NASCAR: Full entry list for Darlington, first time since Daytona

The entry list for the NASCAR Cup Series race at Darlington Raceway is full, which hasn’t been the case since the 2020 season-opening Daytona 500.

When the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series season returns following a 10-week absence brought on by the coronavirus pandemic, plenty of teams and drivers want to be a part of it.

As a result, the entry list for this Sunday afternoon’s race at Darlington Raceway is full.

This 293-lap race around the four-turn, 1.366-mile (2.198-kilometer) oval in Darlington, South Carolina is set to feature 40 drivers.

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A Cup Series race has not featured a full field of 40 drivers since the season-opening Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway back on Monday, February 17.

This entry list features the 36 chartered entries and four non-chartered entries, and nobody will fail to qualify for the race (a) because there is no qualifying session and (b) because the entry list is not overflowing.

Of the 36 chartered entries, 34 are set to be driven by full-time drivers.

Three of these full-time drivers, Roush Fenway Racing’s Ryan Newman, Chip Ganassi Racing’s Matt Kenseth and Gaunt Brothers Racing’s Daniel Suarez, have not competed in all of the first four races of the season, which were contested between Monday, February 17 and Sunday, March 8 before the coronavirus pandemic brought the season to an abrupt halt.

Newman competed in only the season opener, as he suffered a brain bruise in a last-lap crash during that race that sidelined him for the next three races, while Kenseth started the season as a retired driver before getting the call to replace Kyle Larson, who used the N-word during a virtual race on iRacing. Suarez simply failed to qualify for the season opener.

Both Newman and Kenseth have been granted playoff waivers and are eligible to compete for the championship.

Another one of these full-time drivers, Joey Gase, is not eligible for Cup Series points. He is set to drive for Rick Ware Racing in this race.

The two part-time drivers who are set to driver chartered entries in this race Garrett Smithley and Reed Sorenson. Smithley is set to drive for Rick Ware Racing and Sorenson is set to drive for Spire Motorsports. Sorenson hasn’t missed a race yet this season while Smithley has missed one.

The four non-chartered entries are set to be fielded by Tommy Baldwin Racing, Rick Ware Racing, MBM Motorsports and B.J. McLeod Racing.

Josh Bilicki is set to drive for Tommy Baldwin Racing in their first race since 2017 while J.J. Yeley is set to drive the third Rick Ware Racing car. Timmy Hill is MBM Motorsports’ full-time driver despite the fact that they do not have a charter.

B.J. McLeod is set to drive for his own team, which have never competed in a Cup Series race, in the #78 Chevrolet. The #78 car hasn’t seen action since finishing runner-up in the 2018 championship as a Furniture Row Racing Toyota.

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Fox is set to broadcast the return of the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series season live from Darlington Raceway beginning at 3:30 p.m. ET this Sunday, May 17.

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