NASCAR: Daytona 500 entry list may see even more growth
By Asher Fair
The entry list for the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series season-opening Daytona 500 may not be done growing, despite currently having 44 entries.
With 44 cars on the early entry list for the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series season-opening Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway next month and just 40 spots available in the starting lineup, multiple drivers are going to be going home disappointed from the Bluegreen Vacations Duels leading up to the main event.
And it may be more than four drivers going home upset.
According to Fox Sports’ Bob Pockrass, Tommy Baldwin Racing, which have not competed in the 200-lap race around the four-turn, 2.5-mile (4.023-kilometer) high-banked oval in Daytona Beach, Florida since 2017 when Elliott Sadler drove the #7 Chevrolet, are still aiming to field an entry for the February event.
Tommy Baldwin told me yesterday that he is still working on trying to have a car at Daytona. TBD. https://t.co/UJLr3Q6otw
— Bob Pockrass (@bobpockrass) January 16, 2021
Tommy Baldwin Racing last attempted to compete in the Daytona 500 in 2019 but failed to qualify with Ryan Truex behind the wheel of the #71 Chevrolet.
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In 2020, they returned to the Cup Series for the first time since 2017. Five different drivers competed behind the wheel of the #7 Chevrolet throughout the season, and the team competed in 22 of the 36 races on the schedule.
If they were to compete in the 63rd annual running of the “Great American Race”, that would make 45 provisional entries, which would ensure that five of the drivers of non-chartered entries would not qualify for the race. The #7 Chevrolet would be the ninth non-chartered entry.
It is still unknown whether or not Team Penske will be fielding a fourth entry for reigning Xfinity Series champion Austin Cindric, which would further grow the entry list and the number of drivers who will ultimately fail to qualify for the main event.
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Daytona 500 single-car qualifying is scheduled to take place on Wednesday, February 10, with the Bluegreen Vacations set to follow on Thursday, February 11 to solidify the 40-car starting lineup. The race itself is set to be broadcast live from Daytona International Speedway on Fox beginning at 2:30 p.m. ET on Sunday, February 14.