Stacked entry list sets stage for dramatic lead-up to Daytona 500

As the NASCAR Cup Series prepares for its annual trip to the "World Center of Racing" for Sunday's Daytona 500 (2:30 p.m. ET, Fox, HBO Max, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio), a lot of the attention will once again be paid to the expanded entry list.

Unlike years ago, when it was common each week for a handful of drivers to fail to qualify for a race, that is typically only the case for the Daytona 500 anymore, as several teams attempt to earn one of the coveted spots for the prestigious race.

Of course, you have the 36 Chartered entries for drivers who are already guaranteed spots into the Daytona 500. That list includes past race champions Joey Logano (2015), Denny Hamlin (2016, 2019, 2020), Michael McDowell (2021), Austin Cindric (2022), Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (2023) and William Byron (2024, 2025).

Fresh off his historic 10-win season in the O'Reilly Auto Parts Series in 2025, rookie Connor Zilisch takes over the No. 88 Chevrolet for Trackhouse Racing, while Daniel Suarez transitions to the No. 7 Chevrolet for Spire Motorsports.

Dramatic qualifying on tap at Daytona

There are 45 total entries for 40 spots, but with Hall of Famer Jimmie Johnson utilizing the Open Exemption in his No. 84 Toyota, he is guaranteed a spot in the race, making it a 41-car field for Sunday.

While the top two from Wednesday night's single-car qualifying session will lock down the front row for Sunday's race, the attention will also be on the eight open drivers not currently locked into the "Great American Race."

Four spots will be on the line for those eight drivers, with two of them going to the two fastest from the qualifying session. From there, the remaining two spots will go to the top Open finisher in each Duel qualifying race on Thursday night.

The drivers and teams fighting for those four spots are Chandler Smith (No. 36 Front Row Motorsports Ford), Justin Allgaier (No. 40 JR Motorsports Chevrolet), JJ Yeley (No. 44 NY Racing Team Chevrolet), Anthony Alfredo (No. 62 Beard Motorsports Chevrolet), Casey Mears (No. 66 Garage 66 Ford), Corey Heim (No. 67 23XI Racing Toyota), B.J. McLeod (No. 78 Live Fast Motorsports Chevrolet) and Corey LaJoie (No. 99 RFK Racing Ford).

Given the teams that are fighting to make the field, Allgaier, Heim and LaJoie should either have enough pace to qualify on speed or race their way in through the Duel 150-lap qualifying races, but nothing is guaranteed in the pack. 

There always tends to be one Duel that is more action-packed than the other, meaning one of them could get caught up in a crash and open the door for one of the other Open drivers to lock up a spot if theirs is not already secured.

Single-car qualifying is scheduled for Wednesday night (8:15 p.m. ET, FS1, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) following the first practice session early that morning at 10 a.m. ET (FS1, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). Drivers will then focus their attention on Thursday night's America 250 Florida Duels (7 p.m. ET, FS1, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

Regardless of who makes the show and who does not, it is going to be an action-packed and unpredictable Speedweek at Daytona as the 41-car field for Sunday takes shape.