As a part of the new charter agreement that went into effect ahead of the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series season, NASCAR allowed one world-class provisional, officially the Open Exemption Provisional, to be handed out each race, namely in races for which the entry lists feature more than 40 cars.
Trackhouse Racing and Helio Castroneves were granted that provisional ahead of the 2025 Daytona 500, guaranteeing the No. 91 Chevrolet a spot in the race. However, because that car was a non-chartered (open) car, that car was still eligible to take one of the four open spots in the Daytona 500 starting lineup.
Castroneves still could have locked in via one of the two spots awarded via qualifying speed, and after he failed to do that, he still could have locked in via his result in his Duel race. Because he failed to do both, he was added as a 41st driver. No Daytona 500 had seen exactly 41 cars since 1993.
This year, NASCAR has adjusted this rule.
Legacy Motor Club and Jimmie Johnson have been granted the Open Exemption Provisional this time around, but unlike a year ago, the Daytona 500 is guaranteed to have exactly 41 cars.
That is because this year, Johnson's No. 84 Toyota is effectively being treated as a chartered car in terms of being locked into the race, meaning that 37 cars, not 36, are locked in.
Although it is still an open car, the No. 84 entry is ineligible to take any of the four open spots (still two on speed and two on Duel results, though that format was also given a much-needed modification for this year).
There are eight other open cars on the 45-car entry list, and they are set to battle for those four spots. The full starting lineup is set to be determined by the results of the Duel races; Johnson isn't specifically locked into the 41st starting position just because he's been granted the provisional. He is technically eligible to start as high as pole.
The fastest two drivers in qualifying are still set to start the Daytona 500 on the front row, regardless of their Duel result.
Tune in to Fox Sports 1 at 8:00 p.m. ET on Wednesday and 7:00 p.m. ET on Thursday for the live broadcast of qualifying and the Duel races, respectively. The Daytona 500 itself is set to air live on Fox from Daytona International Speedway starting at 2:00 p.m. ET on Sunday, February 15, weather permitting. Start a free trial of FuboTV and don't miss it!