Trackhouse decides against PROJECT91 entry for Daytona 500

NASCAR Cup Series fans have quickly taken a liking to Trackhouse Racing Team‘s PROJECT91, a programme intended to bring international racing stars to the sport, especially after a generally successful début with Kimi Räikkönen in 2022. However, they will have to wait a little longer to see the #91 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 in action.

Despite initial hope of the #91 entering the season-opening Daytona 500, Marks tweeted Tuesday that it will not take place and the car will instead continue to run road course races. Consequently, only full-timers Ross Chastain (#1) and Daniel Suárez (#99) will represent the team in the 500.

“We took a hard look at the Daytona 500 with @THProject91 but at the end of the day decided to focus on the road courses and the 1/99 @ Daytona,” said Marks. “We have some exciting P91 stuff being finalized.”

The #91’s first race at Watkins Glen International came with much fanfare as Räikkönen is one of the most popular drivers in racing today. Although the race ended in a crash, the 2007 Formula One World Champion did not rule out a return in the future, and Marks backed him up in November by saying he “operate(s) under the assumption that it’s kind of [Kimi’s] ride until he tells me otherwise.”

While Räikkönen has not confirmed any starts for 2023, three-time and reigning Supercars Champion Shane van Gisbergen revealed in September that he had talked with Marks about potentially racing the #91 if there is no schedule clash. There are six road races on the upcoming Cup schedule: Circuit of the Americas on 26 March, Sonoma Raceway on 11 June, the Chicago Street Race on 2 July, Indianapolis Motor Speedway on 13 August, Watkins Glen on 20 August, and the Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval on 8 October.

“Ultimately, I’d love to do multiple events,” Marks said in November. “I’d love to do three, four, five races with that programme. It’s important to bring something to the race track that’s unique and unprecedented, and that’s kind of where we look. It’s not just Formula One. It’s what different disciplines and backgrounds and personalities and celebrity we can bring to the series.

“I’m actually really excited about the future of that sport, of that programme, because NASCAR is something everybody in the world knows about. Everybody would love to try. It’s incredible racing. Now we’ve got a car that I think people that haven’t driven a NASCAR before can get in and get up to speed pretty quickly. We’ll see where it goes, but I’m excited about that programme.”

Prior to Marks’ tweet, there was speculation that four-time Indianapolis 500 winner Hélio Castroneves would run the car in the Daytona 500: Castroneves has long expressed interest in racing in NASCAR, and Superstar Racing Experience CEO Don Hawk promised him he would begin looking into Cup rides should he win the 2022 SRX Five Flags round which he did; Marks also filled in for Castroneves later in the SRX season at Stafford, adding more fuel to the fire. Although the #91 is out of the question, rumours have suggested Castroneves could still attempt the 500 in the #50 for The Money Team Racing.