NASCAR: Which drivers could miss the Daytona 500?

Not everybody who attempts to qualify for the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series season-opening Daytona 500 will do so. Which drivers aren’t locked in?

The 2023 NASCAR Cup Series season is scheduled to get underway on Sunday, February 19 with the 65th annual Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway, and qualifying is scheduled to take place later this week.

The single-car qualifying session to determine the front row for the 200-lap race around the four-turn, 2.5-mile (4.023-kilometer) high-banked Daytona Beach, Florida oval is scheduled to take place on Wednesday evening, and the two Bluegreen Vacations Duels to set the full starting lineup are scheduled to take place on Thursday evening.

Not everybody who is set to attempt to qualify for the race will do so, however, as the field is capped at 40 cars and there are more than 40 cars on the entry list.

But not just anybody can fail to qualify. Of the 42 cars on the entry list, 36 are chartered cars, meaning they are guaranteed to be in all 36 races on this year’s schedule.

As a result, there are six NASCAR drivers going for the final four spots in this year’s Daytona 500.

Two of those drivers are set to be determined in the single-car session, and the other two are set to be determined in the Duels. This means that two drivers will ultimately fail to qualify for the Great American Race. Who will they be?

The six drivers of non-chartered entries include Beard Motorsports’ Austin Hill, Front Row Motorsports’ Zane Smith, Kaulig Racing’s Chandler Smith, Legacy Motor Club’s Jimmie Johnson, The Money Team Racing’s Conor Daly, and 23XI Racing’s Travis Pastrana.

Two of them will qualify by being the quickest two (of these six drivers) in the single-car qualifying session, and the other two will qualify by being the highest finishers (again, of this group) in their respective Duel races.

If a driver effectively qualifies twice, the spot he earned in the single-car qualifying session will go to the next fastest driver in the session, not necessarily the next highest finisher in his Duel race.

Fox Sports 1 is set to broadcast the single-car qualifying session live beginning at 8:15 p.m. ET on Wednesday, February 15, and it is set to broadcast the Bluegreen Vacations Duels live beginning at 7:00 p.m. ET on Thursday, February 16.

Tune in to Fox at 2:30 p.m. ET on Sunday, February 19 for the live broadcast of the 65th annual Daytona 500 from Daytona International Speedway. Begin a free trial of FuboTV now and don’t miss any of the action!