Helio Castroneves’ biggest challenge ahead of his Daytona 500 attempt

Helio Castroneves, at 49 years old, remains a charismatic personality and energetic driver complete with a remarkable resume — winning the Indianapolis 500 four times and earning three consecutive overall victories in the Rolex 24. But the challenge ‘Spider Man’ is about take on next month at Daytona, is something entirely new, never having driven a NASCAR stock car at any level, and his only experience on Daytona’s oval-only layout was two decades ago while racing IROC. 

The idea to run NASCAR’s biggest race formed a little more recently, and gained momentum while Castroneves was competing in the Superstar Racing Experience. Series CEO Don Hawk promised to help the open-wheel legend secure a ride for the Daytona 500 should he win an SRX race — which Castroneves did in 2022 at Five Flags Speedway. The Brazilian driver shared that from that point onward, the idea began ‘snowballing,’ leading to a connection with Trackhouse Racing team owner Justin Marks, known for its NASCAR Project 91 program that has been used as a launching pad into the stock car series for global motorsports stars Kimi Raikkonen and Shane van Gisbergen.

It’s a ‘no’ from the Captain

“Last year we couldn’t do it,” said Castroneves in a Tuesday media conference, but now, all the pieces are finally in place for a legitimate effort. The four-time Indy 500 winner has wanted to take on NASCAR for a while, but it was never possible — even while driving for Team Penske (in IndyCar).

“It’s something that I was thinking about. I always wanted to do it. When I used to race with Penske, I asked about it, but Roger [Penske] never allowed me to. But now, finally! You gotta keep pushing. You gotta keep believing one day that dream will come true and here we go.”

While the seasoned driver has zero NASCAR experience, he does have the experience of a handful of IROC races at the 2.5-mile superspeedway from the early 2000s. Any bit of that experience might be helpful as Castroneves, as an open entry, races his way into the 40-car field via the Duel races on February 15. And it’s not an easy feat, even for the most seasoned of drivers. Last year, seven-time NASCAR Cup champ and two-time Daytona 500 winner Jimmie Johnson nearly missed the 500 before a last-lap stack-up saved him. “It will be a challenge,” admitted Castroneves. “No question about that. It’s a big oval. It’s a tough oval. A lot of fearless competitors, but I have a great group behind me.”

Trackhouse is specially suited to bringing in drivers with limited to no experience. The goal of its Project 91 program is to create and foster a path for star drivers from various disciplines to get a run in the stock car series — typically those who wouldn’t get the chance otherwise. “They did this before where people had no experience at all and they understand,” continued Castroneves. “They’re guiding me. They are doing everything they can.”

Making preparations and the biggest challenge 

Preparation for NASCAR’s big race includes simulator work, a shakedown test at Talladega, and as revealed on Wednesday, a start in the ARCA season-opener at Daytona. SVG followed a similar path ahead of the 2024 NASCAR season as he learned superspeedway racing.

“Amazing facility with Chevy,” Castroneves said on his experience in the manufacturer’s NASCAR’s sim. “I’ve work with Chevy for so many years and I couldn’t believe at how incredible the facility was in Charlotte. [I was] able to learn a little bit of the lingo, working on the pit stops and the pit lane, the whole process of qualifying. It was very useful.”

His biggest challenge (in his own words) come February will be around the slowest part of the track — pit road. There is no pit limiter in NASCAR like there is in IndyCar, and drivers have to closely watch their gauges while navigating around each other and through each treacherous section of the pits.

Helio Castroneves, Meyer Shank Racing w/ Curb-Agajanian Honda at the drivers meeting

Photo by: Geoffrey M. Miller / Motorsport Images

The pit box will be an adjustment as well. “In IndyCar, you park as close as possible to the wall because of the fueler. In the Cup cars, you actually have to be a little bit farther so the jack guy can raise the car so there are some tricks.”

With the sim work, Talladega test and ARCA race, Castroneves won’t be going in blind, but it will still be a lot to learn in a little bit of time. “Just like when I went to Dancing with the Stars (DWTS), I have no idea what’s going to happen,” he said. But hey, he did win the 2007 season of DWTS.

Should Castroneves make the race and pull off the improbable — winning the Daytona 500 — it would be a rare feat indeed. Only two drivers have ever won both the Indy 500 and Daytona 500 — Mario Andretti who won the Daytona 500 in 1967 two years before his Indy 500 triumph, and A.J. Foyt who the Daytona 500 in 1972.