This year’s Daytona 500 will have 41 NASCAR Cup Series drivers racing the high banks of Daytona International Speedway on Sunday, February 15. The normal field has been 40, but this year seven-time NCS champion and two-time Daytona 500 winner Jimmie Johnson is locked in via the Open Exemption Provisional
That same rule was utilized last year by Trackhouse Racing for world class talent Dario Franchitti, which also set the field at 41 for “The Great American Race.” Basically, its reserved for an elite racing talent who doesn’t race NCS on a full-time basis.
With 36 chartered teams guaranteed to make the race, plus Johnson, that leaves four open positions to be claimed by up to eight drivers.
Already confirmed to battle it out for the four open positions are Anthony Alfredo, Justin Allgaier, Corey Heim, Casey Mears, Corey LaJoie, Chandler Smith and JJ Yeley. A tentative entry list shows that eighth could be BJ McLeod, who also attempted last year’s race. As per usual, the D500 Entry List won’t be official until next week.
From the list above, drivers who raced their way in last year were Justin Allgaier in the No. 40 Chevrolet for JR Motorsports and Corey LaJoie in the No. 01 Ford for Rick Ware Racing. Allgaier will again drive for JRM while LaJoie will attempt the race in the No. 99 Ford for RFK Racing.
The drivers who failed to qualify were Alredo, McLeod, Smith and Yeley. This will be the first time Heim, the defending NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Champion, will attempt the season opener. He will pilot the No. 67 Toyota for 23XI Racing.
How Drivers Make the Daytona 500
After a practice session on Wednesday, Feb. 11 from 10 to 10:50 am, qualifying takes place around the 2.5-mile trioval at 8 p.m. The top-20 points earners from last season will be the last 20 to a make a run, the others will go before them. The order for both is determined via a random draw.
Once all cars make their qualifying runs, the 10 fastest will advance to a final round. These sessions will determine three important factors for the Daytona 500 on Sunday.
The first is who will start on the front row with pole and outside pole positions locked in for the week, from the 10 cars in the final round. Qualifying will also guarantee two of the open cars make the race based on their speeds.
Lastly, qualifiers third on back will decide who starts where in the Duel 150-mile races on Thursday night. The finishing positions of those events decides who starts where for the Daytona 500. All eyes will be on the open cars to see who grabs the final two starting positions.
This means four teams will be packing up their haulers and head for home while the others race on Sunday.
Watching it All Unfold
The drama around the Daytona 500 is filled with intensity more than any race on the schedule. A close second would be the championship decider at Homestead-Miami Speedway in November.
Fans come to Daytona from all over the globe to visit the World Center of Speed and catch the on-track action. For those not in attendance, here’s how the Qualifying and the Duels can be watched.
Wed, Feb 11
Practice 10 a.m. – FS1-TV, MRN and Sirius XM NASCAR Radio
Qualifying – 8 p.m. – FS1-TV, MRN and Sirius XM NASCAR Radio
Thursday, Feb. 12
Duel 1 – 7 p.m. – FS1-TV, MRN and Sirius XM NASCAR Radio
Duel 2 – 8:45 p.m. – FS1-TV, MRN and Sirius XM NASCAR Radio
Sunday, February 15
Daytona 500 – 2:30 p.m. – FOX-TV, MRN and Sirius XM NASCAR Radio
8 Drivers Fight to Claim 4 Spots in Daytona 500