Helio Castroneves will hope for better luck this weekend in his official stock car debut at Daytona International Speedway.
The four-time winner of the Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge has a spot in Sunday’s Daytona 500, but his participation in Thursday night’s NASCAR Cup Series qualifying race ended earlier than he wanted. Driving Trackhouse Racing’s No. 91 Wendy’s Chevrolet, Castroneves, who was running seventh after starting 20th, was collected in a backstretch accident when Chandler Smith got turned into the outside wall.
Castroneves’ car took contact that sent him on a wild ride up and down the banking approaching Turn 3, which ended with a second wall hit. The Brazilian was one of the eight drivers involved in the accident. None were injured.
Castroneves’ consolation is that he will start Sunday’s 200-lap race due to a new special provisional starting spot available to a world-class driver who is not a full-fime NASCAR driver. The winner of 31 NTT INDYCAR SERIES races will start last in the 41-car field and will not be eligible for prize money in “The Great American Race.”
FOX will air Sunday’s race at 2:30 p.m. ET.
“Basically, I was really taking it easy on the high side (of the track),” Castroneves said of the incident. “I was trying to understand (the art of drafting).”
Castroneves said he lost his teammate, Ross Chastain, in the opening laps, but he got in line and began moving forward. He had made big gains.
“In the end, I was trying to take it easy, how to approach the throttle, trying to understand how to not be too aggressive and brake too hard,” he said. “It’s interesting. It was a lot of fun; I was having a great time.
“I escaped the (race’s) first accident because when you’re running on top everything goes high, right? So, unfortunately in the second (accident), I don’t know who it was that hit me really hard and it broke the (right front) toe link.”
Castroneves said he learned so much, specifically how to save fuel and experience “some small details that people on the other side of TV don’t understand.”
“It’s so interesting, and I love it,” he said, “In the end, I have so much more to learn.”
Castroneves, who turns 50 in May, has approached this event with all the optimism that has been his career hallmark. He acknowledges what he doesn’t know about stock car racing. He has needed to learn even the most routine items, like navigating pit lane and how to pit, including how much space to leave between the car and the wall so the crew has room to change the tires.
“Every step has been a learning process,” Castroneves said. “I’ve been watching a lot of in-car cameras. Understanding a lot of the rules and being in touch with the guys (on the team) because the language is different. When you come out of the pits, normally they say, ‘Whoa, whoa, whoa,’ but here they say, ‘Dig, dig, dig.’
“I know it sounds interesting or different; however, it’s completely the opposite of what I’m used to. So, I have to adapt. … all these little details, even though it’s a race car, it’s very different. When you are in a big race like this, every little detail matters, so I am trying to study all these details.”
Castroneves will get another chance to race a stock car Saturday when he lines up 19th in the 40-car ARCA Menards Series race that includes NTT INDYCAR SERIES veteran Katherine Legge, who will start ninth in the No. 23 SPS Chevrolet. The race from Daytona airs live on FOX at noon Saturday.
Castroneves will try his best in Sunday’s race, but he also knows the odds are against him given that his only experience with stock cars was the International Race of Champions events from 2002 through 2005.
“Look, this is incredible,” he said of NASCAR. “This is an amazing opportunity. I believe only two guys on the planet have been able to win the Daytona 500 and the Indy 500. I know it’s very hard. I know it’s tough, a different style than I’m used to.”
Mario Andretti won the Daytona 500 in 1967. A.J. Foyt won the race in 1972.
Castroneves said he has leaned on Dale Earnhardt Jr. for advice, and he planned to speak to seven-time Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson, who spent two seasons in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES. Additional advice has come from Team Penske drivers Austin Cindric, Dave Blaney and Joey Logano.
Castroneves realizes the challenge of the adventure, but he won’t back down from the excitement of it. In typical fashion, he has been all smiles.
“At the end of the day, I’m not here just to cause attention,” he said. “I’m going to do everything I can to do the job. But the camera cannot see the smile behind my helmet. It’s so cool.”