NASCAR News: Castroneves entered in Daytona 500 by Trackhouse

Helio Castroneves will attempt to make his NASCAR Cup Series debut in the 2025 Daytona 500, driving the No. 91 Chevrolet for Trackhouse Racing’s Project 91, the team announced Monday.

When you’ve won the Indianapolis 500 four times, the 24 Hours of Daytona three times and over 30 major open wheel races, you’ve realized most of your racing dreams.

But for Hélio Castroneves there’s one more entry he’s about to add to his hall of fame resume – NASCAR’s Daytona 500. He and Trackhouse Racing announced today the Sao Paulo, Brazil native will drive Trackhouse Racing’s PROJECT91 entry in the 2025 Daytona 500 on Feb. 16.

The No. 91 Chevrolet will carry the Wendy’s® livery during the 2025 Speedweeks as he seeks to join Mario Andretti and AJ Foyt as the only drivers to win the Daytona 500 and Indianapolis 500.

“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 in a press release. “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, (Trackhouse owner) Justin Marks and everyone that made this happen. I wish the race were tomorrow.”

In addition to his storied open-wheel career, Castroneves has earned 10 wins in the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship Series, winning multiple races in the 2020, 2022 and 2023 seasons. He also made four starts in the Repco Australian Supercars Championship across the 2009 and 2010 seasons.

Though Castroneves has never competed in a NASCAR national series event, he does have limited experience racing stock cars. Castroneves made 16 IROC starts from 2002-05, collecting a best finish of second at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Marks created PROJECT91 in 2022 intent on expanding the organization’s global reach by fielding a Cup Series entry for renowned international racing drivers. Castroneves will join Trackhouse fulltime Cup drivers Daniel Suárez, Ross Chastain and Shane van Gisbergen.

The season-opening Daytona 500 will mark Castroneves’ first NASCAR Cup Series start and the fifth race for PROJECT91 after appearances by 2007 Formula One World Champion Kimi Räikkönen at Watkins Glen (N.Y.) International and Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas in 2022 as well as Van Gisbergen’s races at the Chicago Street Race and the Indianapolis Road Course in 2023.

Monday’s announcement marks the culmination of a years-long endeavor to bring Castroneves to the “Great American Race.” Trackhouse Racing owner Justin Marks has discussed Castroneves as a target for the team’s “Project 91” program since 2022, with hopes to plug the veteran racer into the 2023 Daytona 500. Though it took until 2025, the plan came to fruition.

“Helio is one of the greatest drivers of all time and exactly the type of driver we want to bring to NASCAR,” Marks said in a press release. “I think race fans around the world will be excited to see Helio in NASCAR’s most prestigious race. It also exposes our sport to a global audience and allows them to see just how great of a series we have in NASCAR.”

Trackhouse’s Project 91 was birthed in 2022, the same year NASCAR introduced its “Next Gen” chassis to the Cup Series. Its goal has been to attract successful and well-known racers outside the stock-car scope into a top-level opportunity at NASCAR’s highest level. Kimi Räikkönen, the 2007 Formula One World Champion, was its first driver, making his and the program’s debut in 2022 at Watkins Glen International. Räikkönen returned to the ride in 2023 at Circuit of The Americas.

The mission earned its shining moment in the inaugural Chicago Street Race in 2023 when three-time Supercars champ Shane van Gisbergen scored the victory in his NASCAR Cup Series debut. SVG was back behind the wheel at the Indianapolis road course with a 10th-place finish. His immediate success propelled him to a full-time Xfinity Series ride in 2024 with Kaulig Racing through a Trackhouse partnership. In 2025, van Gisbergen will compete full-time in the Cup Series for Trackhouse in the No. 88 Chevrolet.