place nicknamed Charm City.

“I’m looking for it to become my favorite track,” Castroneves said. “Hopefully I’ll be able to finish in the top three and it will be one of my favorite tracks.”

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