THE WRONG TRACK

Helio isn't the first racer to have a brush with the law.

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Helio would trade this scene for a win against the IRS.

Before we go any further, let's establish something right off the top—Helio Castroneves is innocent until he is proven guilty. Last Friday he was indicted on charges of tax evasion, claims which he vehemently denied. It'll likely be a year before we know if the Indy 500 and Dancing With The Stars champ is going to jail or not, but the whole sorry mess got us to thinking…

Motorsports has long been the home for more than its fair share of shady characters and convicts over the years. But who among them was the most notorious? Who was the D.B. Cooper of the paddock? Come with us as we take a look at the five-person lineup of Racing's Most Wanted.

5. Rick Hendrick, NASCAR owner

There has never been any doubt that the seven-time Cup championship car owner is a great guy with a big heart who truly loves the people who race and work for him.

But in 1997 the car sales mogul pleaded guilty to mail fraud after being investigated for bribing American Honda executives with large sums of cash, BMW's, and houses. That December he was sentenced to one year in prison, which was changed to house arrest after he was diagnosed with leukemia. Three years later he received a full pardon from President Clinton.

4. Junior Johnson, driver/owner/living legend

Before he won 50 Cup races as a driver and 132 as a car owner, The Last American Hero was a bootlegging legend on the back roads of North Carolina. Junior was never caught by revenuers on the road, but rather on the ground when the cops staked out the Johnson family 'shine still outside of North Wilkesboro in 1956. He spent eleven months in a federal prison in Ohio.

Thirty years later he also received a White House pardon, this one coming from Ronald Reagan, and a document that still occupies the most prominent spot on the wall of Junior's home office, a home that sits right off the road where he used to leave the feds in his brake dust.

"That pardon was big because it gave me back my ability to vote and let me finally travel over to Europe and all of that," says Johnson, who also happens to employ Alan Miller, the same attorney tied to the Castroneves scandal.

3. Larry Curry, Indy Car crew chief

When the Indy Racing League was formed in 1996, the car that crushed all comers was the neon Glidden/Menard's ride driven by Tony Stewart. The mastermind behind that speed was Curry, who looked more than a little like PGA golfer Craig "The Walrus" Stadler.

Unfortunately, while Curry was turning wrenches for team owner John Menard, he was also embezzling cash from Menard's coffers, stuffing back a cool $1.5 million. After a stint in a Georgia federal prison, Curry was given a job by IRL founder Tony George, serving as general manager for George's Vision Racing, but was fired this year after committing a parts rules violation…kind of a big no-no if your boss is also the guy who runs the league.

2. Gene Haas, NASCAR team owner

Haas is a certified engineering genius, having founded Haas Automation, a company that machines parts for every machine that goes fast all over the world. But in 2006 he was sent to the pokey for attempting to pull a fast on the IRS, arrested on charges of filing falsified tax returns, conspiracy and witness intimidation. He pleaded guilty (after his co-defendants rolled over on him) and is currently serving out a two-year prison sentence.

Even though he won't see daylight until October 6, 2009, he still managed to cut a deal with Stewart this summer that will transform his team into Stewart-Haas Racing for next season.

1. Angela Harkness, NASCAR team owner

In 2002 this attractive woman claiming to be a former kindergarten teacher announced plans to field teams in both the Busch (now Nationwide) and Cup Series under the team name of Angela's Motorsports. She purchased cars from Robert Yates Racing, hired driver Mike McLaughlin and crew chief Harold Holley, who now calls the shots for superstar Kyle Busch. By the following spring Harkness started bouncing checks and the team fell apart. She and business partner/lover/bank branch V.P. Gary Jones soon fled the garage and the region.

As it turns out, Harkness wasn't a former schoolteacher and in fact wasn't even a Harkness. Her real name was Fatemeh Karimkhani, the daughter of an exiled Iranian government official and a former stripper. She picked up the name Harkness from a previous husband, who died under mysterious circumstances shortly after a big fight and bigger breakup with Karimkhani.

Federal agents searched for her for years, finally tracking her down as an employee at a sports bar. She pleaded guilty to charges of embezzlement, fraud, money laundering and perjury, then disappeared shortly before sentencing and fled to Dubai, where the local government seized her Iranian passport and handed her over to U.S. Marshals.

She is currently serving a three and half year prison term.

Dishonorable Mentions: Aaron Fike (drug possession), Michael Waltrip (reckless driving), Curtis Turner (cavorting with Jimmy Hoffa), Cole Trickle's Dad (being a jerk).

Needless to say, in the eyes of the law, Helio is still innocent, but his isn't the first time someone from the racing world has had a brush with Johnny Law.

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