The beginning of the 2011 season saw him struggle in comparison with his previous years at Penske. Castroneves finished poorly as a result of three collisions in the first four races in St. Petersburg, Long Beach and São Paulo; his best result in that period was a seventh at Birmingham, putting him 17th overall by the time of the Indianapolis 500 in May. Castroneves qualified 16th for the race; a flat tire and vibration left him one lap down in 17th. The rest of Castroneves' season included two-second places at Edmonton and Sonoma, and three top-nines. He was 11th overall with 312 points, his lowest finish since he was sixth in both 2005 and 2007. The 2011 season was the first since 1999 in which Castroneves did not achieve a race win.