Helio Castroneves started during the brutal Chandler Smith Wrack while Daytona 500 duel

This is terrible for Helio Castoneves and Chandler Smith. Smith and his garage 66 team will not climb to the Daytona 500. Remember that No. 66 is the entry that Mike Wallace should run before Nascar refused.

Helios misfortune is a bonus for Justin Allgaier. He now holds his fate in his hands. Martin Truex Jr. is already locked up in the DAYTONA 500 at the speed. Allgaier would drive the next best open car in this duel race. JJ Yeley could have something to say.

These duel races mean so much more this year. With nine open cars and four excretions tonight everyone races for every inch you can get.

Helio Castoneves should not have qualified for Daytona 500

If this were another year, we would talk about Helio Castoneves who did not climb into the Daytona 500. However, he will not earn points or prize money in the race.

Trackhouse Racing was smart to get the provisional. But I can’t help but feel that this is an asterisk of a performance. Even if he has a great race on Sunday, there will always be the nagging feeling about how he first got into the field.

For NASCAR, this makes its provisional appearance necessary. This is the exact reason why they wanted to give Helio this exemption or another big name outside of sport. Now you can see how it is used.

Helio Castoneves will drive on Sunday. Don’t worry about it. But there will be people out there who question the legitimacy of his appearance in the race and its performance, whatever it may be.