(RacingWire) - Below is the transcript of a teleconference held with Team Penske driver Helio Castroneves previewing the upcoming IZOD IndyCar Series race at Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, Calif.

Helio, talk about coming back to Sonoma, where you won in 2008.  And talk about anything different about your teammate, Will Power, this season.  Does he seem more determined?

HC: It’s always great to get back to Infineon in Sonoma.  It’s funny because everyone is looking for that race.  Not only because it’s a great track, with challenging turns and elevation changes, but also because of the great scenarios and great atmosphere, especially in the areas of the wineries.  Everybody is always looking forward to this race and I’m no different.  Hopefully we can have the same result as a few years ago. We showed potential last year until we had an incident in the chicane (Turn 9).  We’re looking forward very much to this year. With the push-to-pass and red tires, we have a lot of things to show and a lot of tools to use to make the race exciting.

Talking about my teammate, he’s been showing an incredible amount of speed and his technique has been making me and Ryan (Briscoe) much better, and again he’s in a very strong position to keep fighting for this championship.  The way it looks, he’s definitely going to do well. As long as Team Penske ends up winning, that’s what we care about.

Can you talk a little about your win in Sonoma in 2008, and what you may have learned about the track?

HC: In 2008, they introduced the red tires and I have to say the track, every lap, seems to get better and better.  This year, I’m not sure if we’re going to have the first session or not, but normally we’d have one hour in the morning and one hour in the afternoon, but the point is every time you go, the track gets better.  It’s no different during the race.  Having the red tires, that might be something that people might use a different strategy, and remember that we don’t have a way to save fuel like we used to have.  Now, the only way is in the throttle.  This place, I do remember using a different strategy from everybody else, and we ended up winning.  It’s a place where you can try a strategy. It’s always a challenging place and I can’t wait to go back and repeat the result we had a few years ago.

I’m curious because you apologized on your website for you behavior, but said you didn’t agree with the penalty from Edmonton.  What don’t you agree with?

HC: First of all, the rules are very subjective and there have been inconsistent calls over many years.  I was penalized in 2008, and since then it’s been very inconsistent.  That’s one of the reasons that it’s becoming hard and that’s why I don’t agree because it happened during the race, the same thing, and the calls were not made the same way.  You can’t just keep pushing.  I understand it’s a very difficult way to call sometimes and difficult to see everyone.  I know it’s a tough job, but certainly I do feel this is a great opportunity to change the rules and be clear to everybody else.  That’s why I don’t agree, but again, I have no excuse to react the way I react.  I’m an emotional person, and unfortunately I let my emotions take over. I want to be clear, people might not understand, but I wasn’t confronting any officials; I basically was asking them to call Brian Barnhardt and ask him why he made that call.  It’s no excuse to have acted like I acted.  I apologize again and I’m ready to move on and go to Mid-Ohio.

You said you had never changed your racing line in Edmonton, as you look back on the replays, do you feel the same way?

HC: I never intended to give the guy an easy way, let’s put it that way.  If you want to go for it and fight hard, especially with two laps to go.  I gave plenty of room for him on the inside and outside.  I don’t think I moved the lane, but again the call is already made and I think the punishment has been made, and it is what it is.  I’m ready to move on.  I am disappointed, but there’s nothing I can do right now.

Since the unification, there have been lots of changes to the series and high expectations.  What are some of the biggest positives you’ve seen since the changes?

HC: Certainly, when we’re talking about the push-to-pass, the red tires, Firestone did a great job of adding some tools to make strategy different and make racing more exciting. Those things, I do believe, have been very good and very exciting. Not only that, there are different tracks and different events.  Certainly we were looking, as well, to cut costs, which means more two-day events instead of three-day events.  All this, it helps a lot of teams and drivers, and puts a lot of cars in the field.  The way I see it, it’s certainly creating a great expectation for many, many years to come.  We just announced the rules of the new car (for 2012), and the expectation is great. The most important one was IZOD coming onboard as the main sponsor of the series. The way I see it is promoting-wise it’s been good, and I just hope now we make things more clear on the rules so we can be more exciting on the racetrack so fans can cheer for everybody else.

Are you seeing more fans come back to the track?  How do you attract more fans to open-wheel racing?

HC: I am seeing more fans. I believe promotion is the biggest thing.  Just take what I did on “Dancing with the Stars.”  We were able to bring a lot of new fans and people to watch the IndyCar Series and I think we should continue doing that.  IZOD is doing a great job promoting the series and drivers.  And making it more exciting, and create opportunities.  Like the rules for 2012 might be the chance to have more manufacturers, which creates more jobs, more exciting racing and more challenge.  That’s how you bring more fans to the series and make IndyCar more exiting.

Edmonton was the second time a race win was taken away from you by a call from the officials, and now you’re on probation for the remainder of the year.  How does that affect your driving?

HC: It’s not going to change.  I have to understand the probation a little bit more.  I’m not sure if it’s because of the actions off the track or because of the black flag.  So, I’ve got to be more clear.  Again, sometimes the communication doesn’t come very clear to me, I guess.  I’m going to drive the same way I was driving in Edmonton – to win. I’ll do everything to make sure I can be fast, and the strategies to make passes and be competitive.  I just hope that we have more common sense and consistent calls, to be honest.  That’s been the biggest challenge and frustration is the inconsistent calls, and the rules need to be clarified.  Unfortunately, the rules aren’t very clear, and it makes all the drives not know what’s going to happen.  Hopefully we have a little more understanding on that, but I’m going to continue driving like I always did.

Do you like the balance between oval and road/street circuits?  Did you think a driver could ever win the championship without having won on an oval?

HC: Absolutely.  I enjoy the challenge that you have in the series.  We have almost half and half, and it is possible (to win the championship without winning at an oval), but you also have to be consistent on the ovals to collect enough points to clinch the title. That’s why the championship us great because it gives an opportunity to any type of circuit, and that’s why I think we should have exactly what we have right now – road courses, street course, short ovals and superspeedways. It gives a great opportunity for the fans and a big challenge for the drivers and teams.

You’ve won the Indy 500 three times, but haven’t won the IndyCar Series championship yet. Is that on your mind?

HC: Well, I’m a professional racer, so a professional racing championship is always in your mind.  Every time you go out there, you want to do the best you can, mainly looking to win a race. It is in my mind, and we’ve just got to get the chance. Unfortunately what happened last weekend (in Edmonton), it took the chances like that to battle for the championship.  We cannot let those things bother us, and that’s why I’m really looking forward to Mid-Ohio this weekend and doing everything I can do perform like I did in Edmonton.

You found out last year how frustrating racing at Infineon Raceway can be.  Any predictions for this year or any secrets to success here?

HC: I do feel we have a better car this year on the road courses, and that’s a big plus for us.  At the same time, I do have two other teammates who are very strong.  So, they might be the biggest challenge. You can never underestimate the competitors with Scott (Dixon) and Dario (Franchitti), and Andretti Autosport, with Marco winning there (in 2006) and Ryan Hunter-Ryan and Tony (Kanaan) doing a fantastic job on the road courses. I do believe my teammates will be the biggest challenge.

Have you learned anything from watching Will Power on the road and street courses?

HC: Yes.  He’s certainly pushed to the limit every single lap.  Very interesting, unique scenario, he uses the left foot sometimes to overlay a little bit to push the throttle and the brake at the same time. I tried that, but it didn’t work, so I decided to just improve in some areas.  It’s great to have a teammate like that pushing to the limit all the time and discovering new lines and new directions.  It’s great to have him, he’s making me a better driver, and that’s why I’m really confident to go back to Sonoma and repeat what I did in 2008.

This is a bit silly, but have you talked to any of your IndyCar competitors or teammates about doing Dancing with the Stars?

HC: I actually asked some of the drivers, and they all say ‘no, you set the standards pretty high,’ so no one wants to go embarrass themselves in front of millions of people. I told Danica (Patrick), but she said no.  I thought Dan Wheldon would be a perfect fit, but he said ‘no, you did a good job, so let’s leave it like this.’  I didn’t know the trouble I was getting into.