Indianapolis, IN (My Sportsbook) - Helio Castroneves avoided a rash of accidents and led the final 58 laps to win Sunday's Indianapolis 500 for the third time in his illustrious racing career.

Castroneves, who also won the Indy 500 consecutively in 2001 and '02, crossed the finish line 1.9819 seconds ahead of 2005 race winner Dan Wheldon for his 15th career IndyCar victory.

"You guys are awesome," Castroneves radioed to his crew after taking the checkered flag.

Five weeks ago, the fate of Castroneves' racing career was hanging in the hands of a 12-member jury as the Brazilian driver faced federal income tax evasion and conspiracy charges. He was acquitted of tax evasion, with the conspiracy count eventually dropped by prosecutors after a hung jury on that charge. He returned to racing that weekend at Long Beach, CA.

Castroneves had a sensational month at Indy by taking the pole two weeks ago and pacing the way in practices. After winning the Indy 500, the Team Penske driver once again climbed the fence along the frontstretch at the famed 2.5- mile Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

"I think my tears speak for everything," an emotional Castroneves said in Winner's Circle.

Castroneves led the opening laps before Dario Franchitti darted past him after a restart. He fell back in the field from there before passing Dixon, the reigning IndyCar champion and defending race winner, on lap 141.

"We were having all kinds of problems with the radio since the beginning of the race," he said. "We had a little issue with the gear box and the pit stops."

Castroneves became the ninth driver to win the Indy 500 three or more times, joining Louis Meyer, Wilbur Shaw, Mauri Rose, Johnny Rutherford, Bobby Unser, A.J. Foyt, Al Unser and Rick Mears.

Al Unser, Foyt and Mears share the record with four victories each in the event.

Castroneves also gave team owner Roger Penske his 15th Indy 500 victory.

Wheldon posted his fourth top-five finish in the race with a second-place run.

"We just didn't quite have it for (Castroneves) at the end," Wheldon said.

Wheldon crashed his car during Pole Day before capturing the 18th spot on the starting grid the following day.

Danica Patrick finished third, topping her previous best Indy 500 performance of fourth in 2005. Patrick started 10th, but continuously made her way to the front with superb pit stops.

"We had great stops all day," Patrick said. "I had a really strong car for the last few stints and would have loved to see the last 35 laps raced green."

Townsend Bell and Will Power rounded out the top-five.

Dixon, who led the most laps with 73, ended up finishing sixth, while Franchitti, the 2007 race champion, came in seventh.

Dixon's lengthy pit stop late in the race shuffled him back in the field.

Franchitti held the second spot before he pitted midway through the event. As he exited his stall, the fuel hose remained attached to his car. Franchitti had to roll back into the box as his crew removed the hose.

Ed Carpenter finished eighth, followed by Paul Tracy and Hideki Mutoh.

This year's 500-mile race at Indianapolis featured several wrecks, including horrifying crashes by Tony Kanaan, Vitor Meira and Raphael Matos.

On lap 174, Meira and Matos made contact while battling for position. Meira slammed into the wall hard as his car slid alongside the concrete and fence. Matos then rammed into him.

Meira was awake and alert after the incident, but complained of severe lower back pain as he was taken away on a stretcher and transported to a nearby hospital. He had movement in all of his extremities.

Matos climbed out of his car, but appeared to be a bit woozy as he entered the ambulance for a trip to the infield care center.

"I feel OK," Matos said. "I hope Vitor is OK. It was just an unfortunate incident."

Earlier in the race, Meira's car erupted into flames during a pit stop. His crew quickly extinguished the fire.

Kanaan suffered a broken front suspension on lap 98, sending him hard into the wall. His car erupted into flames briefly. Kanaan was not injured.

"Something broke on the middle of the straightaway, and I hit head-on into the wall," Kanaan said. "I just rest my head on my headrest, closed my eyes, and I knew it was going to be a big one. I'm pretty much beat up."

Mario Moraes and Marco Andretti made contact heading into turn two on the opening lap. Both drivers hit the wall, with Moraes, a perennial favorite to win the race, sustaining heavy damage to his car as he became the first driver out of the event. Andretti, also regarded as a likely winner, came onto pit road for repairs to his front wing.

"The kid (Moraes) just doesn't get it, and he never will," Andretti said. "You think somebody would know that someone is sitting right outside of you. Nobody was inside of him. He's just clueless out there."

Moraes had a different take on the incident.

"I know that he hit me," Moraes said. "I was in the front and holding my line, and he just hit me."

Graham Rahal got high coming into turn four and brushed the wall on lap 56. Rahal was running fifth at the time, but wound up 31st after he sustained damage to the left side of his car.

Ryan Hunter-Reay, the top rookie in last year's Indy 500, made contact with the outside wall coming out of turn four and then slid down the track before hitting the inside wall near pit entrance on lap 21. He finished 32nd.

Franchitti remained the points leader. He currently holds a five-point advantage over Castroneves, who moved up to second.