NASCAR: The 6 extra cars not returning for 2022
By Asher Fair
Six non-chartered entries that attempted to qualify for the 2021 Daytona 500 are not slated to return for the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series season opener.
The 64th annual Daytona 500 is scheduled to open up the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series season on Sunday, February 20, and there are still legitimate doubts that the field will end up being full.
In addition to the 36 chartered entries, which are set to run the entire 36-race 2022 schedule, there are three confirmed non-chartered entries that are set to attempt to qualify for this year’s Daytona 500.
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A full field is 40 cars, and there are currently just 39 confirmed entries, though there are still a few potential additions.
Notably, no Daytona 500 has ever featured fewer than 40 cars.
In fact, no race at Daytona International Speedway has featured fewer than 40 cars since July 1968 when the Firecracker 400 featured just 37.
It was not completely unexpected that NASCAR would end up in this position, given the fact that this is the first year with the Gen 7 car, plus the supply issues associated with the new machinery.
Two of the three non-chartered entries on the entry list for this year’s race were on it last year: the #62 Beard Motorsports Chevrolet for Noah Gragson and the #66 MBM Motorsports Ford for Timmy Hill. Gragson and Hill both drove these same cars last year, though neither one qualified for the race, as there were eight non-chartered entries battling for four spots.
But six of those non-chartered entries from last year are not expected to return for this year.
First off, Team Penske have no need for a fourth car, the #33 Ford, for Austin Cindric. Cindric has replaced Brad Keselowski, who moved to RFK Racing as the replacement for Ryan Newman behind the wheel of the #6 Ford, as the full-time driver of the #2 Ford.
MBM Motorsports also plan only to run the #66 Ford, but likely no #13 Ford (DNQ) like they fielded for Garrett Smithley last year.
Kaulig Racing ran a non-chartered #16 Chevrolet for Kaz Grala last year, but with them now fielding two chartered entries for the first time, this extra car isn’t needed.
Notably, one of the Matt Kaulig-owned team’s two chartered entries is still run with the number 16, so this car isn’t technically “not returning”, though with the charter count consistent at 36 and the non-chartered entries being the driving force behind the final entry total, this lack of a non-chartered car makes a huge difference.
Front Row Motorsports fielded a third entry, the #36 Ford, for David Ragan, but that car isn’t coming back this year. Ragan himself is set to pilot a chartered #15 Ford for Rick Ware Racing instead.
JTG Daugherty Racing ran a non-chartered #37 Chevrolet for Ryan Preece all season last year, but that car also won’t be back. And finally, Gaunt Brothers Racing, which fielded the #96 Toyota (DNQ) for Ty Dillon, also won’t be back.
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Aside from the #62 Chevrolet and the #66 Ford, the only non-chartered entry on the entry list for this year’s Daytona 500 thus far is the #27 Team Hezeberg powered by Reaume Brothers Racing Ford, a new entry which is set to be driven by Jacques Villeneuve. Will there end up being a fourth to fill the field?