NASCAR: Austin Hill could miss the Daytona 500

Beard Motorsports are back for their seventh straight Daytona 500 attempt, this time with full-time NASCAR Xfinity Series driver Austin Hill behind the wheel.

Austin Hill, who competes full-time for Richard Childress Racing’s NASCAR Xfinity Series team, made his Cup Series debut with the organization last year at Michigan International Speedway.

Now he is aiming to make his Daytona 500 debut with Beard Motorsports, which have entered the No. 62 Chevrolet in the Great American Race for the seventh consecutive season.

However, Hill is not guaranteed a starting spot in this 200-lap race around the four-turn, 2.5-mile (4.023-kilometer) high-banked Daytona International Speedway oval, as his No. 62 Chevrolet is not one of the 36 chartered entries.

These 36 chartered entries are locked into every NASCAR Cup Series race, including the Daytona 500.

The field is capped at 40 cars at the Daytona Beach, Florida oval, and there are six non-chartered cars on the entry list. Only four will end up qualifying, meaning that there is a chance Hill’s Daytona 500 debut won’t come in 2023.

In fact, just two years ago, Beard Motorsports failed to qualify for the race with Noah Gragson behind the wheel of the No. 62 Chevrolet. On the plus side, they did make it in with Gragson last year, and they are five for six overall, including four for four with Brendan Gaughan from 2017 to 2020.

Aside from Hill, the drivers set to attempt to qualify for the race in non-chartered cars are Chandler Smith, Zane Smith, Conor Daly, Travis Pastrana, and Jimmie Johnson.

Chandler Smith is set to drive the No. 13 Chevrolet for Kaulig Racing, Zane Smith is set to drive the No. 36 Ford for Front Row Motorsports, Daly is set to drive the No. 50 Chevrolet for The Money Team Racing, Pastrana is set to drive the No. 67 Toyota for 23XI Racing, and Johnson is set to drive the No. 84 Chevrolet for Legacy Motor Club.

Two non-chartered entries are set to lock in during the single-car qualifying session on Wednesday, February 15 (8:15 p.m. ET, Fox Sports 1) while two more are set to lock in during the Bluegreen Vacations Duels on Thursday, February 16 (7:00 p.m. ET, Fox Sports 1).

The fastest two non-chartered entries in the single-car qualifying session both lock in, and the non-chartered entries that finish highest in their respective Duel race both lock in as well.

If a scenario unfolds in which a driver technically locks in both ways, the spot he earned via his speed in the single-car qualifying session goes to the driver who was next fastest in that session, among the non-chartered cars.

The Daytona 500 itself is set to be broadcast live on Fox beginning at 2:30 p.m. ET on Sunday, February 19. To ensure you don’t miss any of the upcoming action from Daytona International Speedway, begin a free trial of FuboTV now!