NASCAR: Two drivers will miss the Daytona 500

The entry list for the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series season-opening Daytona 500 is finally set, and two drivers will end up missing the race.

After months of speculation that this year’s Daytona 500 could be the first ever without at least 40 cars, it was recently confirmed that there would indeed be a full 40-car field for the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series season-opening race at Daytona International Speedway.

In fact, two recent confirmations, Kaz Grala as the driver of the #50 Chevrolet for The Money Team Racing and J.J. Yeley as the driver of the #55 Ford for MBM Motorsports, brought the entry total 41, ensuring that at least one driver would miss the race.

And now the entry list for this year’s 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 is set at 42. On Monday, it was confirmed that Greg Biffle is set to drive the #44 Chevrolet for NY Racing Team after several weeks of rumors.

This means that two drivers will not qualify for the 64th annual Daytona 500.

With 36 drivers locked into the race due to the fact that they are driving chartered entries, this leaves six drivers to battle for the final four spots in the single-car qualifying session and the Bluegreen Vacations Duels. These six drivers are all driving non-chartered entries.

Two of the following six drivers will not qualify for the race.

• Jacques Villeneuve, driver of the #27 Ford for Team Hezeberg powered by Reaume Brothers Racing
• Greg Biffle, driver of the #44 Chevrolet for NY Racing Team
• Kaz Grala, driver of the #50 Chevrolet for The Money Team Racing
• J.J. Yeley, driver of the #55 Ford for MBM Motorsports
• Noah Gragson, driver of the #62 Chevrolet for Beard Motorsports
• Timmy Hill, driver of the #66 Ford for MBM Motorsports

The fastest two of these drivers in the single-car qualifying session (Wednesday, February 16 at 8:00 p.m. ET on Fox Sports 1) will lock into the Daytona 500, and the other two spots will be determined by the Bluegreen Vacations Duels (Thursday, February 17 at 7:00 p.m. ET on Fox Sports 1).

However, if anybody who initially locks into the race on speed officially ends up officially locking in via the Bluegreen Vacations Duels, the lineup spots awarded based on speed will go to the next fastest driver or drivers from the single-car qualifying session — not necessarily the next highest finisher or finishers in the Duels.

The Daytona 500 is set to be broadcast live on Fox from Daytona International Speedway beginning at 2:30 p.m. ET on Sunday, February 20. If you have not yet begun your free trial of FuboTV, now would be a great time to do so!