NASCAR guarantees Helio Castroneves a spot in Daytona 500 through a new provisional
Starting in 2025, star drivers who haven't competed in NASCAR are eligible to automatically qualify for a Cup Series race
NASCAR has made it easier for drivers to moonlight in the Cup Series.
The sanctioning body announced Friday that it had added an “Open Exemption Provisional” to the rule book. The provisional can be given to "world-class" drivers from other series who are attempting a Cup Series race in a car that doesn't have a guaranteed entry into the race. And it could be granted and used ahead of the Daytona 500.
Four-time Indianapolis 500 champion Helio Castroneves is attempting the race with Trackhouse Racing. And NASCAR has confirmed that Castroneves will be eligible to use the provisional if he fails to qualify for the race on Feb. 16.
Castroneves is entered as an open car in the 500. All 36 chartered cars are guaranteed a spot in the 40-car field, leaving four spots available via qualifying speed and the pre-500 qualifying races for drivers in open cars. If Castroneves weren't able to get one of those four spots, he will get the provisional.
And if he got the provisional, NASCAR would add one car to the field. According to the rule book update, the provisional would be a bonus 41st car in the field and not prevent another driver from making the race.
The provisional is not available to former NASCAR drivers, meaning someone like Martin Truex Jr. could not get it. Truex retired from full-time Cup Series competition at the end of the 2024 season and is expected to enter the 2025 Daytona 500.
The 2025 Daytona 500 is the first NASCAR Cup Series race Castroneves has attempted. The 49-year-old is one of four men along with A.J. Foyt, Al Unser and Rick Mears to win the Indy 500 four times. No driver has won the race five times or more.
Castroneves has raced at Daytona before, however. He’s competed in the Rolex 24 sports car race on the Daytona road course. The road course uses much of the oval in addition to infield sections that are not used for the 500.
NASCAR adjusts playoff points for drivers getting waivers
In other Indy 500-related news, NASCAR announced that a driver who misses a Cup Series race for a reason other than an injury and receives a waiver to compete in the playoffs would not be able to carry over any playoff points into the postseason.
In 2024, Kyle Larson attempted to do both the Indianapolis 500 and Coca-Cola 600 in the same day. Rain delayed the start of the Indianapolis 500 and prevented Larson from starting both races. Larson stayed in Indianapolis to run the entirety of the 500 before flying to Charlotte with the hope of getting in his No. 5 car at some point during the 600. However, the 600 was rain-shortened by the same weather system and Larson never drove a lap in the race.
NASCAR granted Larson a playoff waiver even though he didn’t start the 600. If the same situation occurred for Larson or anyone else in the future, that driver would have to start the postseason without any points if he were racing for the championship. In 2024, Larson entered the playoffs as the top seed with 40 playoff points.
