It goes without saying that Helio Castroneves is a racing legend. Since 2001 he’s been a staple of American open-wheel racing winning racing’s greatest prize four times, and has proven himself in top-flight sports cars as well, winning the 2020 IMSA prototype championship for Team Penske. Next month he’ll get behind the wheel of a NASCAR cup series stock car when he attempts to qualify for the Daytona 500 for the first time at 49 years of age. He’ll be stepping in to Trackhouse Racing’s Project 91 car and giving the second-greatest spectacle in American motorsport a try.
This will not be the Brazilian’s first time at the Daytona International Speedway, as he has teamed to win the Daytona 24 three times for Acura between 2021 and 2023. Of course he’s never tried his hand at the full oval in a stock car before, so it will be an entirely new experience for the elder statesman.
“Never in my wildest dreams did I think I would enter a NASCAR race and certainly not the Daytona 500 with a team like Trackhouse Racing,” Castroneves said. “This is an opportunity that nobody in their right mind could ever turn down. I am so thankful to Wendy’s for allowing me to wear their uniform and drive their car, Justin Marks and everyone that made this happen. I wish the race were tomorrow.”
Trackhouse’s Project 91 is a program designed specifically to bring stars from other forms of motorsport to the NASCAR playground. The team has previously fielded efforts for 2007 F1 champ Kimi Raikkonen, and V8 Supercars champ Shane van Gisbergen.
We have seen that success in NASCAR doesn’t necessarily translate to success in IndyCar, as Jimmie Johnson’s brief sojourn into open wheelers proved, but what about the other way around? I’m excited to see the guy give it a shot, I’ll be cheering for him, for sure.
