NASCAR: The one car that could still join the Daytona 500

There are now 41 confirmed entries for the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series season-opening Daytona 500, guaranteeing a full field, but one more still may join.

Throughout the offseason between the 2021 and 2022 NASCAR Cup Series seasons, there has been quite a bit of speculation that the season-opening Daytona 500 would not reach a full field of 40 cars.

Those concerns were finally alleviated last week when it was announced that MBM Motorsports would be fielding two cars, the #13 Ford for J.J. Yeley and the #66 Ford for Timmy Hill, as opposed to just the initially expected one (#66 Ford), thus bringing the entry total to 40.

Then earlier this week, Floyd Mayweather Jr. finally joined the party after several years of rumors. The Money Team Racing are set to attempt to qualify for the race with Kaz Grala behind the wheel of the #50 Chevrolet.

This brought the entry total to 41, ensuring that one car will be sent home after the Bluegreen Vacations Duels.

But while there were once doubts that the entry total would even see a 40th entry, there is now a chance that it could reach 42.

NY Racing Team teased a return last year, but nothing came of it. They have done so again this year, but this time around, it appears that things could turn out differently for them and their #44 Chevrolet.

Greg Biffle was reportedly sighted getting his seat fitted at Richard Childress Racing for the #44 Chevrolet. Could this indicate a partnership between Richard Chilress Racing and NY Racing Team to get the latter back in the Cup Series for the first time since 2018 — and back in the Daytona 500 for the first time since 2015?

The addition of the #44 Chevrolet would ensure six non-chartered entries vying for the final four spots alongside the 36 chartered entries in the 64th running of the 200-lap “Great American Race” around the four-turn, 2.5-mile (4.023-kilometer) high-banked oval in Daytona Beach, Florida.

This means that after the Bluegreen Vacations Duels, two of these six entries would be going home. These Duels are set to be broadcast live on Fox Sports 1 beginning at 7:00 p.m. ET on Thursday, February 17, and the 40-car Daytona 500 itself is set to be broadcast live on Fox beginning at 2:30 p.m. ET on Sunday, February 20.