Before the 2003 season, Penske allowed Castroneves to test for the Toyota Formula One team at Circuit Paul Ricard in France before a possible contract renewal. He impressed Toyota with his performance, but was told CART champion Cristiano da Matta signed as a race driver for 2003. Castroneves told Penske he would stay with the team, citing his fair and loyal treatment towards him. The beginning of the season saw Castroneves earn two top threes in Homestead-Miami, Phoenix, and the Indianapolis 500. Castroneves took two straight second places at Richmond International Raceway and Kansas Speedway and won at Gateway International Raceway and Nazareth Speedway to take the points lead. A gearbox failure at Chicagoland Speedway leaving him 20th and a sixth in California meant he entered the season-ending Chevy 500 at Texas as one of five championship contenders and equal on points with CGR's Scott Dixon. A minor collision with Tony Kanaan took Castroneves out of title contention. He was third in points with 484 scored.