Helio Castroneves’ greatest problem forward of his Daytona 500 try

Helio Castroneves, at 49 years previous, stays a charismatic persona and energetic driver full with a outstanding resume — successful the Indianapolis 500 4 instances and incomes three consecutive total victories within the Rolex 24. However the problem ‘Spider Man’ is about tackle subsequent month at Daytona, is one thing solely new, by no means having pushed a NASCAR inventory automotive at any degree, and his solely expertise on Daytona’s oval-only structure was twenty years in the past whereas racing IROC.

The thought to run NASCAR’s greatest race shaped a bit extra just lately, and gained momentum whereas Castroneves was competing within the Celebrity Racing Expertise. Collection CEO Don Hawk promised to assist the open-wheel legend safe a journey for the Daytona 500 ought to he win an SRX race — which Castroneves did in 2022 at 5 Flags Speedway. The Brazilian driver shared that from that time onward, the concept started ‘snowballing,’ resulting in a reference to Trackhouse Racing staff proprietor Justin Marks, recognized for its NASCAR Mission 91 program that has been used as a launching pad into the inventory automotive sequence for world motorsports stars Kimi Raikkonen and Shane van Gisbergen.

It is a ‘no’ from the Captain

“Final yr we could not do it,” stated Castroneves in a Tuesday media convention, however now, all of the items are lastly in place for a respectable effort. The four-time Indy 500 winner has wished to tackle NASCAR for some time, but it surely was by no means doable — even whereas driving for Crew Penske (in IndyCar).

“It is one thing that I used to be fascinated by. I at all times wished to do it. After I used to race with Penske, I requested about it, however Roger [Penske] by no means allowed me to. However now, lastly! You gotta hold pushing. You gotta hold believing in the future that dream will come true and right here we go.”

Whereas the seasoned driver has zero NASCAR expertise, he does have the expertise of a handful of IROC races on the 2.5-mile superspeedway from the early 2000s. Any little bit of that have may be useful as Castroneves, as an open entry, races his approach into the 40-car area through the Duel races on February 15. And it isn’t a simple feat, even for probably the most seasoned of drivers. Final yr, seven-time NASCAR Cup champ and two-time Daytona 500 winner Jimmie Johnson almost missed the five hundred earlier than a last-lap stack-up saved him. “It is going to be a problem,” admitted Castroneves. “No query about that. It is a large oval. It is a powerful oval. A whole lot of fearless rivals, however I’ve an ideal group behind me.”

Trackhouse is specifically suited to bringing in drivers with restricted to no expertise. The purpose of its Mission 91 program is to create and foster a path for star drivers from numerous disciplines to get a run within the inventory automotive sequence — sometimes those that would not get the possibility in any other case. “They did this earlier than the place individuals had no expertise in any respect and so they perceive,” continued Castroneves. “They’re guiding me. They’re doing all the things they will.”

Making preparations and the most important problem

Preparation for NASCAR’s large race contains simulator work, a shakedown check at Talladega, and as revealed on Wednesday, a begin within the ARCA season-opener at Daytona. SVG adopted an identical path forward of the 2024 NASCAR season as he realized superspeedway racing.

“Superb facility with Chevy,” Castroneves stated on his expertise within the producer’s NASCAR’s sim. “I’ve work with Chevy for thus a few years and I could not consider at how unbelievable the power was in Charlotte. [I was] capable of be taught a bit little bit of the lingo, engaged on the pit stops and the pit lane, the entire strategy of qualifying. It was very helpful.”

His greatest problem (in his personal phrases) come February might be across the slowest a part of the observe — pit highway. There isn’t any pit limiter in NASCAR like there may be in IndyCar, and drivers must carefully watch their gauges whereas navigating round one another and thru every treacherous part of the pits.

The pit field might be an adjustment as nicely. “In IndyCar, you park as shut as doable to the wall due to the fueler. Within the Cup vehicles, you truly must be a bit bit farther so the jack man can elevate the automotive so there are some methods.”

With the sim work, Talladega check and ARCA race, Castroneves will not be moving into blind, however it’ll nonetheless be loads to be taught in a bit little bit of time. “Similar to after I went to Dancing with the Stars (DWTS), I don’t know what is going on to occur,” he stated. However hey, he did win the 2007 season of DWTS.

Ought to Castroneves make the race and pull off the inconceivable — successful the Daytona 500 — it might be a uncommon feat certainly. Solely two drivers have ever received each the Indy 500 and Daytona 500 — Mario Andretti who received the Daytona 500 in 1967 two years earlier than his Indy 500 triumph, and A.J. Foyt who the Daytona 500 in 1972.