When two-time Formula One world champion Fernando Alonso failed to qualify for the 2019 Indianapolis 500, it sent a message to the world: This IndyCar stuff isn't easy.
"We didn't do the job," Alonso said afterward. "We were not quick enough. Simple. The others, they did better. We congratulate them."
It was a bitter setback, embarrassing for the McLaren team, and a gut punch for a driver who was attempting to win the motorsports triple crown (Monaco, Le Mans, Indianapolis).
But if Alonso or one of his colleagues ever wanted to run the Daytona 500, there would be no such worries about getting their hearts broken. That's because a new policy announced Friday by NASCAR will allow any world-famous driver from outside the NASCAR bubble to gain an automatic spot in a Cup Series race before ever turning a single lap in a stock car — even if the driver tries and fails to qualify for the race.
Yes, you read that correctly: NASCAR's new rule states if a "significant contributor" from another series shows up and doesn't earn a starting spot on their own merits, one will simply be created for them; a failure would trigger a bonus 41st starting position just for that driver.
That means four-time Indianapolis 500 winner Helio Castroneves, who will make his NASCAR debut at next month's Daytona 500, will arrive in Florida knowing he's already in the race. The only drama will be whether his team gets the purse money for his participation (under this rule, the extra spot would not be accompanied by any race winnings).
Not that it will really matter. Castroneves isn't doing it for the money, and his Trackhouse Racing team has already signed high-profile sponsor Wendy's to back the effort. If you we re hoping to tune into the traditional Duel races to see if Castroneves could make the field, that drama is already gone.
Four-time Indy 500 winner Helio Castroneves won't have to sweat Daytona 500 qualifying next month under a new rule NASCAR announced Friday. (James Gilbert / Getty Images)Imagine if the situations were reversed, and Roger Penske announced Kyle Larson would be granted an automatic spot in the Indy 500 in the name of promoting the Memorial Day Weekend "Double." IndyCar fans would absolutely lose their minds over seeing anyone get a guaranteed berth in the 500, let alone just because they were a notable driver.
So why is NASCAR doing this? There's only one explanation: Publicity. NASCAR desperately wants eyeballs from fans of other series, so it can't bear the thought of a Lewis Hamilton or Daniel Ricciardo coming over to compete but then missing the race.
But that is flawed logic. First of all, with the exception of the Daytona 500, it would be unlikely for any driver to miss a points race in today's Cup Series — let alone a world-famous racer. NASCAR permits 40 cars to make each race, and only the Daytona 500 has seen more than 40 cars show up in the last three seasons. That means no one was sent home after failing to make the field in 97 percent of NASCAR races since 2022 (105 of 108).
In essence, this is really just about Daytona. And if not, it's an attempt to solve a problem that doesn't currently exist.
Second, much of the racing world looks down on NASCAR as some sort of inferior racing. While NASCAR fans and drivers debated whether Kyle Larson was the world's greatest racer in 2024 — Larson vs. Max Verstappen was the debate — the publication Autosport absurdly plunked Larson down in 16th place on its "Top 50 Drivers of 2024" rankings. A new rule gifting celebrity provisional spots gives more license for critics not to give the circuit its due credit.
GO DEEPER
Helio Castroneves to make NASCAR debut at Daytona 500
But imagine if Verstappen came over to try a NASCAR road course race (if more than 40 drivers showed up for some reason) and somehow missed the field. That would send a message to the world, just as Alonso's Indy 500 failure did: This is harder than it looks.
Compare that to a comment from Hamilton after Alonso qualified fifth in his first Indy attempt in 2017.
"I took a look at the qualifying results. Fernando, in his first qualifying, came fifth. Does that say something about (the level) of IndyCar?" Hamilton said then. "Great drivers, if they can't succeed in Formula One, look for titles in other races, but to see him come fifth against drivers who do this all year round is … interesting."
Ouch.
Of course, Verstappen could also dominate in that hypothetical road course race. And a similar ouch occurred in NASCAR just two years ago, when Australia Supercars driver Shane van Gisbergen showed up at the inaugural Chicago Street Course race, qualified third and then dominated in wet conditions to win in his NASCAR debut.
Some NASCAR drivers were mortified it made them look poor at the time ("He's going to go home and tell all of his friends how bad we are," Chase Elliott said then) — but at least van Gisbergen earned it.
To just award a 41st starting spot in a field that has been capped at 40 cars for the last decade — just because the driver is famous to international fans — doesn't align with the true spirit of competition. Oh, and former NASCAR champions Jimmie Johnson and Martin Truex Jr.? They'll show up at Daytona next month required to qualify into the 500 with no guarantee they'll make the field, just like any other driver.
Except the more famous ones, that is. Castroneves has no such concerns and going forward, any other celebrity who fits NASCAR's definition won't have to worry, either.
(Top photo of last year's Daytona 500: Mike Ehrmann / Getty Images)
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