Competing in the prestigious Daytona 500 is a dream for every race car driver, irrespective of the background of racing they come from. Every year multiple drivers line up to just get a shot at running the main event. Mike Wallace was one of the few drivers who confirmed his participation in “The Great American Race.” And it looks like another veteran driver might be close to confirming his entry as well.

Rumor mills certainly have been busy trying to keep up with the open car entries and some big names like Martin Truex Jr. However, if we are to go by the latest rumors, 4-time Indy 500 winner Hélio Castroneves is linked to having a shot to compete in the Daytona 500. This wasn’t the first time the Brazilian driver was linked with the crown jewel event.

Earlier there were reports that the former Team Penske driver was touted to be among the open entries with a Chevy team. Well, now the rumors suggest that Hélio Castroneves will be piloting a Trackhouse Racing car, thus bringing Project 91 back to life. “Indycar’s legend Helio Castroneves will attempt to qualify for the Daytona 500 this year. With 4 Indy 500s under his belt (tied-record), Castroneves will join Chevy’s team Trackhouse Racing in Project91. 44-46 cars are expected to show at Daytona; 40 make the field.” Motorsport journalist Bobby Parsons wrote this on X.

In case this rumor turns out to be true, Trackhouse Racing will be fielding four race cars at the Daytona International Speedway. They brought a third charter from SHR and have onboarded Shane van Gisbergen on a full-time ride. And the mere thought of seeing the veteran IndyCar driver joining forces with Justin Marks and Co. has got the fans excited.

Hélio Castroneves could be the next Project 91 driver

Although the fans are always rooting for their favorite NASCAR stars, the Daytona 500 is perhaps one of those events where they like to see the best drivers compete. Mike Wallace has competed in close to 200 Cup Series races along with his 400-plus starts at the Xfinity level. Meanwhile, Hélio Castroneves has 25 wins since the switch from Champ to IndyCar. Therefore, the prospect of veteran drivers trying to compete in the biggest NASCAR event of the year has got the fans hyped up. “Wild Mike Wallace and Helio running the 500.”

Project 91 is a special program put in place by the Trackhouse Racing team. Through this program, they try to bring in international drivers to compete at the NASCAR level. Formula 1 champ Kimi Räikkönen was the one who started this special initiative, and Shane van Gisbergen was next in line. Given how quickly SVG’s grown at the NASCAR level, it just goes to show how successful this project is. “Project91 is back!!!! and Helio finally gets his Daytona 500 ride!!!”

However, there’s a possibility that Castroneves and Mike Wallace might not make it past the qualifying rounds. The 36 spots are already secured by the chartered entries, which only leaves four spots for the open teams. Going by the reports, close to 44 entries could line up for the Daytona 500, and this just might be tough for the veterans to make the cut. Remember the likes of MTJ and Jimmie Johnson are also expected to compete for those four spots. “I can already tell I’m going to be so sad after the duels because someone I actively like and want to see in the 500 is almost guaranteed to be going home on Thursday with how many open cars there are.”

The Brazilian driver isn’t a pushover when it comes to competing at the Daytona International Speedway. Sending out a warning shot against the other competitors, this race fan added, “If this is true, I can’t wait to see how he performs on track! He’s not going in blind, cause he ran IROC here in 2005. He also won the 2022 Rolex 24.”

“I get phone calls all the time from some of the greatest drivers around the world about coming and doing it, and that’s really exciting for us.” This was Justin Marks’ response on when Project 91 would be back. While nothing is confirmed just yet, the fans are elated to see Trackhouse partnering with the decorated IndyCar driver. “Now this is the kind of great news I like to hear. Great to hear Project 91 back with an even more storied driver!”

Who would you like to see have a shot at competing at the Daytona 500 race apart from Mike Wallace and Hélio Castroneves?