Helio Castroneves to attempt Daytona 500 in Trackhouse's Project 91 entry

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.

Castroneves, a four-time champion of the Indianapolis 500 and three-time winner of the Rolex 24 at Daytona, has enjoyed a long career in open-wheel and sports-car racing. The São Paulo, Brazil, native owns 25 wins in the NTT IndyCar Series and six wins in the former Champ Car Series. The 49-year-old has competed at least once in IndyCar each year since 2001 and is now set to attempt his NASCAR debut for the Feb. 16 Cup Series opener.

MORE: Full Daytona Speedweek schedule

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.

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.

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.

Practice for the Daytona 500 is scheduled for Wednesday, Feb. 12, when Castroneves will make his first laps in a NASCAR stock car.