The start of the IRL Season is just three weeks away. USA Today reported that Will Power, formerly of RV racing, will replace Helio Castroneves for Team Penske during Helio's trial for tax evasion. http://www.usatoday.com/sports/motor/nascar/2009-01-13-castroneves-penske_N.htm Last year Power finished 12th overall in the IRL Series, including a first place finish in the Streets of Long Beach race, a fourth place finish in the Mid-Ohio Sports Car race, and a fifth place finish in the Chicagoland Speedway 300. He was 13th in the Indianapolis 500. Not bad for an IRL rookie ! Power was no stranger to open-wheel racing, however. He had cut his teeth in Australian Formula Formula Ford Championship before moving on to the World Series By Renault and then Champ Car in 2006.
The Boston Herald reports on some of the intricacies of the government's criminal case against Helio Castroneves here: http://www.bostonherald.com/sports/other_sports/auto_racing/view.bg?articleid=1157392&chkEm=1
Apparently Helio's lawyers are arguing that Helio never actually received the income from Team Penske --- $5 million --- on which he supposedly evaded taxes. The money was parked in an offshore account instead. In response, the government is apparently arguing that, even if Helio did not ACTUALLY receive the money, he should be deemed to have received it under a doctrine of "constructive receipt." I know nothing about this area of law and offer no opinion on the merits of the government's case. I will note, however, something that I often tell my students. In law, "constructive" is a synonym for "non," as in "non-notice or "non-receipt." That is, once a court starts talking about "constructive knowledge" or "constructive delivery" or "constructive receipt," it really means that: 1) You had NO knowledge, or no delivery was made or you received nothing BUT 2) the law, for policy reasons, will treat you as though you DID have notice, you did have knowledge, or you did receive the item in question.
The photos of Will Power are from 2007 Champ Car Spring Testing and are courtesy of Terry Blanchard, and posted on Flickr here:
The terms of the license authorizing their display are found here:
