The entry list is set for the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series season-opening Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway, and there are 45 cars on it, with eight of those cars being non-chartered (open) cars that are set to battle for the four open spots in the 41-car field.
Three full-time teams have expanded for the 68th running of the 200-lap "Great American Race" around the four-turn, 2.5-mile (4.023-kilometer) high-banked Daytona Beach, Florida oval. All three of those teams are teams that run three full-time entries.
Front Row Motorsports have added the No. 36 Ford for Chandler Smith, 23XI Racing have added the No. 67 Toyota for Corey Heim, and RFK Racing have added the No. 99 Ford for Corey LaJoie.
Legacy Motor Club have also added a third car, the No. 84 Toyota, for Jimmie Johnson, but Johnson is locked into the race due to the Open Exemption Provisional, meaning the No. 84 car is effectively being treated like a 37th open car.
Richard Childress Racing not adding third Daytona 500 car
One team that has not expanded for the Daytona 500, however, is Richard Childress Racing. They have not added a third car for the Daytona 500 since 2019, but there were rumors that they might do so for this year's race,
Austin Hill, the team's superspeedway ace in the O'Reilly Auto Parts Series, was rumored to be driving the No. 33 Chevrolet after driving the car in the August Cup race at Daytona in both 2024 and 2025. He also drove that entry in the October Cup race at Talladega Superspeedway a year ago.
Hill hasn't attempted to qualify for the Daytona 500 since 2023, when he ultimately failed to do so for Beard Motorsports.
And he won't attempt to qualify again in 2026. All things considered, it's not a huge surprise to see Richard Childress Racing opting to focus on their full-time lineup of Kyle Busch and Austin Dillon, while also opting to keep the focus of their O'Reilly Auto Parts Series team on the O'Reilly Auto Parts Series season opener.
Hill has won the O'Reilly Daytona opener in three of the past four years, and Jesse Love, who also made select Cup Series starts for both Richard Childress Racing and Beard Motorsports, is the reigning series champion who won it a year ago.
The 68th annual Daytona 500 is set to be shown live on Fox from Daytona International Speedway beginning at 2:00 p.m. ET on Sunday, February 15. Take advantage of FuboTV's free trial offer today!