NASCAR: Late Daytona 500 entry sees small change

The second MBM Motorsports entry for J.J. Yeley for the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series season-opening Daytona 500 will not be the #13 Ford after all.

While it was first believed that MBM Motorsports would only be entering their #66 Ford for Timmy Hill for the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series season-opening Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway, they have since added a second car.

Last week, it was indicated that the team would be adding the #13 Ford for J.J. Yeley. Both the #66 Ford and the #13 Ford would be run as non-chartered entries.

This means that they would both need to time or race their way into the 40-car field for this 200-lap race around the four-turn, 2.5-mile (4.023-kilometer) high-banked oval in Daytona Beach, Florida via the single-car qualifying session or the Bluegreen Vacations Duels.

Last year, both the #66 Ford and #13 Ford failed to qualify for the race, with Hill and Garrett Smithley behind the wheel, respectively.

Two other cars failed to make it in as well, as eight non-chartered entries battled for the final four spots alongside the 36 chartered cars.

It was confirmed earlier this week that the Carl Long-owned team would indeed be adding a second entry for Yeley for the 64th edition of the “Great American Race” as they attempt to get back in the race for the first time since Hill qualified in 2020.

This entry is the 41st confirmed entry for this year’s running of the event, guaranteeing that at least one car won’t get in; just one more entry is expected.

However, Yeley won’t be driving the #13 Ford.

Instead, the 45-year-old Phoenix, Arizona native is set to pilot the #55 Ford, with cryptocurrency company HEX.com as the primary sponsor.

Yeley’s most recent Daytona 500 attempt came in 2020 with Rick Ware Racing, when he failed to qualify. He has not competed in the race since 2015, when he drove for BK Racing.

He also failed to qualify in 2012 driving for Robinson-Blakeney Racing. He has made six career Daytona 500 starts in eight attempts going back to 2006, and he has a career-high finish of 10th place driving for Tommy Baldwin Racing in 2013.

Will Yeley get MBM Motorsports back into the Daytona 500 field for the first time in two years and secure his first Daytona 500 start in seven years in the process?

The Bluegreen Vacations Duels are set to be broadcast live from Daytona International Speedway on Fox Sports 1 beginning at 7:00 p.m. ET on Thursday, February 17, and the race itself is set to be broadcast live on Fox beginning at 2:30 p.m. ET on Sunday, February 20.