Daytona Beach, Florida (AP) – a new controversial Nascar rule designed for “World class drivers” could give Helio Castroneves an automatic berth in the Daytona 500And, if the quadruple winner of Indianapolis 500 uses the provisional, it would do the biggest field in a decade.
It is a complicated rule that was written in the charter agreement that 13 teams signed last September and is similar to a “provisional promoter” in that he gives Nascar the possibility of appointing a pilot like a 41st Guarantee entry.
Daytona 500 Daytona 500 winner said the rule said the rule “Rangue of despair” By Nascar, the appellant nothing more than a gadget to attract large stars in the car race of cars. Others wondered why the provisional went to Castroneves, who, at 49, will make his debut Nascar, instead of the seven times Nascar Jimmie Johnson champion, double winner of Daytona 500.
The rule is designed for drivers who do not currently run full time in Nascar, so Johnson and the champion of the 2017 Cup series, Martin Truex Jr.
But their teams have never made the request, which must be made 90 days before the event. Only Trackhouse Racing asked for the provisional for Castroneves, which between Wednesday qualification As the only driver eligible for 41st place.
“I think Jimmie Johnson is a world class driver, but I guess others don’t,” said Alex Bowman. “It is an interesting rule for sure. There is a lot of media and importance for sport so that people like (Castroneves) enter and, if they are missing the race, it hurts a little.
“So I understand, but I also hope that some of our former champions have been respected in the same way in a certain sense.”
Castroneves will only use the provisional if it fails in traditional qualifications to claim one of the four open points in what was supposed to be a field of 40 cars. If he uses it, the 41 cars will be the most in Daytona 500 since 2015, when 43 cars were still standard.
Trackhouse and Castroneves will also not receive points or payments if it is the 41st driver, and all the drivers who finish behind it will be moved to a position in the classification.
The rule has divided the field, even if it will probably only be at stake at Daytona International Speedway, where nine drivers compete for the four open points. The NASCAR charter system guarantees entry to 36 cars with each race.
“Aside from Daytona 500, we do not very often get into a place where drivers in this caliber come home,” said Tyler Reddick. “I don’t know where to come across it. On the one hand, I would hate that a guy like Lewis Hamilton comes here and would try to start the 500 … (and) something prevents him from running. We are running. Do not want to let them have a place in the race – as, they must win it.
What if Johnson and Truex had asked for the provisional?
Logically, if several drivers had asked for the provisional, the most meaning would have been to go to the highest qualifier.
No.
If Nascar receives several requests, Nascar will decide who is the “world class driver” designated is ahead of the event. The criteria listed in the rule charter indicate that “the” open exemption “position is intended for a driver who will have a significant impact on the promotion of the event and will increase the importance of sport.
In a competition briefing held for the media last month, a hypothetical scenario was posed on what Nascar would do if the Formula 1 champion Hamilton, quadruple F1 champion, the quadruple F1, the champion six times Indycar Scott Dixon and Johnson, who is also a temple of NASCAR renown, all made a request of the same race.
“I would love to have this problem,” said John Probst, main vice-president of Nascar’s races development.
Nascar could have this problem later this year when he goes to Mexico, where several teams explore agreements to enter Juan Pablo Montoya in the race, and who knows who could come to a route on the road – Shane Van Gisbergen A Being brought to the first street race in Chicago, won it and at the end of the year, had left his Australian V8 Supercars career behind for Nascar.
In Indianapolis in 2023, the former F1 pilots Jenson Button and Kamui Kobayashi were both on the ground, while Button was part of the same field as Kimi Raikkonen to make two F1 world champions in the 2023 race at Circuit of the Americas .
“I can discuss the two sides of the fence. You would hate having a Helio Castroneves, a maximum Verstappen, a Lewis Hamilton or someone runs a race, then missing the show due to something stupid, “said Chase Elliott. “So I can certainly see this aspect of a promoter. But I also think that with prestigious races, there should be a kind of integrity to make the show.
“I think that is part of what makes the race prestigious. You know, it’s a difficult event to do. I think you see this with Indianapolis 500, or you see that in Chile Bowl, right? It is a difficult race to do. It’s a big problem just to get into the show.
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