NASCAR driver won’t make Daytona 500 debut in 2023

At least one driver aiming to make his Daytona 500 debut will not get to do so, as NASCAR Cup Series races are capped at 40 cars.

The Money Team Racing confirmed this past Tuesday that they are set to return to Daytona International Speedway for their second attempt to qualify for the NASCAR Cup Series season-opening Daytona 500 after successfully doing so last year with Kaz Grala behind the wheel of the No. 50 Chevrolet.

This year, they are going with IndyCar driver Conor Daly, who made his Cup Series debut with the team last October in the playoff race at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval.

Because the No. 50 Chevrolet is a non-chartered car and there are now six non-chartered cars on the entry list for the 200-lap race around the four-turn, 2.5-mile (4.023-kilometer) high-banked Daytona Beach, Florida oval, that car is not locked into the race.

NASCAR Cup Series races are capped at 40 cars, and this includes the Daytona 500.

Not everybody who attempts to qualify for the race will get in. With the 36 chartered entries all entered and therefore locked into the Great American Race, there are only four spots available for non-chartered entries. With six on the entry list (as of now), two of them will ultimately fail to qualify (or more if more are added).

And because the Floyd Mayweather Jr.-owned team confirmed Daly as their driver, somebody won’t get to make their Daytona 500 debut in 2023.

Of the six non-chartered entries, only one is set to be driven by a driver with any Daytona 500 experience. That car is the No. 84 Legacy Motor Club Chevrolet, which is set to be driven by two-time Daytona 500 winner and seven-time Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson.

Chandler Smith is set to drive the No. 13 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet, Zane Smith is set to drive the No. 36 Front Row Motorsports Ford, Austin Hill is set to drive the No. 62 Beard Motorsports Chevrolet, and Travis Pastrana is set to drive the No. 67 23XI Racing Toyota.

With Daly factored into that group, there are five drivers attempting to make their Daytona 500 debut, and at most, only four will have the opportunity to do so. If Johnson successfully qualifies, that number drops to three, meaning that two first-timers will be left on the outside looking in.

The Single-car qualifying session, which locks two non-chartered entries into the field, is scheduled to take place on Wednesday, February 15, with live coverage set to be provided by Fox Sports 1 beginning at 8:15 p.m. ET.

The two Bluegreen Vacations Duels races, which each lock one more non-chartered entry into the field, are scheduled to take place on Thursday, February 16, with live coverage set to be provided by Fox Sports 1 beginning at 7:00 p.m. ET.

The 65th annual Daytona 500 is scheduled to take place on Sunday, February 19, with live coverage set to be provided by Fox beginning at 2:30 p.m. ET.

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