Cameras swirl, green leaves flutter, and a chestnut horse pulling a white carriage paws the ground in front of the famous Tavern on the Green. Helio Castroneves sees me. "Ahh, look who's here! You made it!" He bellows like the gracious host of a party, not a jock about to be grilled with repetitive questions for the next two and a half-hours. "I was just thinking about you guys!" He gushes, and suddenly I feel a lot less like an annoying reporter at a press conference and more like a guest at the fete. But that's Helio.

He is smiling like always and excited to tell me that he no longer has to worry about being put in the 'bad call' column in our next end-of-the-year issue. "You guys were right. I did it!" He made The Mag's "Next" prophecy come true. On this blushing May day, we both know that Next is Now. Once you've hoisted the Borg Warner trophy, there is no going back.

"My accountant emailed me a quote yesterday," Helio tells me. "The champion of a championship has one year of glory. The champion of the Indy 500 has it for eternity." He's right. Eternity began as soon as he stepped out that No. 68 car (he couldn't race in his usual CART No. 3). TV interviews, the FOX morning show, a visit to the New York Stock Exchange. So much face time that Hugo Boss will be sending over an emergency supply of clothing to replace his travel-creased suits. And the Miami celebration party his sister is planning is being bumped back to accommodate an appearance on Regis. I ask him if he plans on buttering up Reg for a shot at Who Wants to Be a Millionaire. Helio pauses for a minute, "Hey wait, I am a millionaire now!"

Surrounded by Tiffany-styled stained glass, animal-shaped topiaries, and decorative lanterns, Helio is blinded by a $1.27 million purse. "What else I'm gonna get?" Helio pumps his publicist, Susan, for info. They tick off the spoils: cash, a Bravada, a tractor (they think), a Maurice LeCroix watch, a ring, the milk jug ... Nineteen days past his 26th birthday, Helio has a whole new set of gifts to unwrap. And a few to give away. "I told my sister that if I won the race, I'd give her my apartment in Miami. I guess I gotta go buy a house now so I have a place to park the car and the tractor!" He also remembers a pledge he made to his mom to donate a portion of his winnings to a children's charity in Brazil. He won't forget. And he won't forget what it felt to win Indy, even if he can't articulate it. "It's difficult to translate the feeling into words. It's like ... chocolate. You taste it and you know it's good."

Ursula Liang is a writer/reporter for ESPN Magazine. E-mail her at ursula.liang@espnmag.com.