NASCAR: Notable omission from 2023 Daytona 500 entry list

A once expected Daytona 500 entry is not on the entry list for the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series season opener at Daytona International Speedway.

There are 42 cars on the entry list for the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series season-opening Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway, and two, not three, of those cars are set to be fielded by Trackhouse Racing Team.

The Justin Marks and Pitbull-owned plan to field only the two entries for their full-time drivers, Ross Chastain (No. 1 Chevrolet) and Daniel Suarez (No. 99 Chevrolet).

Last May, the team, then in their second season of Cup Series competition, introduced a new initiative called PROJECT91, which is a third entry designed to give “renowned international racing drivers” the opportunity to compete in Cup Series races.

The new entry, the No. 91 Chevrolet, made its Cup Series debut at Watkins Glen International last year when 2007 Formula 1 world champion Kimi Raikkonen made his own Cup Series debut, but it did not appear again in 2022.

The plan for the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series season is for the entry to run between six and eight races.

But Marks announced last month that the Daytona 500 would not be a part of PROJECT91’s schedule for the 2023 season, with the team aiming instead to focus on road courses for the No. 91 Chevrolet.

It’s a move that makes sense, considering the fact that many renowned international racing drivers have extensive backgrounds in road course racing. Running a car for a road course driver in the superspeedway, pack-style, “wild card” race that is the Daytona 500 may not have been the smartest idea.

Plus, there are six non-chartered entries on the entry list for the Great American Race, and only four are set to qualify via either the single-car qualifying session or the Bluegreen Vacations Duels since 36 of the 40 spots are guaranteed to go to the chartered entries.

So there is a decent chance that the No. 91 Chevrolet wouldn’t even have qualified for the 200-lap race around the four-turn, 2.5-mile (4.023-kilometer) high-banked Daytona Beach, Florida oval.

That being said, four-time Indy 500 winner Helio Castroneves was rumored as a possible option for the car, had they opted to field it, and his oval experience is second to none.

The six non-chartered cars on the Daytona 500 entry list 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.

The non-chartered entries can lock themselves into the Daytona 500 via either the single-car qualifying session on Wednesday, February 15 (Fox Sports 1, 8:15 p.m. ET) or the Bluegreen Vacations Duels on Thursday, February 16 (Fox Sports 1, 7:00 p.m. ET).

The race itself is set to be broadcast live on Fox from Daytona International Speedway beginning at 2:30 p.m. ET on Sunday, February 19. Begin a free trial of FuboTV now and don’t miss any of the action!