WATCH: Helio Castroneves involved in a BRUTAL wreck at Daytona 500 Duel One

The four times Indy 500 champion Helio Castroneves got caught up in a massive crash that started by Chandler Smith and Justin Haley.

WATCH: Helio Castroneves involved in a BRUTAL wreck at Daytona 500 Duel One

Helio Castroneves crashes at Daytona 500 Duel 1 (Via @THProject91/X)

The 2025 Daytona Speedweeks marked the NASCAR Cup Series debut of four times Indy 500 champion Helio Castroneves. He is driving the Project 91 car for Trackhouse Racing, His debut had a poor start after failing to secure a starting spot in the qualifying and things went from bad to worse in the Duels.

Helio Castroneves lined up alongside 22 other drivers for Duel One, starting P20. He had a good start before everything went south. Chadler Smith, who was running third lost control of his car after making contact with Justin Haley, and ended up slamming hard onto the outside wall, producing the first major wreck of the season,

The IndyCar veteran who was running behind them got caught up in the mess and it resulted in massive damages to the car. Castroneves’ misfortune gave Justin Allgaier the opportunity to fight to lock JR Motorsports’ place in the main race. He eventually did it, overcoming the challenge posed by JJ Yeley, while Bubba Wallace secured the race win.

FS Video

The early retirement from the race forced Castroneves to take the new Open Exemption Provisional, which the veteran didn’t want to take advantage mainly due to the controversy around it. This means there will be 41 cars starting the race on Sunday, with the No:91 team not being eligible to any portion of the prize pool.

2017 Champion Martin Truex Jr. hated the OEP rules

Many in the NASCAR community is against the new OEP rules, with it overlooking the likes of Jimmie Johnson and Martin Truex Jr. The later didn’t hesitate to share his feelings about the OEP rules and asserted that its feels like a slap in the face. He also highlighted how Johnson would have been pissed owing to being overlooked.

Martin Truex Jr.
Martin Truex Jr. (Via IMAGO)

It’s a bit of a slap in the face, no question. I put 20 something years in this sport. It gave me a lot too but I’m just saying I’ve been here doing the grind and still wanting to do it. Yeah, I don’t know. Depends on what side you’re looking at it from. It’s good for the sport, I agree. If I was Jimmie Johnson, would I be pissed? Yep.

Martin Truex Jr. said.

The comments from Martin Truex Jr.  shows how much the drivers dislike the change. The crash proves that despite being an experienced veteran, Castroneves might not be ready to tackle the challenges of a race as chaotic as the Daytona 500.