Update 2: Four-time Indianapolis 500 champion Helio Castroneves says he hasn’t given up on his dream of racing in NASCAR’s Daytona 500 – but is still waiting to hear if he’ll get a shot next year.
With 76 days until the Daytona 500, Castroneves remains in the dark if he’ll get his hoped-for shot at ‘The Great American Race’.
“I’m working on it,” he told Motorsport.com. “I know lately there has been rumors, even my team owner Mike [Shank] has been asking me what’s going on? Don Hawk, we had a bet, and I’m sure he’s probably stirring the pot to try and make it happen.
“Hopefully in the next two weeks we will hear something, but as of right now, I’ve called people that I hear are interested but nobody is getting back to me. So I guess I’ll wait for the right time for them to call!
When asked if he’d be interested in racing for Trackhouse’s Project 91 – which is aimed at thrusting overseas drivers into stock car racing’s premier class – Castroneves said he’d like to follow in the footsteps of Kimi Raikkonen, who raced its car at Watkins Glen last year.
— Motorsport —
Update (11-22-2022): Adam Stern from Sports Business Journal reports that a deal is getting closer for Hélio Castroneves to compete in next year’s Daytona 500.
Trackhouse Racing’s PROJECT91 program and The Money Team Racing’s No. 50 Chevrolet are viable options for Castroneves, should he attempt to qualify for the Great American Race.
Original Post (6-20-2022): Hélio Castroneves was not originally scheduled to compete in the Superstar Racing Experience opener at Five Flags Speedway on Saturday night but left with the trophy anyway.
More importantly, the four-time Indianapolis 500 winner also left the Florida Gulf Coast with the promise of something else he has wanted for well over a decade … a NASCAR opportunity.
Backstory: When Castroneves returned to full-time NTT IndyCar Series competition this spring, it meant he couldn’t run the full SRX campaign, but new league CEO Donald Hawk really wanted to keep him in the mix as frequently as possible.
So, they cut a deal in January: Run as many races as he could, and if Castroneves could win one of them, Hawk would call upon his vast NASCAR connections to get him in a car at Daytona in exchange.
Deal.
— Racing America —
Just asked Don Hawk about what Helio said on TV
When Hawk took over as SRX CEO, he made a deal with Helio, 'win a race, and I'll get you a ride at Daytona.'
That's what he was alluding to.
Hawk: "That was our deal; we're going to do it."
Helio wasn't even scheduled for today
— Matt Weaver (@MattWeaverRA) June 19, 2022