NASCAR: 3 teams ruled out for 2023 Daytona 500
By Asher Fair
Three teams that were supposedly considering entering the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series season-opening Daytona 500 are reportedly not planning to do so.
The provisional entry list for the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series season-opening Daytona 500 has been sitting at 42 cars for the last several days, but there were still teams reportedly considering adding their cars to the list in an attempt to qualify for the race.
Two teams that were considered prime candidates to entry non-chartered cars in an attempt to qualify for the 200-lap race around the four-turn, 2.5-mile (4.023-kilometer) high-banked Daytona Beach, Florida oval were Team Hezeberg powered by Reaume Brothers Racing and NY Racing Team.
Both teams competed in the Great American Race last year, with the former fielding the No. 27 Ford for Jacques Villeneuve and the latter fielding the No. 44 Chevrolet for Greg Biffle.
A third team that was considered was MBM Motorsports, which attempted to enter the race with two cars last year but failed to qualify either car. In fact, just one of their seven Daytona 500 qualifying attempts has been successful since 2019.
However, it doesn’t look like any other NASCAR Cup Series teams will be added to the Daytona 500 entry list.
No entry expected for the 44 or others. The garage assignments sent to teams show seven open cars for the 500. https://t.co/llQJoRxnTm
— Bob Pockrass (@bobpockrass) February 11, 2023
Pockrass did mention the fact that the garage assignments sent to the teams show seven non-chartered entries, and there are currently six confirmed.
Those six are the No. 13 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet for Chandler Smith, the No. 36 Front Row Motorsports Ford for Zane Smith, the No. 50 The Money Team Racing Chevrolet for Conor Daly, the No. 62 Beard Motorsports Chevrolet for Austin Hill, the No. 67 23XI Racing Toyota for Travis Pastrana, and the No. 84 Legacy Motor Club Chevrolet for Jimmie Johnson.
However, this was after it was reported that Finish Line Motorsports Marketing would be fielding the No. 80 car for J.J. Yeley with Josh Reaume as a crew chief.
Reaume Brothers Racing later clarified the report and indicated that they are indeed working on a deal to run a non-chartered entry in select events, but they added that they have made the decision to delay their debut, with more information set to come on Monday.
To clarify with everyone,
— Reaume Brothers Racing (@RBR_Teams) February 11, 2023
We’ve been working with frontline Motorsports to run a number of Cup Series events as an open car.
With several factors in play, a decision was made this afternoon to delay the teams debut. An official announcement can be expected Monday.
Until the entry list is officially released, there is always a chance that it gets a 43rd car, but it isn’t likely.
The single-car qualifying session (Wednesday, February 15 at 8:15 p.m. ET on Fox Sports 1) is set to lock two non-chartered entries into the 40-car field, and the Bluegreen Vacations Duels (Thursday, February 16 at 7:00 p.m. ET on Fox Sports 1) are set to lock two more into the field. Two of the six will fail to qualify.
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The 65th annual Daytona 500 is set to be broadcast live on Fox beginning at 2:30 p.m. ET on Sunday, February 19. Start a free trial of FuboTV now and don’t miss any of the upcoming action at Daytona International Speedway!