Helio Castroneves, four-time Indianapolis 500 winner and one of the more popular drivers of his generation, is expected to make his NASCAR debut in next month’s Cup Series season-opening Daytona 500, industry sources confirmed. Castroneves will drive a car fielded by Trackhouse Racing, and the team is expected to make an announcement as soon as Monday, the sources said.
The majority of Castroneves’ 20-year plus career has been spent in IndyCar, winning 31 races and being runner-up to the championship four times. His most notable accomplishment is being part of an exclusive group who’ve won the Indianapolis 500 a record four times, with only A.J. Foyt, Rick Mears and Al Unser Sr. as the other members.
Castroneves is also a three-time winner of the prestigious Rolex 24 endurance sports car race held on the road course inside Daytona International Speedway. This experience gives him some familiarity with the venue that hosts NASCAR’s biggest race, though the Daytona 500 is held on the 2 1/2-mile oval.
Known for his signature fence climb after winning a race, the often smiling and congenial Castroneves, who also won the fifth season of “Dancing with the Stars,” has long been a fan favorite. When he earned his most recent Indianapolis 500 victory in 2021, fans loudly chanted his name as he scaled the fencing along the frontstretch.
The 49-year-old Castroneves has often spoken publicly about wanting to attempt at least one NASCAR Cup race before retiring, though he has never been able to secure an opportunity with a competitive team.
Enter Trackhouse, owned by Justin Marks, who has made it a point in recent years to provide a platform for notable drivers outside of NASCAR to compete with a race-winning organization that fields three full-time Cup teams. Dubbed “Project 91” for the car number it utilizes, Trackhouse’s part-time entry is earmarked for heralded drivers outside of NASCAR who would like to dabble in the United States’ most popular form of racing.
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Raikkonen running NASCAR race at Watkins Glen
Project 91 began in 2022 with Kimi Raikkonen, the 2007 Formula One world champion, making his Cup debut at Watkins Glen. The following year Trackhouse rolled out Project 91 on three occasions, once for Raikkonen at Circuit of the Americas, and twice for three-time Supercars champion Shane van Gisbergen.
In van Gisbergen’s NASCAR debut, he won in impressive fashion on the Chicago Street Course, then finished 10th on the road course at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. This jumpstarted van Gisbergen’s interest in NASCAR and this year he’ll race full-time in Cup for Trackhouse.
Castroneves is not assured a starting spot in the 40-car Daytona 500 lineup, of which 36 spots are already secured by full-time chartered teams. To secure a spot, he’ll need to either post a fast time in qualifying to secure one of the four open spots or claim a transfer position in his qualifying race.
Between 40 to 45 cars typically enter NASCAR’s biggest race, scheduled for Feb. 16.
Should Castroneves win the Daytona 500, he would join Foyt and Mario Andretti as the only drivers to win both the Daytona 500 and Indianapolis 500.
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(Photo: Andy Lyons / Getty Images)
