Brazilian Race Car Driver Helio Castroneves Wins 'Dancing With The Stars' Competition

Topics:  Helio Castroneves

Ray McDonald
Voice of America
November 28, 2007

Helio Castroneves quick-stepped his way to this year's Dancing With The Stars title.

The two-time Indianapolis 500 champion beat Spice Girl Melanie "Scary Spice" Brown to take the trophy on November 27.

Throughout the popular ABC television show's fifth season, Brown and her professional partner Maksim Chmerkovskiy drew the highest scores from the three judges, but viewer votes proved the difference-maker in Tuesday's two-hour finale.

Castroneves became the fourth man to win the title in the show's two-year history on U.S. television. He is also the third consecutive athlete to claim the championship, after NFL great Emmitt Smith and Olympic speed skater Apolo Anton Ohno.

Castroneves' partner Julianne Hough also shared the trophy with Ohno, and Castroneves credited her fan base with helping deliver the win.

Placing third was entertainer Marie Osmond, who fought her way through multiple challenges during the show's two-month run. She passed out after dancing the samba in week five, suffered the death of her father, George, in week seven, and on November 14 confirmed that her 16-year-old son Michael had entered rehab.

Despite being hailed as the most versatile dancer in the show's history, Brown failed to win the viewer vote. She said that losing "Was a horrible feeling. I'm not going to deny it." She'll have little time to lick her wounds, however, as the Spice Girls' reunion tour kicks off December 2 in Vancouver, Canada. It's their first tour since 1999.