Beyond the Flag
Fansided

NASCAR Cup Series: 2018 First Data 500 entry list

By Asher Fair

MARTINSVILLE, VA - OCTOBER 29: Kyle Busch, driver of the #18 M&M's Halloween Toyota, leads Martin Truex Jr., driver of the #78 Furniture Row/Denver Mattress Toyota, on the last lap of the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series First Data 500 at Martinsville Speedway on October 29, 2017 in Martinsville, Virginia. (Photo by Sarah Crabill/Getty Images)
MARTINSVILLE, VA - OCTOBER 29: Kyle Busch, driver of the #18 M&M's Halloween Toyota, leads Martin Truex Jr., driver of the #78 Furniture Row/Denver Mattress Toyota, on the last lap of the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series First Data 500 at Martinsville Speedway on October 29, 2017 in Martinsville, Virginia. (Photo by Sarah Crabill/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit

The First Data 500 at Martinsville Speedway is the opening race of the round of 8 of the 2018 NASCAR Cup Series playoffs. Here is the entry list for it.

The second round of the four-round, 10-race 2018 NASCAR Cup Series playoffs, the round of 12, is in the books, and the third round, the round of 8, is scheduled to get underway this Sunday, October 28 with the First Data 500 at Martinsville Speedway.

A total of 40 drivers are set to compete in the 500-lap race around the four-turn, 0.526-mile (0.847-kilometer) Martinsville Speedway in Ridgeway, Virginia, of whom 39 have been confirmed.

The driver of the #51 Rick Ware Racing Ford is the driver who has not yet been confirmed. Assuming that the team confirm a driver for this car, the First Data 500 will be the third consecutive race and the 10th race in the last 11 races to feature a full field of 40 drivers.

This would be the case even after the season started with just five of its first 22 races featuring full fields of 40 drivers.

More from NASCAR Cup Series

Of the 39 confirmed drivers, eight are the round of 8 drivers who still have a chance to advance to the Championship 4 at Homestead-Miami Speedway and win the championship. Four more are playoff drivers who were eliminated after the round of 12 and the four more are playoff drivers who were eliminated after the round of 16.

Of the 23 other drivers, 13 are full-time drivers who have driven in each of the 32 races that have been contested so far this season while 10 are part-time drivers. Of the 10 part-time drivers, all 10 have made at least one career Cup Series start, but only nine have made at least one Cup Series start so far this season.

The lone part-time driver who is set to compete in the First Data 500 without having started in a Cup Series race so far this season is Hermie Sadler III. In this race, Sadler III is set to driver the #7 Premium Motorsports Chevrolet.

Here is a list of the 10 part-time drivers who are set to compete alongside the eight round of 8 drivers and the other 21 full-time drivers in the First Data 500 at Martinsville Speedway on Sunday, October 28.

NOTE: The part-time car without a confirmed driver for this race is also featured on this list.

Rank – Driver – Car, Team, Engine
1 – Joey Gase – #00, StarCom Racing, Chevrolet
2 – Matt Kenseth – #6, Roush Fenway Racing, Ford
3 – Hermie Sadler III – #7, Premium Motorsports, Chevrolet
4 – Ross Chastain – #15, Premium Motorsports, Chevrolet
5 – J.J. Yeley – #23, BK Racing, Toyota
6 – TBA – #51, Rick Ware Racing, Chevrolet
7 – Timmy Hill – #66, MBM Motorsports, Toyota
8 – Cole Whitt – #72, TriStar Motorsports, Chevrolet
9 – Regan Smith – #95, Leavine Family Racing, Chevrolet
10 – D.J. Kennington – #96, Gaunt Brothers Racing, Toyota
11 – Landon Cassill – #99, StarCom Racing, Chevrolet

Next. Top 10 NASCAR drivers of all-time. dark

Be sure to tune in to NBC Sports Network this Sunday, October 28 at 2:30 p.m. ET for the live broadcast of the First Data 500 from Martinsville Speedway. After this race, just three more races will remain on the 2018 NASCAR Cup Series playoff schedule.

Home/NASCAR Cup Series