“The ball is rolling,” for, four-time Indy500 champion Helio Castroneves’s Daytona 500 entry following his SRX season opener win
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Helio Castroneves
The record four-time Indy 500 champion Helio Castroneves made his path to his dream NASCAR debut a reality after his long open-wheel racing career as he made his mark by winning the 2022 season opener of Superstar Racing Experience at Pensacola. The unexpected race win in the series has now rewarded the champion with an opportunity to potentially make his NASCAR entry with the 2023 Daytona 500 entry.
It was a surprising weekend for the SRX racing scene as Helio won the race as he wasn’t scheduled to hit the track on the opening race and was provided the car to race on after he got there due to a schedule mix-up. Helio Castroneves topped the likes of Tony Stewart, Bill Elliott, Tony Kanaan, Paul Tracy, Marco Andretti, Ryan Hunter-Reay, Ryan Newman, Greg Biffle, and Bobby Labonte.
The SRX CEO, Don Hawk had made a bet with the champ before his entry as Helio revealed after his win that he was promised a ride at the upcoming 2023 Daytona 500 if he was able to win any of the three scheduled races he had this season, but by winning the inaugural race, ironically a race which he wasn’t scheduled to race, Castroneves secured his end of the bargain. Now Don Hawk in a recent interview has revealed that he is working hard to get his end of the bargain right.
Find out what Don Hawk had to say about getting Helio Castroneves to Daytona 500
Don Hawk said that his side job right now is representing Helio Castroneves as the ball is rolling for the Brazilian’s entry to NASCAR though they are not yet ready to say a whole lot publicly as the phone calls are still going on. He went on to say that he doesn’t know if the champion has got any direct offers from the team but pointed out that he had made some direct calls, and the results of that action will depend on how things roll out. Don Hawk added that they are trying to get one or more races on the schedule with the next season’s Daytona 500 as the main focus.
“My side job is representing Mr. Castroneves. Phone calls have been taking place, the ball is rolling. We’re not ready to say a whole lot publicly. But the ball is rolling,” Don Hawk said.
“I don’t know if he’s gotten any direct calls (only one Xfinity Series team has reached out directly to Castroneves thus far). I can say I have and I’ve made some direct calls also. It all depends on how this thing rolls out, whether we’re going to look at more than one race or optional races. The intention originally was he really wanted to run in the Daytona 500, it was a crown jewel. And so we’re really going to try to make the Daytona 500 work,” Don Hawk added.
Find out what Helio Castroneves had to say on his potential NASCAR entry
Helio Castroneves acknowledged how it will be so cool for him to race in NASCAR a chance he couldn’t get even after racing with team Penske for many years and added that having the opportunity to race in many races in his contract is good news for him. He went on to say that he is now in SRX, IMSA, and IRL so it will be natural for him to try NASCAR, something he always wanted to do. Helio Castroneves pointed out that though the race will be tough, there is always a chance to win in racing adding he is waiting to enter Daytona 500 with Don Hawk.
“When Don and I were talking about how it would be so cool. I drove for so many years with Roger Penske and I was not able to get an opportunity there. Now, I have an opportunity in my contract, so why not, why not try something that I never did,” Helio Castroneves said.
“So now I’m trying SRX, IMSA, IndyCar. It will be very natural to try something that I’ve always (wanted to do), which was NASCAR. So, it would be great, I know it will be tough, but hey, who knows, in racing you never expect how things could be surprising. I’ve never driven one. Hopefully, I’m going to get into it with Don and be in the Daytona 500 for sure,” Helio Castroneves added.
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Justin P Joy
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